The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger is the US name for
Camus's novel, in the UK it was
published as The Outsider, the
original French is L'Étranger 

Albert Camus was in 1913 in Mondovi (now called Dréan), in Algeria (at the time a French colony). Albert did not know his father, and his mother was a pied-noir (the term given to white ex-pats) of French and Spanish descent. Despite the fact he grew up in poverty and his mother was deaf and illiterate, Albert managed to get a scholarship to a prestigious lyceum and, though his studies were interrupted by contracting TB, he attended  University of Algiers. It was at this time that Camus developed an interest in philosophy, which informed his work for the rest of his life.

Camus also became involved with politics, joining both the French and Algerian Communist Parties at different times. However, as Stalinism came to prominence in Russia and European communism in general took on a totalitarian taint, Camus broke ties. During this period he lived in both France and Algiers (as a white Algerian, Camus had French citizenship) and worked for several newspapers, it was at this point he wrote The Stranger.

The Stranger is an unusual novel, considered by some to be absurdist. The protagonist, Meursault, is a passive character, without the personal connections most of us take for granted, and guided more by sensation than emotion. As the novel begins, his mother dies, and the way Meursault takes it in his stride puzzles people, though his lack of reaction at some points engenders a sense of relief.

Camus identified himself as a moralist,
 claiming morality should guide politics

Meursault's lack of emotional connections or strong world views make him and easy target, and people attempt to use him to their own ends. Does this make Meursault complicit in the crimes of others, is he as much to blame to them, or is he a victim? How does emotion excuse or inform our actions and why are we more ready to accept a crime committed in the heat of the moment than one that was premeditated? 

When Meursault later gets dragged into an altercation at the beach and ends up shooting someone though, the lack of emotion is found unsettling. The reader is left questioning if the lack of a 'reasonable' motive for shooting someone, the fact he felt no anger nor hatred as he did it, makes the crime worse, and if so why?

The Algerian flag is inspired by that of the
Emirate of Abdelkader, which resisted
colonisation by France in the 19th century.

I have pondered my overall verdict since finishing it. Being a novella, The Stranger only goes so far, but it is undeniably deep and many who have studied it have pointed out it would take a book many times longer than The Stranger to analyse it. Finally I plumped for ★★★★★.