The Stranger
The Stranger.
The Stranger by Albert Camus
After a very long time I picked up and finished a book in a week. It wasn't a lot of reading, clocking in around 150~ pages, but definitely a good start. Sick of reading about AI and how humans don't have a future, this was a refreshing experience and read.
A linear read of it felt like a day in the life of a consciously distant man. From the start, the writer, from the perspective of the main character, makes it clear — this man is not all there.
The progression of the story is fast paced too, unsurprisingly given the size of the novel.
The book starts with the main character at his mother's funeral and his obvious disinterest in the whole ordeal, when the "protagonist" goes on to explain his situation with his boss and how he now has to arrange a suit for the funeral. It's unclear whether the protagonist either wasn't ready to deal with the emotions or didn't have emotions to deal with in the first place.
The latter becomes more evident towards the end of the first chapter when the "protagonist" kills a man who was after his less-than-exemplary friend in what appears to be cold blood? I prefer the term inconvenient blood.
The second chapter pivots completely into the trial, and this is where the "spirit," for lack of a better word, of Meursault is put on display. The prosecution doesn't really argue for the reality of the crime but more so on whether a person of such cognitive dissonance is meant to roam the Earth or not.
The trial, unsurprisingly for the era, ends with him being sentenced to death. The rest of the chapter focuses on his opinions about the legal system. He laments the pointlessness of it all given the irony — societal standards and punishments against humans are human constructs, unchecked by anyone but ourselves.
My thoughts on the book:
I thought it was very well written and conveys a lot of complex perspectives and takes on life, on how absurd life is from the perspective of Meursault. It's an easy read and a good introduction to Albert Camus's bibliography.