BOOK REVIEW

L’Etranger (The Outsider) – Albert Camus

Captivating philosophical novella offers a straightforward story coupled with deep implications

          It was only when I stumbled across this book by chance in my father’s library I realized that, despite being well aware of who Albert Camus was, I hadn’t actually read any of his original works. This short 120-pager contributed majorly to Camus’ position as an absurdist, but as it is presented as a novel one must read between the lines to derive its philosophical meaning.  

          Camus employs a writing technique that simplifies the plot’s growth and in particular the character of its protagonist, a seemingly unemotional bachelor by the name of Meursault who lives in French Algiers. However, despite the first-person narrative appearing rather bare and arguably lacking substance, it is by no means hollow. Camus writes through the mouth of Meursault (rather than his mind, as one is rarely made privy to his thoughts) as though his eyes only know the colours black and white, though upon closer inspection one recognizes that there are very vivid shades of grey, constituting a deeper worldview than his unemotional character would suggest. Interestingly, I never found Meursault’s two-dimensional qualities frustrating as I did in Coelho’s The Alchemist, perhaps because he was descriptive enough of the scenes’ settings, which in any case took place in easily imaginable arenas.

          Before starting the book, I knew it had a deep philosophical basis and toyed with the ideas of absurdism and even nihilism, so I was actively searching for these motifs as I read. However, I still benefited from looking up several analyses online, which enlightened me to elements I hadn’t before noticed. This book is highly recommended for those with an appetite for a novel that has more to share than just its surface-level story. 

-NP, Feb. 2014