The Outsider

The Outsider (originally titled The Stranger by Albert Camus) is a short and very simply written book, but emotionally it feels distant and flat. While reading Part One, I honestly found the book boring and kept wondering why it is so popular. There is no strong story, no emotional build-up, and the main character feels completely detached from everything. The Raymond episode was the only part where the story became interesting, but even that didn’t last long. Part Two and the ending are where the book starts to make sense. The trial focuses more on judging the character’s emotions and behaviour rather than the crime itself, which clearly shows how society works. The ending felt empty, not sad or dramatic, just empty—and I think that was intentional. This book didn’t change my view of society, but the idea that the protagonist was content both in his past life and even in prison made me reflect on happiness and meaning. Overall, it’s light to read, philosophically interesting at the end, but not engaging throughout. A decent read, but not for everyone.

The events in the novel are represented in a remarkably unfiltered, 'naked' fashion, as if all emotion had been leached out of the world. The central character is condemned by a society that chooses to see not what he is, but only what he isn't. I was unsure about whether what, Camus proposes, is objectively 'real' couldn't also be read as a subjective indicator of preclinical depression?

This is not the Joseph Laredo translation as stated, it is the Sandra Smith translation. I don't want to give a poor rating as it's a brilliant book, but not the version I required!