The Stranger
Albert Camus · 1913–1960 · Algeria / France
Originally L'Étranger (French)
Why it matters
Meursault kills a man on an Algerian beach and is condemned, above all, for not weeping at his mother's funeral. The century's most-read French novel: the absurd rendered in sentences of desert clarity.
At a glance
existentialistpsychological novel
Difficulty 3/10medium pace128 pagesFlat, affectless short sentences; deceptively simple prose carrying philosophical weight.
Deep dive
The trial that follows the killing isn't really about the killing — it's about grief performed wrong, and what Camus's flat, present-tense prose does to make you feel the difference.
