The Outsider by Albert Camus is the story of Meursault, a bachelor in French Algiers. The story begins with Meursault being informed of his mother’s demise, how he attends the funeral, and contrary to the expected behaviour of expressing grief, he smokes, drinks coffee, and even falls asleep in front of the coffin. Meursault then gets into a relationship with a former colleague and helps his neighbor Raymond, to exact revenge on his Moorish girlfriend. The girl’s brother and his Arab friends get into a fight with Raymond at a beach when Meursault and Marie a beach house of Raymond’s friend. Meursault when taking a stroll on the beach, encounters the Arab and shoots him. The second part of the story consists of his arrest, trial, his term in prison and his sentence etc. This is where the story gets more philosophical, the way he comes in terms with his circumstances are enlightening and frightening to the reader.
The novel is divided into two parts, the first person narration of Meursault before and after the murder. The narration is simple and profound even though there is a lack of emotion. The book deals with topics like the meaning of life, individuality, the society perception of an individual and how the society has established a code of conduct it deems appropriate at every walk of life, atheism, justice, perspectives etc.
I picked up this book because of my interest in existential philosophy and also because of its high critical acclaim and it exceeded my already high expectations. This was a difficult review for me partly because I finished it in a matter of hours and was overwhelmed by its scope, and partly because of the nature of the themes the author tackles in the story. The first half was a cakewalk, the second half is where the protagonist engages himself in figuring out the meaning of his actions and its consequences and the circumstances surrounding it and how after fighting it, he finally accepts it. An author’s note at the end of the novel explains certain aspects of Meursault’s actions and what the author means to convey by it, thereby increasing the depth of meaning to the text by adding the author’s perspective. A simple story with a powerful philosophy behind it. Recommended reading for anyone because of how the author makes accessible some deep and complex concepts through a very elegant and lucid narration.
Rating: 5/5
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ambiguousandenigmatic 