The Outsider or The Stanger (according to different translations) is a 1942 novel by French writer Albert Camus. It is a very short novel written is a very straightforward languange which is probably why I have been able to read it in the original French.
The novel's protagonist/narrator is a pied-noir (an Algerian of European descent) named Meursault. The novel opens with news of his mother's death. While attending her funeral, Mersault shows not sympathy and is incapable of shedding any tears.
Soon after returning from her mother's funeral in the Algerian country side, Mersault starts an affaire with a girl called Marie.
Later on, he will killed an Arab when he gets into an imbroglio to do with Raymond, his friend and neighbour's ex-lover. He is trialled and condemned to death. One of the persecution's arguments for his guilt would be his blatant lack of remorse and the fact that he seemed indifferent during his mother's funeral.
Before his execution, Mersault will manage to argue with the chaplain because he suggested that he should turn to God. The novel ends on the night before his execution.
The Outsider has been classed as an existential novel and as such probably best enjoyed by teenagers than adults. At least, that's the feeling I got while rereading it and remembering how enthusiastically I had felt about it when I first read it aged 15.
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