Stranger Stranger

The Stranger by Albert Camus
New York : Vintage International, 1989, c1988.
vii, 123 p. ; 21 cm.

This novel by Nobel prize winning author, Albert Camus, has been on my "to read" list for a long time.  I read his novel, The Plague, as a freshman in college and was profoundly moved by it.  For the past couple of years, whenever I was shelving books, I'd see our four slim copies of The Stranger and think, "OK, I'm going to check that out and read it."  That time finally came last week.

I'm glad I read Camus' novel, but I can't say I enjoyed it.  In fact, I found the novel to be unsettling. If the title is meant to emphasize the alienation of the main character, Meursault, as a stranger both to himself and those in his life, then he is even more of a stranger to me.

Meursault - a main character nearly devoid of any tender feelings - is indeed a character who is hard to empathize with.  I could understand his apathy, and his general feelings of not being connected to the fellowship of other humans - whether in his role as a lover, son, neighbor or friend.  But, his readiness to participate in an acquaintance's plot to beat and humiliate his girlfriend, his utter lack of emotional connection to his own lover, his unquestioning acceptance of anti-Arab racism, and the ease with which he murders a nameless "Arab" make him a rather repulsive and unsympathetic character. 

Despite the grave shortcomings of the main character, it is hard not to feel that Camus wants the reader identify with Meursault. The novel is completely from his point of view and the only system that sits in judgement of him - the French/Algerian criminal justice system - is not one that is portrayed sympathetically.  However, even as ridiculous as the proceedings against Meursault are, I found myself thinking, "Yeah, you may have felt powerless and overwhelmed by existence and the heat of the sun, but you MURDERED another human being in cold blood."

I'd be curious to discuss this novel with fans of Camus and of existentialism in general. "How would you judge Meursault?" I'd like to know.  To arrive at a verdict, you'll have to pick this novel up and read it yourself.