"I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world."
-Monsieur Meursault ; Albert Camus 'The Stranger'
The Stranger by Albert Camus - 8.3/10
Would recommend people to read this since it's short yet the 1st part is boring. But it will still be worth it regardless!
I read this book because the topic of "The Meaning of Life" was discussed during the 1st semester of the social science class that I attended at my university. Specifically, the philosophy of Albert Camus's "Absurdism" and this book was short, concise and follows a simple yet profound storyline which I could easily follow along as it highlights certain themes which will be discussed sooner in this post.
I thought the book by itself just from the few chapters I read it was boring. Which reminds me a lot of slice-of-life genres in anime, though not all of them are boring for me at least. In this case, the 1st part of the book really kept me at my knees, asking myself when is "the good part" coming...
First of all, the book is quite short in length but considering that I already knew of the author's main concepts. I expected something that would leave me confused after I would finish reading this book.
The charm of the 1st part of the book was how it immediately hit us, readers, the announcement that the narrator's mother has passed away and that the man was coming to her nursing home to see her deceased body.
After taking care of said affairs with the passing of his mother, Meursault returns to Algiers after his mother's funeral.
In which, the next day after. He goes outside and heads to the public beach as he runs into an old coworker of his. Marie Cardona. They fancied each other as they spent some time together getting in touch and slowly getting intimate with one another, in which they spent the night watching a movie at his place. Morning arrives and Meursault finds that Marie is gone. He then spends the time sleeping and lazing around his room until noon.
Now, Marie is in this story for a significant reason that Meursault will be imprisoned and that she will be one of the "supporters" of his trials. Though the reason for her being this way is not stated (or I may have just missed it, if I had a dollar for everytime I yawned while reading this book. I would be 4,600 russian rubles richer).
Raymond Sintes, a pimp and the main character's neighbor. Who pretty much drags Meursault to a lot of his problems. And as a result, due to a certain incident, lands Meursault to prison.
This was first exercised when Meursault was tasked by him to write his cheating mistress a letter, in which he also had a fight with his mistress' brother before consulting Meursault for his assistance here.
Raymond, Meursault, and Masson, who is one of Raymond's friends who are in the beach. Encounter an arab which was associated with Raymond's former mistress. They had a fight in which Raymond was stabbed, and they had a little retreat to a local doctor that Masson knew.
Masson and Raymond were together with the doctor. While Meuersault was with himself. Until he was taken care of the doctor, Raymond wanted to take a stroll outside, without anyone wanting to follow him. Meursault insisted as they arrived together at a small stream in which they both found the arabs they fought some time ago again.
This is the part where Raymond wanted to shoot the arab but was held back by Meursault. But as the duo were chattering more, the arabs vanished as described by
so they retreated back to their hangout place. However, Meursault went back to the stream to where the arabs were there again. And so for no apparent reason. He shoots the arab who stabbed Raymond...
Due to what he did. He was obviously arrested. He was questioned by the authorities at his prison. He was visited by his lawyer, he was also visited by Marie until the prison wouldn't let her and the others no more.
Meursault, confined with nothing but himself inside his cell, he only did what he thought of what was best for himself to kill time. Thinking. He thought (of alot, particularly)...
To answer what I actually did feel about the book. But in one word: Numb.
In a sense that the story felt a little too close to nihilism rather than the author's main theme of absurdism. And this is justified with how unattached Monsieur is to every major event that happens throughout his life. Though it has shifted to something when his life was slowly being taken away by each passing day during his final days before his execution. And by something, It meant that he was able to finally fall into realization of his life gripping away as he begins to reminisce of people he had encountered throughout the story.
