Books The Stranger by Albert Camus (Author), Matthew Ward (Translator)

The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, is a classic existentialist novella first published in 1942. It tells the story of Meursault, a French Algerian who lives a detached, emotionally indifferent life. The novel opens with Meursault's reaction to his mother's death, marked by an almost cold acceptance rather than grief. Following this, he engages in a casual relationship and becomes involved in a violent conflict on a beach that leads to him killing an unnamed Arab man.

The narrative is split into two parts. The first portrays Meursault’s ordinary but emotionally disconnected life and the circumstances leading up to the murder. The second focuses on his trial, where the court is more concerned with his lack of conventional emotions, especially his failure to show remorse or grief, than with the actual act of murder. Meursault is sentenced to death, and in his final reflections, he embraces the absurdity and indifference of life and the universe, rejecting religious consolation.