Book Review; The Outsider by Albert Camus

• Read: 25/12/21 - 26/12/21

• Format: Physical

• Spoiler free: Yes

• My rating: ★★★★★

“𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.“

In The Outsider we follow a segment of Meursault’s mundane life after the death of his mother, and it is clear from the first line that our main protagonist is fairly unique in his manner of thinking. Meursault is a man of few words and even fewer emotions; his apathetic approach towards his day to day leads many observing him to silently question his true intentions. Alongside these characters, the reader also gets to observe and judge Meursault on an intimate level.

Being privy to his inner thought process, the reader can appreciate the authenticity of his absurdist philosophy on life. However, when the time comes for Meursault’s character is to be judged publicly, the masses reject his personal philosophy, and for the flaw of indifference he pays a great price.

Within the 100 or so pages of this novella Camus contends with major philosophical themes, including, the other, authenticity, morality, existentialism and judgement. Meursault is an honest man who ends up at the mercy of strangers’ perceptions of him. Through the eyes of these strangers, Camus highlights the unjust biases of society, as our protagonists lack of emotion and tactless nature outweighs his fundamental truth.

This novel is now one of my favourites of all time. If you enjoy fast-paced yet reflective reads, you will not regret picking this one up!