The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942)

A diffident, unexceptional man is involved in a senseless murder in Algeria.

Book Review:  The Stranger is a short philosophical novel, that happily lives in the space between puzzling and thought provoking. This may be a litmus test for readers, as at times I wondered if I was reading ideas into the book that weren't there. For example, at the end when M. is contemplating eternity, I felt he was perhaps, maybe, kind of, sort of, in a way wishing that he'd been more active in defending himself, so as to not find himself in that position. But by the last paragraph that thought seems to have vanished.  One element of the book is clearly M's passivity. And M's thoughts periodically return to his mother throughout the book -- this seems to undercut Camus' existential intent. Being an existential novel, there is some sense that The Stranger is a blank canvas on which readers can project their own variously inculcated moral, ethical, and cultural values that the book rejects.  I could write a book of the same size to discuss all the ideas contained in here. Interestingly, the book was not as it had been often described to me before I read it -- the legend differed from the reality. I read the Matthew Ward "Americanized" translation, which he justifies in that apparently Camus said he used an "American method" in writing The Stranger. Unable to read French, I'll go along with him except for one important word in the context of the novel: "Maman," which is apparently French and a child's word for "mother." I would not have known that without reading the initial Note, but why isn't it translated? That's the job. A child's word for mother varies, is it mum, mummy, mama, mommy, mom, or something else?  It means nothing to me in French, less useful even than "mother."  Other than that I generally found the translation readable.  To get even more from this, I'm thinking of reading Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus for more background.  The Stranger is astonishing, both in how subtle and quiet it is, and how it can instantly stir a thousand thoughts.  And it's a quick and easy way to read a genuine classic. [4 Stars]