The Stranger by Albert Camus

A story about a very apathetic man named, Mersault, living in Algiers. He goes through a series of, what would normally be, rather important/intense events, yet he's very indifferent towards each of them. This novel falls in line with absurdism, the philosophy that any efforts in finding meaning in existence and the universe is meaningless. [Not to be confused with the idea that life itself is meaningless] Throughout the book, Mersault displays these emotions, or lack thereof. Not grieving over the loss of his mother, willing to marry Marie just because it pleased her, having no regret in killing someone, all because it really made no difference in the end. However, he was happy with his life. There's a part where he talks about how it doesn't matter when you die because everyone dies at some point and there are those who live and the world carries on as it did before. Just because someone doesn't believe in an afterlife doesn't mean existence is meaningless for him/her. I think understanding there is a "benign indifference of the universe" makes you in tune with existence and humanity because you're seeing it for what it is.

I want to get my hands on Camus' essay detailing his absurdism philosophy: The Myth of Sisyphus.

Anyways, this book was a quick read. Too bad some things get lost in translation. Even the title being translated to The Stranger rather than The Outsider or The Foreigner gives off a different feel.

One thing I looooove about books is that they're so invasive and private at the same time. You're basically digging into the thoughts of the writer, her ideology, her core. And not to mention the smell of really old books, the sound of plastic covers on library books, or the feel of cracking a spine for the first time. Baaah I really want to join a book club. I don't think I'm getting as much out of a reading as I could... you know, like in English class when you spend weeks dissecting a book. In Mr. Souza's class we practically spent the entire period on just the first page of The Grapes of Wrath. I miss that.