Existential dread, here we come! This is a dangerous book for those who just want to get by in everyday life without delving too deep into the absurdity of life. The book’s protagonist, Meursault, is similar in that he only seems to apathetically drift through life until suddenly confronted by his own mortality in the form of a possible death sentence for a motiveless murder he committed. He is indifferent to death and life because eventually it all ends anyway without any action carrying any permanent significance in the long run up until eternity. It is only when personally facing probable death of his own that his indifference starts crumbling. Eventually, however, he forces himself to confront it as he realizes that even if he got pardoned now, he would merely gain a few more decades of life, after which he will have to face his mortality anyway. It is this observation of life mostly consisting of avoidance of the inevitable, denial of death, that will transform the reader’s worldview and ignite the existential crisis that this book is prone to bring to the sensitive, deeply thinking philosopher types. I am personally still trying to grapple with the gut-twisting hollowness that simply thinking about death and eternity brings about. Philosophical suicide in the form of a leap of faith becomes very tempting but is ultimately unsatisfying. So, through this simple observation Camus essentially forces the reader to an existential chrisis, which can only be resolved through either developing one’s own, robust personal philosophy or by actively distracting oneself for the rest of their lives.

The book, as a piece of literature is not among the finest, most eloquently written works and might, on the first read through even seem a bit boring, comical and unrelateble at times. However, the substance of the book lies in its characters, plot and contradictions and the implicit philosophical questions and messages arising from them. As usual, however, there are way more questions than answers. With the second read through, even the more peculiar aspects started to grow on me and I started to appreciate how well it is actually written for its purpose. The blunt, detached narration reflects Meursault’s character whereas the past tense and other little details expose the contradictions in his thinking and being.

Recommending this book is not as straightforward as one would think. You will certainly have it easier not having read “The Stranger” let alone having internalized its message if you are not yet haunted by fear or fascination of death. However, if you have already lost many night’s sleep pondering the absurdity of life and the eternity of death, this book presents a sort of solution, albeit an unsatisfactory one. If you feel no inclination to open the paralyzing gates of existential dread and are content and happy avoiding the topic, I might advise you to do so because after this book it is too late. On the other hand, it introduces a lot of other valuable points of consideration such as the value and consequences of absolute honesty, truthfulness and integrity in contrast to societal norms and standards going into questions such as what makes a human, which is why I would like to recommend it to everybody. Also, I need people to share my own existential angst with. In summary, I most definitely recommend it to all philosophy-inclined as well as to those who take everyday life a bit too seriously. Be warned, however, this is one of those life-changing books.