Recommended by William Isotta
The Outsider by Albert Camus, concerns the life of Meursault, a Bachelor who lives in Algiers, a part of the French Republic.
Meursault is compulsively truthful, even to the point of offending those around him. Indeed the book commences with him receiving the news of the death of his mother, and his response to this is quite shocking to the reader. In the most candid terms he wonders whether his mother died that day or the previous day, as all he has is a telegram from an old people's home. He abandons the thought almost casually as he realises it is only speculation. Indeed this detached and completely truthful attitude extends to admitting to his girlfriend that he does not think he really loves her even when proposing. This attitude soon becomes a liability, however, as a shockingly violent incident calls into question the values of the world as a whole, which seem vastly different to those of Meursault himself.
One of the most distinctive features of this book is its almost flat tone, with even shocking events being described by simple, short and unambiguous sentences. Indeed this gives us an insight into the mind of Meursault himself, displaying his lack of emotion. Meursault's centrality to the plot is distinctive, and allows us to see events almost exclusively through his eyes. His life, and the alienation which he suffers from others, in the end comes down to one simple thing - Meursault cannot lie. In this way Camus provides an insight into the way that society functions, and a strong argument as to why this is fundamentally flawed - that life is built on deception.
Overall the book is an interesting one, and although not a light read it is not unreadable either. The book is not suited to those who read novels primarily for excitement, as although the plot is relatively fast moving to skim over it without allowing it to provoke thought about society would be to ignore all that makes it an exceptional work.
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