another book report

   The name of the book is the stranger written by Albert Camus. This book has 123 pages and the publisher is Vintage International. The book was translated from the French by Matthew Ward. Librairie Gallimard first published the book in 1942. The back cover of the book in formed that was published in English in 1946. I also read that Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. One of the main characters are Meursault, he is seen as an outsider of the world since he is detached from all the sentimental value. When his mother dies he does not grieve, and when a woman falls in love with him he simply does not care. Instead of caring about right and wrong, he is amoral. Towards the end of the book however he finds peace within himself and the society around him. Another main character is Raymond Sintes who is a major part of the novels plot. He basically puts things into motion. After he abuses his mistress he begins to have trouble with her brother who is an Arab. He draws Meursault into the conflict with the Arab, this all leads to Meursault killing another Arab. A minor character of the story was Marie Cardona who was in a relationship with Meursault. Another minor character is Masson, he is one of Raymond’s friends. He invited them to his summer home. This is when the situation with the Arab occurred. The Stranger is a novel. The book takes place in Algeria in the early 1940s. Meursault, one of the main characters is a detached young man. the day after his mother died he started a relationship with another character named Marie, without grieving or anything. People found it very odd that he didn’t show emotion for his own mother. Since he is amoral he helps his friend Raymond to write a letter to his mistress. Raymond wants the mistress to come back so he can punish her more. When they go to their friend, Masson summer home, controversy begins with an Arab. Meursault is soon alone with the Arab and kills him with the gun that belonged to Raymond. Since it seems he’s so cold blooded he is immediately convicted.  He has dreams of him being free while he is in his cell awaiting his execution. In the end, he learns to embrace the fact that human exisistence holds no greater meaning. My final thought on The Stranger, is that it was a little boring at first but after a while I got into the book. And I ended up liking it. It was interesting to read about a character like Meursault. Since he is so indifferent and unusual, I found it refreshing to read about him. What ends up catching me in the end is that Meursault does not want to die. He actually dreams for an appeal. Which is why I find it peculiar yet ravishing to read of. I guess the weak point of the book for me was his indifference towards the people in his life. Meursault embraced an idea that the chaplain told him and he was quite happy with it. I feel that in order to like the book, you need to get into it and to just keep reading, because it takes time getting into. I would recommend this book to patient readers.