Without beating around the bush, Camus sets the tone of his novella with the line, "Mother died today". The Outsider, or The Stranger, introduces Meursault, an Algerian-born French whose mother died in a home, and how he continued with his humdrum daily life as nothing of any significance had happened recently, leading him eventually to commit an unplanned act of violence.
The prose is straightforward, painfully descriptive, and somewhat prosaic. Personally, I found it hard to relate to the protagonist. Even though he exhibits a rational and realistic approach to viewing the world, he lacks imagination, creativity, and aspirations for the future. It comes as no surprise since Meursault is the outcome of viewing the world as inherently meaningless and with no purpose, which is basically what the book is trying to communicate.
The Outsider is praised as one of the most influential books of the 20th century. I can imagine why since it was released in a time when talking about the absurdity of life was unheard of and even taboo.
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