The Stranger

Who it's for

Meursault doesn't cry at his mother's funeral, and at his trial for killing a man the prosecution dwells far more on that than on the killing itself.

Feelings it meets

• Masking
• Existential Anxiety
• Social Conformity
• Mortality
• Emotional Suppression

What it is

Albert Camus's 1942 novel, also published in English as The Outsider, follows Meursault, an emotionally detached man in French Algeria who shows little visible grief at his mother's funeral. He begins a relationship with Marie and becomes entangled in his neighbor Raymond's conflict, which leads to him shooting an Arab man on a beach.

Where to find it

In print in several translations; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain in the US.

Before you start

Heads up: A killing and domestic violence.

Age: Ages 14+

We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask”