The Stranger

Name: The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus

Albert Camus

Enter the mind of an emotionally detached man whose choices challenge conventional ideas of morality, freedom, and authentic living.

18 min7 Chapters

Listen to the intro

1:35

Outline

What's it about?

The Stranger (1942) is a short novel narrated by Meursault, a French clerk in Algiers who responds to life with striking emotional detachment. After an act of violence on a beach, he is put on trial, and the court seems to judge him as much for his indifference as for his crime. Albert Camus uses the story to explore the absurd, the search for meaning, and society’s expectations of how people should feel.

Key ideas

The Stranger is a short novel from 1942, narrated by Meursault, a French clerk living in Algiers.
Meursault responds to life with a striking emotional detachment that sets him apart from the people around him.
After an act of violence on a beach, he is put on trial.
The court seems to judge him as much for his indifference as for his crime.
Camus uses the story to explore the absurd, the search for meaning, and society's expectations of how people should feel.

About the author

Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French novelist, essayist, and playwright born in Algeria. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, one of the youngest writers to do so. His other works include The Plague and The Myth of Sisyphus.

Questions people ask

What is The Stranger by Albert Camus about?

It follows Meursault, an emotionally detached French clerk in Algiers, who is put on trial after an act of violence on a beach. The court seems to judge his indifference as much as his crime.

What is the main idea of The Stranger?

Camus uses Meursault's story to explore the absurd, the search for meaning, and the way society expects people to feel in certain situations.

How long is the Durar summary of The Stranger?

The Durar summary takes about 15 minutes to read or listen to. It is a quick way to grasp the story and its central themes before or instead of reading the full novel.