The Stranger by Albert Camus is one of the most widely read novels in the world. It was originally published in French in 1942 and then translated into English as well. After its publication, thousands of copies were sold all over the world.
The novel presents Albert Camus's theory of absurdism, which says that the whole world is useless, and he also doesn't believe in this world.
The narrator of this story kills an Arab in the desert to save his life. He is brought to court by police officers on trial. He is ready to confess his crime in front of all the people and is ready for any sort of punishment, but the jury has different intentions, and he is flabbergasted when officers start questioning him about his mother, who died a few days ago. They blame him for not weeping at his mother's funeral. He might be forgiven for his crime, but he could not be pardoned for not crying when his mother died. He is ghastly criticised by all the members of the jury because he went to the pool and watched a funny movie with his girlfriend after his mother's death. After a few days of hearings, the court announces his death sentence, and no one has tried to find the elicit facts, as they are mentioned in the text book.
"After being charged with murder, he executed because he didn't weep at his mother's funeral. "
After suffering throughout his whole life and witnessing the deplorable behaviour of others, he no longer believes in God. His heart got badly broken, and the existence of God has no importance to him anymore.
The importance of memories is another big theme in this novel. Memories are very important in life, and they last forever, even till death. I must say:
Life without memories is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
When he is sent to jail, he has only the memories of his life and spends his time remembering the beautiful moments of life and the time he spent with his beloved ones. As it is written in the novel:
"I have learned that even after a single day's experience of the outside world, a man could easily live hundreds years in prison "
To conclude, the novel is a wonderful piece of literature because it explores the real events of the writer's life and contains some important lessons for others. That's why reading this book would be a good idea.