Pioneer of existentialist literature, Nobel Prize winner in Literature
Albert Camus' masterpiece, "The Stranger"
[Le Monde] Selected as the best work of the 20th century!
A work that deals with the absurdity of life and human existence. It shows the true face of oppressive customs and the absurdity of reality.
The Stranger, a representative work of existentialist literature

The Stranger is one of Albert Camus's trilogy of plays of the absurd and his first novel.
From the time of its publication in late May 1942, it received such acclaim that it was considered a literary 'event' and was hailed as the greatest masterpiece since World War II.
The Stranger holds a unique position both as a work in itself and in the history of 20th-century narrative form.
It elevated the young Albert Camus, then 29, to the ranks of world-renowned writers and even won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.


In 1999, as the 20th century was drawing to a close, the prestigious French newspaper Le Monde conducted a poll to select the best work of the past century.
The work that took first place among the 100 nominated works was Albert Camus's "The Stranger."
《The Stranger》 has been translated into 101 languages ​​around the world and is still loved by readers.
Albert Camus, who, along with Sartre, was called a pioneer of existentialist literature by raising questions about human existence and justice, showed the absurdity of life and the world through “The Stranger.”
The outstanding quality of "The Stranger" has sparked controversy over its English translation. It has been translated differently in the US as "Stranger" and in the UK as "Outsider," continuing the endless debate.


The book is divided into two parts.
Part 1 describes Meursault's desires and impromptu actions that unfold over 18 consecutive days, while Part 2 contains the trial process for these impromptu desires and actions.
Camus portrayed the life of Meursault, the narrator of the novel, who is completely alienated from everything around him, and who only comes face to face with himself and the world when he is on the verge of death, revealing a portrait of a lonely modern person living in oppressive customs and absurdity.
Let's take a look at the novel "The Stranger," which was considered difficult to understand due to the protagonist Meursault's actions that do not follow the morals and customs that are taken for granted in our society, through the original 1944 first edition cover design by The Story.

“The objectivity of this work by a new French writer is astonishing!”
_A 1946 New York Times review of The Stranger when it was first published in the United States.

My whole body was tense.
He gripped the pistol firmly in his hand.
The trigger was pulled, and the smooth belly of the pistol hilt was felt.
At that very moment, everything began with a short, ear-piercing sound.
I shook off the sweat and sun.
And I realized that I had broken the balance of midday, the silence of the beach where I had felt happy.
At that moment, I fired four more shots at the motionless Arab.
The bullet was embedded so deep that it was invisible.
It was like four short knocks on the door of misfortune.

--- From "Part 1"

As I realized that I and the world are so similar that we are like brothers, I felt that I was happy before and am happy now.
For everything to be complete, I had only one wish left: that on the day of my execution, a large crowd of onlookers would gather to greet me with shouts of hatred, so that I would feel less alone.

--- From "Part 2"