CityPages Kuwait June 2016 Issue June 2016 | Page 97
BOOK CLUB
THE OUTSIDER
This month's pick is a type of book
I haven't tapped into before. It is a
philosophical fiction story that was
written in the 1940s; and what is more
impressive is that the author of this novel
is a winner of a Noble Prize in literature.
The Outsider (1942) was written by FrenchAlgerian author Albert Camus. Albert
was a journalist, author and philosopher, his views
contributed to the rise of a philosophical school of
thought known as the absurdism which refers to
conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent
value and meaning in life and the human inability to
find any. In this context absurd does not mean "logically
impossible", but rather "humanly impossible" which
surfaced in the 1800s. Albert won the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 1957 and he was the second youngest
person ever to win the prize. He had written other
well-known titles such as The Rebel (1951), The Plague
(1947) and The Fall (1956). He also wrote some plays
such as Caligula (1938) which was later performed in
1945, as well as, The Misunderstanding (1944), The
State of Siege (1948) and The Possessed (1959).
The Outsider tells a story of a man who did not get
affected by his mother's death and everyone was
surprised by his lack of emotions. Later he commits
a random act of violence and the society does not
understand why does he not have any regret and his
lack of emotions only makes him look even more guilty
in their eyes. This book was adapted into a film under
the title The Strange in 1967.
This book explains the feeling of how someone could
be living in a society yet feel like an outsider; he does
not understand the environment and they do not
understand his way of thinking, his ideas and views on
life. The Outsider (1942) although it is a short story, it
is truly life changing in a literary way and if the story
does not make sense to any of the readers out there,
Albert Camus himself will explain what was going
through his mind when he wrote it at the end of the
book with a letter he wrote himself. I hope you enjoy
it like I did.
Nada Soliman
Meet Nada, our team member is
simply a book savvy. Every month
Nada picks her favourite book and
shares with you its review. Please
feel free to contact Nada to discuss
your opinion or ask her opinion on
your favourite book or author.
[email protected]
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