Albert Camus

the-outsider

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

Letters 1944-1959

A Short Guide to Towns Without a Past

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-modern-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Linked_text&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Modern_Classics_Series_26_06">Choose 3 timeless classics for only £21 over on the Penguin Shop</a>

Manga Edition

The Outsider

A study in drama and documentary

Albert Camus: The Plague, The Outsider & more

Caligula and Three Other Plays

The Fall

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-clothbound-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Banner&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Clothbound_Series_26_06" target="_blank">Buy 3 classics for £33 on the Penguin Shop</a>

Lectures and Speeches 1937-58

Speaking Out

Reflections on the Guillotine

Committed Writings

Personal Writings

The Plague

Create Dangerously

The Rebel

The First Man

A Happy Death

Caligula and Other Plays

The Sea Close By

The Myth of Sisyphus

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

Meursault leads an unremarkable, bachelor life in Algiers, but his sudden involvement in a violent confrontation throws him into turmoil as he is forced to question the fundamental values of society. Camus creates a world without a God but a society that is still subject to restrictive, man-made rules capable of alienating any who transcend them. 
 
In this most memorable of existential novels, Camus pits the lone and courageous individual against the benign indifference of the universe. Meursault's deception perfectly reflects the absurdity of life.

The Outsider is an enduring classic of existential writing by Albert Camus 
 
'Mother died today. 
Or maybe yesterday, I don't know' 
 
Meursault is different. He will not lie. He will not pretend. 
He is true to himself. 
 
So when his mother dies and he is unmoved, he refuses to do the proper thing and grieve. Returning to Algiers after the funeral, he carries on life as usual until he becomes involved in a violent murder. 
 
In court, it is clear that Meursault's guilt or innocence will not be determined by what he did or did not do. 
 
He is on trial for being different - an outsider. 
 
'The story of a beach murder, one of the century's classic novels. Blood and sand' J.G. Ballard 
 
'A compelling, dreamlike fable' Guardian 
 
Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913. He studied philosophy in Algiers and then worked in Paris as a journalist. He was one of the intellectual leaders of the Resistance movement and, after the War, established his international reputation as a writer. His books include The Plague, The Just and The Fall, and he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Camus was killed in a road accident in 1960.

Albert Camus (1913-60) grew up in a working-class neighbourhood in Algiers. He studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, and became a journalist. His most important works include The Outsider, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Plague and The Fall. After the occupation of France by the Germans in 1941, Camus became one of the intellectual leaders of the Resistance movement. He was killed in a road accident, and his last unfinished novel, The First Man, appeared posthumously.

The Outsider

Format:

Buy the book from:

About Albert Camus

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter