Albert Camus

Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.

The Stranger

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr Rieux, resist the terror. An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence. An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

The Plague

The Outsider or The Stranger (French: L'Etranger) is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as exemplars of Camus's philosophy of the absurd and existentialism, though Camus personally rejected the latter label. The titular character is Meursault, an indifferent French Algerian ("a citizen of France domiciled in North Africa, a man of the Mediterranean, an homme du midi yet one who hardly partakes of the traditional Mediterranean culture"), who, after attending his mother's funeral, apathetically kills an Arab man whom he recognises in French Algiers. The story is divided into two parts, presenting Meursault's first-person narrative view before and after the murder, respectively. In January 1955, Camus wrote: "I summarized The Stranger a long time ago, with a remark I admit was highly paradoxical: 'In our society any man who does not weep at his mother's funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death.' I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game."

A man's confessions reveal his perception of justice and his own downfall

The Fall

Penguin Modern Classics

The Myth of Sisyphus

One of the most influential works of this century, this is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide: the question of living or not living in an absurd universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Camus posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity

The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays

The author traces the ways in which the theories of philosophers such as Rousseau, Hegel and Marx have been misused.

An Essay on Man in Revolt

The Rebel

In many ways this work can be seen as a first sketch for Camus's renowned early novel, The Outsider, but it can also be viewed as a candid self-portrait, drawing on Camus's memories of his youth, travels and early relationships.

A Happy Death

Jean-Paul Sartre

Four seminal plays by one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. An existential portrayal of Hell in Sartre's best-known play, as well as three other brilliant, thought-provoking works: the reworking of the Electra-Orestes story, the conflict of a young intellectual torn between theory and conflict, and an arresting attack on American racism.

No Exit and Three Other Plays

«Quand la sonnerie a encore retenti, que la porte du box s'est ouverte, c'est le silence de la salle qui est monté vers moi, le silence, et cette singulière sensation que j'ai eue lorsque j'ai constaté que le jeune journaliste avait détourné les yeux. Je n'ai pas regardé du côté de Marie. Je n'en ai pas eu le temps parce que le président m'a dit dans une forme bizarre que j'aurais la tête tranchée sur une place publique au nom du peuple français.»

L'étranger est le premier roman d'Albert Camus, Prix Nobel de littérature en 1957.

L’étranger

To create today is to create dangerously. Any publication is an act, and that act exposes one to the passions of an age that forgives nothing' Camus's powerful essay, which is as important today as ever, argues against 'art for art's sake', while his Nobel Prize speech brilliantly sets out his vision of the artist's role and responsibilities.

Create Dangerously

The author's personal beliefs and his reactions to the major issues of his lifetime are reflected in these selected writings

Resistance, Rebellion, and Death

The first man

Exile and the kingdom

roman

Yabanci

الغريب

Valerie Rumjanek

Este livro traz a história de um argelino que trabalha num escritório em Paris e, em consequência de situações absurdas, mata um árabe.

O Estrangeiro

L'Étranger | The Stranger | The Outsider

El extranjero es una de las obras mas relevantes del escritor frances Albert Camus. Esta obra transcurre en Argelia, a mediados del siglo XX y narra la historia de Meursault -personaje central- quien, pese a cualquier acontecimiento, sea bueno o malo, se muestra como un ser indiferente a la reali-dad por resultarle absurda e inabordable. Para Meursault, el progreso tecnologico le ha privado de la participacion en las decisiones colectivas y le ha convertido en "extranjero" dentro de lo que deberia ser su propio entorno. Todo comienza con la muerte de su madre y asi, Meursault, quien se encontraba por el momento en la ciudad de Argel, y en donde desempena un trabajo sin ambicion y sin futuro, viviendo una vida sin metas ni deseos, se ve obligado a viajar unos cuantos kilometros para hacer presencia en el funeral de su madre. Alli muestra una actitud poco usual para la mayoria de las gentes que lo juzgan como un ser frio e inhumano, dado que no muestra dolor alguno ni preocupacion por la tragedia que acontece y en cambio solo se fija en el cansancio que siente y se queja del calor que lo abruma. De regreso a Argel, su vida no cambia y su pesadez empeora. Meursault es entonces el resultado de su vida, creada a imagen y semejanza de una sociedad ajena, distante y amarga. Es un personaje cuya actitud y sentimientos refleja absoluta indiferencia frente a cualquier condicion humana: ni la muerte de su madre, o las vicisitudes de su amigo Raymond, el afecto de su novia Maria, el apoyo de su jefe o, lo que es igual o mas sorprendente, su total indiferencia frente al desquiciado acto de asesinar a otra persona, hecho que le genera un juicio y, con merecida logica, una desdichada condena.

Albert Camus

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