The Stranger
I am quickly easing my way through The Stranger by Albert Camus. It was recommended by Noah Lukeman in his book as something to read through to study narration. And it is an interesting, bare bones narration that is devoid of the usual emotional involvement. This is astonishing, not because I usually read chick lit which is chalk full of emotion, but because emotional events are happening to this man and he seems more concerned with the heat. For example, his mother dies, his girlfriend asks him to marry him, he witnesses abuse, and he shoots a man. And he is rather removed from it all.
So who is this guy? How can he be so indifferent and polite about what is happening in his life? For example, when asked if he was nervous about being on trial, he says ‘no’ as “the prospect of witnessing a trial rather interested me; I’d never had occasion to attend one before.” In a move of genius, Camus doesn’t let on why the protagonist is so removed until you are hooked into the story.
It is true that I am not yet finished the book and that the protagonist is starting to show some emotion during his trial, but his emotions are in relation to others. For example, he feels emotion when he realises that everyone in the courtroom despises him and when he realises that the pimp is indeed his friend. That’s what makes him emotional. Otherwise, he seems to be a ’stranger’ to his emotions and to himself.
Intriguing, very intriguing and how he manages to convey it all so simply and with so few words.
