Stranger - by Washeq

A very 'unemotional' summary of The Stranger. Therefore, I liked it a lot.

The Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus. The story is about Meursault, a man who is very indifferent to the events going around him. 

        At the beginning of the story we learn that Meurasult's mother has just died and he has gone to attend her funeral. Meursault has to take two days off to go to his mother's funeral in her old home which he put her in. He doesn't feel any remorse and sheds no tears, neither does he want to see his deceased mother's face. As his mother is to be buried in the morning, Meursault spends the night beside her mothers coffin drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. He thinks that it is absurd that people close to her mother are crying for her. On returning from the old home he goes swimming where he meets Marie, a former typist at his workplace. They go out to see a comedy film and have intercourse at night. Next Meursault meets Raymond, a man everyone knows as a pimp. Meursault helps him write a letter so that Raymond can beat up a Moor girl. Meursault sees nothing wrong with this and Raymond convinces him that the woman had betrayed him. Meursault then helps Raymond plead innocent at court. Meursault and Marie go to the beach to visit Raymond's friend where they are accosted by the moor lady's brother. Meursault and the others at first succeed in scaring off the brother when Raymond threatens them with his gun. At one point Meursault takes Raymond's gun and goes for a walk. By chance he meets the the moor lady's brother. The man draws a knife and in haste Meursault fires multiple shots and kills the man. 

      The real story begins as Meursault is arrested and taken to prison. He says that he is innocent and he fired the shots impulsively. However, the lawyers and judges are more interested by his personal life and his mother's death. Meursault says he put his mother away in a home because he could not afford to keep her with him. The prosecution lawyer puts forward his nonchalant behavior in front of the court and calls him a "soulless monster", the prosecutor lawyer believes that due to this behavior he will resort to much larger crimes. Meursault and his friends try to plead that his intentions were not wrong but the judge doesn't believe him, he is sentenced to be executed. Before his execution a chaplain comes to him and tells him to pray to God. Meursault says that he doesn't want to waste his time on God and believes people will move on if he dies, and that everyone must die one time or another. His last hopes are that a large crowd will come to witness his execution.

      The story shows how the society ill treats Meursault just because of his straightforward and very unemotional way of thinking. However it is also very hard to argue that he was wrongly executed. Because he might have been involved in future crimes just because his friends convinced him that it was right. Thanks for suggesting the book.