Very good author, one of the originators of existentialism and the absurd. His The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus are two of the best works I've ever read. Any fans?

I read the Stranger in High School, didn't really think much of it

Originators? Not quite true.

But anyway, The Stranger struck me down when I first read it -- at the time, it was such a different reading experience. Truly a great book...

In terms of existentialism being a more popular form of expression, I'd credit Camus, especially The Myth of Sisyphus. But it's cool if I'm wrong.

Under this umbrella, I agree...

I'm a fan. The Stranger is pretty great, especially. I think he cuts right to the heart of existentialism with that passage in the middle of the book, when Mersault is deciding whether or not to shoot the Arab. I don't have time to find it now, but I'll try to post it later.

The movement itself started long before Camus, inspired mainly by the works of Kierkegaard and then Hegel and Heidegger. If you're interested in existentialism, or at least its founding principals check out L'Existentialisme est un humanisme by Sartre. Although bear in mind that because of his Communist tendencies, Sartre often tries to reconcile existentialism with Communism so there are often discrepancies between his political and philosophical views. See The Age of Reason for an example of these discrepancies.

Camus is, to me, one of the greatest authors. The Fall and Exile and The Kingdom the latter being a collection of his short stories, are engaging and wonderful to read and I'd highly recommend them both.

Henri Bergson is also fascinating, as long as you don't mind losing a few days.

faaaantastic

What about The Outsider?

The Stranger was an excellent read. I had no idea that one of my favorite Cure songs had been written about it until a friend pointed it out.

At the time I read The Stranger, I didn't really connect w/ it. But since then, I've often come back to the stuff (and correct me if I'm screwy on the details here....it's been years) regarding Mersault's seeming lack of emotion of his mother's (?) death. I've often wondered if I'd be able to cry or show the emotion I was feeling in such a situation, and if not, how that might indict me (not literally indicted, but I'm sure you know what I mean).

You mean, in America the title is translated as THE STRANGER?????? Wow. It is The Outsider here. That explains The Law in the Kafka thread.

i've been meaning to read The Stranger for a while now but last time i looked for it in the library i couldn't find a copy in english. i just read a review of matthew lamb's 'left, right, what's wrong' what had some interesting insights into camus. now i'm thinking i may read the rebel first instead. has anyone read it? thoughts?

Hmmm, other than The Stranger, I've heard The Plague is his best. Also read The Myth of Sisyphus, it's short but fantastic. That's wack that you can't find The Stranger.

i found plenty of copies in french

Should I take this out from the library?

Here it is BP, it's only a short essay.

http://stripe.colorado.edu/~morristo/sisyphus.html

Thank you.

Great man, expanded on the themes in more of human and in more detail the phliosophy of Sarte, Neitzche, and ....churchyard, I can't spell his real name, love his work though.

i ended up buying the rebel last week. i'll probably start on it tomorrow night.