Stranger, The

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.

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."

-- Brings together the best criticism on the most widely read poets, novelists, and playwrights -- Presents complex critical portraits of the most influential writers

Presents a myriad of viewpoints, so that modern readers can begin to grasp the complexities of Camus.

Entries feature: a brief introduction to the work; discussion of the work's historical setting; an overview of the events of the time that the work was written; and the work in focus.

These essays on L'Etranger celebrate its continuing influence throughout the world. Contributors come from Algeria, Samoa, India, Russia, France, Britain and the United States. Included are essays by prominent French and English-language authors for whom the novel has been an influential expression of contemporary sensibility.

Since its publication in France in 1942, Camus's novel has been translated into sixty languages and sold more than six million copies.

Few figures of twentieth-century French culture carry such an air of romance and intrigue as Albert Camus.

Filled with sharp observations and sparkling with telling details, here is a wonderfully human portrait of the Nobel Prize-winning writer, who died at the age of forty-six and who remains one of the most influential literary figures of our time.