The Stranger

The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes.  That's when everything began to reel.  The sea carried up a thick, fiery breath. It seemed to me as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire.  My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver...  I shook off the sweat and sun.  I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy.

Part I, Chapter 6

Albert Camus

There's something haunting about reading a book by candlelight, especially if it's this one.  Shortly after I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I picked up The Stranger (L'Etranger).  Although it was a quick read, I took my time pausing in between events examining the actions of the main character and his indifference to people and the world around him.  I questioned so many things in this novel.  That's what a good book is suppose to do to us readers, right?  At the end they were all answered, it all made sense.  I can't share too much here since Matthew will be reading this too. 

An interesting little fact: Are you familiar with 80's punk music?  If so, I'm sure you remember The Cure's first single from the album Standing on the Beach which was derived from this novel.