This novella is, alongside "Le Petit Prince" of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, one of the most influential piece of France. If, like me, you're a native, you had at least one lesson dedicated analyzing the opening scene.

But what is it about?

Well, Albert Camus, who was a journalist and one that made many enemies throughout his career, decided to create a story based on this concept: "Show just how absurd society is, through the eyes of someone that doesn't understand it."

Obviously you have the sentence: "Today mom has died, or yesterday I don't remember." This first part is literally just Meursault going to his mother's funeral without actually understanding why he even goes, and showing no compassion whatsoever. He's judged for not crying due to his resolve to not lie about his feelings.

(By the way, Meursault is actually from Algeria. Fun trivia.)

Think it's fucked? Well you certainly haven't met Raymond Sintès!

Just to resume: Meursault falls in love with a girl named Marie, they go to the cinema, and it goes well. Then his neighbor, Raymond, who's a pimp and Meursault's only friend, asks him to help him write a letter to talk shit about his mistress whom he just brutalized since he doesn't want that girl's brother to come after him. (Yeah this guy is the worst, and it's funny because he's basically a super fucked up version of the best friend trope.)

Meursault proceeds to do so.

Then next week Raymond beats his mistress again to the point that the police has to intervene. He calls Meursault to advocate his innocence which he does. (Each time Meursault simply wonders if he does the right thing without ever really being fazed.)

Marie asks if Meursault wants to marry her and his response is basically: "It's not important but I don't mind." which weirds her out a bit.

Then they get invited to Masson's creek, a friend of Raymond that lives nearby a beach, and they have a party. But then, they cross path with two Arabic guys, one of whom is the aforementioned brother of the mistress, and Meursault demands that Raymond gives him his gun to prevent a tragedy.

Fast-forward a bit: After the fight, Meursault finds the guy with a knife, and shoots him dead once before shooting four additional holes in his inert body. His reason? The Sun was draining him, and sweat troubled his vision.

The second part of the novella is Meursault's trial and it's the most lunatic thing I've ever read. Basically, his lawyer is extremely uncomfortable at Meursault's blunt honesty and childish reasoning. Especially since Meursault still holds no regret, only boredom at the whole procedure. When he explains his reasoning everybody mocks him, and he just feels excluded from the whole procedure.

When sentenced to death, he yells at the priest, enraged, while the poor man was just saying he would pray for his soul. In the end, Meursault finds peace in his death. Hoping everyone will be here to see it.

That's it, and honestly it's a wild ride.

Just to make it clear, while many of my classmates at the time tried to explain Meursault's behavior as being sociopathic, or that of a serial killer, (Similar to that of "Jean-Baptiste Grenouille" in "Das Parfum") which is fair. You have to remember that the goal of the novel is first and foremost, philosophical unlike the aforementioned German one.

It's really done to show what would happen if something as irrational as human behavior and society were to be analyzed by someone who holds almost no emotion and can always detaches himself from the rest. (The desire to understand vs The absurdity of the world.)

Edit: Also "Meursault" = "Meurt sot" = "Die a fool"