Has anyone read any Albert Camus? He was a magnificent french author and you can find translations of his books, short stories and essays here in the US all over the place.
I read "The Stranger," his first novel, recently and it was one of the most enlightening novels I've read. It did not so much as shine a new philosophical light on me as it did reinforce with stronger words what I already had believed myself. The novel explores "absurdism," closely related to existentialism, and it is the story of a man who commits a fairly useless murder and faces trial for it. There are two translations--the first was done by Stuart Gilbert in 1946, the second by Matthew Ward in 1989 (forgive me if my dates are wrong, I'm typing from the brain here). I recommend the Stuart Gilbert translation (I have read both) and the more formal tone comes off as easier to read, as well as a pleasing fit to the character of Meursault.
I've picked up The Plague, Camus's second novel, and am going to begin reading it shortly. If you love symbolism and philosophy in writing, you'll love this guy. Fans of Sartre, Dostoevsky, Kafka--I recommend Camus, though if you like these writers you have most likely heard of Camus.
I read "The Stranger," his first novel, recently and it was one of the most enlightening novels I've read. It did not so much as shine a new philosophical light on me as it did reinforce with stronger words what I already had believed myself. The novel explores "absurdism," closely related to existentialism, and it is the story of a man who commits a fairly useless murder and faces trial for it. There are two translations--the first was done by Stuart Gilbert in 1946, the second by Matthew Ward in 1989 (forgive me if my dates are wrong, I'm typing from the brain here). I recommend the Stuart Gilbert translation (I have read both) and the more formal tone comes off as easier to read, as well as a pleasing fit to the character of Meursault.
I've picked up The Plague, Camus's second novel, and am going to begin reading it shortly. If you love symbolism and philosophy in writing, you'll love this guy. Fans of Sartre, Dostoevsky, Kafka--I recommend Camus, though if you like these writers you have most likely heard of Camus.
) and know I liked it a lot more. I like how Camus describes the life in town, how every person gets a face, but also the inescapability of the city and of the plague. If it wasn't that sad it would be funny 
I like his writing, though in (English) translation it DOES tend to sound too hard-sell for Existentialism. 