Camus, like the other existentialists, was convinced that nihilism was the most vexing problem of the twentieth century. Although he argues passionately that individuals could endure its corrosive effects, his most famous works betray the extraordinary difficulty he faced building a convincing case. In The Stranger (1942), for example, Meursault has rejected the existential suppositions on which the uninitiated and weak rely. Just moments before his execution for a gratuitous murder, he discovers that life alone is reason enough for living, a raison d’être, however, that in context seems scarcely convincing.*

Since I’ve decided to give in and embrace my nihilism, I thought it would be a good time to go back and re-read Camus. I read his three major works (The Stranger, The Plague, and The Fall) when I was a young man living in Southern California. They were a big influence on my life but obviously not enough to turn me away from nihilism.

The Stranger, upon which the song “Killing an Arab” by The Cure is based, is a short novel divided into two parts. Part one carries the reader up to the deadly act, while part two deals with the aftermath.

I enjoy part one for the details leading up to the murder, especially the final scene and the descriptions of the heat and the sea, but I find the main character turns into a doofus in the second part of the book. During the trial for the murder of the Arab, the main character seems to have no clue what is going on, where he is, or the impact of what is happening. He is much too passive during the trial, almost as if he’s watching it from afar.

Part two of The Stranger could have been stronger if the main character would have spoken for his act and placed it in context of his supposed nihilism. He didn’t seem to be nihilistic, just naive and unconcerned. There’s a huge difference.

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