The story began with the death of protagonist's (Mersault is what I'd gathered after flipping through the pages again) mother and how unfeeling Mersault was at her funeral. In later part of the story, Mersault explained that his attention and feelings were always more centered towards his physical wellness. He couldn't grieve because he was feeling tired from all the travelling and lack of sleep, and that he had just been anxious to get back home.
Right after his mother's funeral, Mersault hooked up with Marie, and after a string of events, found himself convicted of murder. Reader gets the sense that Mersault is a sociopath of sorts who did things simply because he felt like it with no real empathy or sympathy towards others. Yet, we do see a little bit of kindness in him when he'd consoled his neighbor, Salamon, when he lost his dog. He also helped covered up for his neighbour Raymond who had beaten up his girlfriend for cheating on him although the cover up was obviously for the wrong reason.
While at a beach with Raymond, Marie and their friends, some Arabs (friends/relatives of Raymond's ex gf) tried to find trouble with Raymond. After some scuffle, Raymond was injured but the fight was ended. However, upon spotting one of the Arabs relaxing on the beach, Mersault felt an urge to shoot him for no rhyme and reason.
That was how he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The witnesses who came forward identified him as someone incapable of having any feelings. Mersault couldn't explain his own behavior as well and that was the end of it, with Mersault being executed.
It is a very strange story but I thought it was interesting enough. Mersault was quite a dull, seemingly simple yet interesting person.
Probably a book deserving of 7.5/10.
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