«UNTYPICAL» NOVEL BY ALBERT CAMUS

Abstract

Albert Camus, one of the outstanding representatives of the philosophy of existentialism of the twentieth century, who expressed his life position and creative credo through diverse genres: essays, short stories, novels, dramaturgies, and journalistic articles, received the common name "Conscience of the West" during his lifetime. The most famous works of the author-essays "The Myth of Sisyphus", "Stranger", "Fall", "Caligula", "Plague", "Demons", "Rebellious man", etc. The greatest interest was aroused by literary criticism of his first novel "Stranger" (1942). Disputes were conducted both in terms of its genre affiliation (story or novel) and in terms of style ("zero degree of writing"," atypical " novel). Camus’ work aroused genuine interest not only from western literary critics, but his works were also studied in detail by one of the most prominent among russian literary critics, S. I. Velikovsky, who devoted a detailed analysis of Camus' works to the сritical essay "The edges of "an unhappy consciousness" (1973). According to Camus, the life of each person and human existence in general, has no meaning and is devoid of rationalism. In the novel "Stranger" the author does not talk openly about the absurd, but he masterfully managed to describe the principles of the absurdity of the world: the complete lack of logic in the actions of the main character, the trial that represents society, the judge trying to find a reasonable explanation for the actions of Meursault that defy any logic, and as a result – an absurd verdict on the execution of the hero.