but it doesn't really matter.

The Stranger, by Camus, was probably one of the stranger things I have read.

It sounds like a children's story to the ear but was anything but childish, takes place in a society that I know nothing about, and concludes in a way I don't fully understand.

Ah, the beauties of literature!

Our main character, Meursault, can help us with a couple of aspects of our big question, despite the confusion inherent in such a work.

1. We are all a little bit strange. As much as some of us would like to deny any aspect of oddity in ourselves, there is a tiny element of strange in every human being. I had a friend once who was terrified of the texture of cotton balls. I have trouble falling asleep when its windy. When my mom is stressed, she likes to clean. There are little idosyncracies in everyone, aspects of personality that go beyond the ordinary and make us stand out


2. Although society can condemn us for strangeness, it is strangeness that often defines who we are. Now, obviously, killing a man like Meursault did goes a little beyond the realm of "strange", and into the areas we consider criminal in this modern world. But it is important to remember that safe strangeness, strangeness that doesn't harm you or anyone else, can be part of what makes you unique. It is a conversation-starter and a way to be remembered.


3. Perhaps no one is normal.


4. Perhaps there is no need.