content: I read The Stranger when I was young but didn't really get much out of it. I recently reread it and was struck by the lack of emotion on the part of the protagonist, Muersault. Forget existentialist - this man was depressed. He has all the hallmarks of it - doesn't care about anything, has no joy in his existence. It doesn't so much bother me that he didn't care about his mother's death; she was older, apparently not in good health and they weren't close. But what does bother me is the casual way he deals with the murder he committed. It seems almost beside the point- the man he killed had done nothing to Muersault justifying the murder. More than anything else, his flat attitude reminded me of the murderers in In Cold Blood. There were some serious mental health issues that this man had.