'the Outsider'

I'm nearly done reading Camus' 'The Outsider', not difficult as it's a short novel and a hell of a lot easier to read than 'the Myth of Sisyphus'. It's a really fascinating read and I'm starting to see a lot of similarities between it and 'Less Than Zero', one of my favourite books, and the writing of Bret Easton Ellis as a whole.

The most interesting thing, however is the differences between the two. In 'the Outsider', it's the main character that's apathetic, acting without thought or feelings, and in turn is condemed for it by the rest of society. In 'Less than Zero', it's every character that suffers the nihalism, and no one has enough remaining humanity to condemn.

The way I see this, it was the 43 year gap between both novel's publication (1942 and 1985-the so-called 'MTV Generation') that saw the decline in society's humanity and compassion. Camus wrote a warning, Ellis wrote an affirmation.

Two 'Outsider' quotes I like so far:

"When she laughed, I fancied here again. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her that it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so. She looked sad. But as we were getting lunch ready, and for no apparent reason, she laughed again, and so i kissed her."

"The trigger gave. I felt the underside of the polished butt and it was there, in that sharp but deafening noise that it all started. I shook off the sweat and the sun. I realised that I'd destroyed the balance of the day and the perfect silence of this beach where I'd been happy. And I fired four more times at a lifeless body and the bullets sank in without leaving a mark. And it was like giving four sharp knocks at the door of unhappiness."