Albert camus most famous works

Albert Camus was a French thinker who, while associated with the 20th-century existentialist movement in philosophy, never accepted ‘existentialist’ as an appropriate description of nor label for his works.

Camus has instead come to be thought of as an ‘absurdist’, focusing as he does on exposing the absurd nature of the human condition (for more on absurdism, see our short explainer piece on how Camus defines absurdity, as well as Thomas Nagel’s critique of Camus’ position).

Regardless of the label we use to describe him, there is no question that Camus and his ideas — exploring themes of nihilism, alienation, and the search for meaning — have been deeply influential in the decades since the French writer’s untimely death in 1960.

This reading list consists of the best books by Albert Camus.

After reading the books listed, you’ll understand exactly why this great thinker was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of just 4