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Reading “Lyrical and Critical Essays�� by Albert Camus, I think, should be a good introduction and foundation to his famous novels written later. A reason is that these essays revealing his outstanding views, his powerful narration as well as his inspiring ideas have since affirmed his literary stature since he wrote them in 1935-1936, he was then twenty-two (p. 5). As a reader having read his “The Outsider�� (aka. “The Stranger��) and “The Plague��, I found it simply interesting to read this book by such a young writer in three parts: Lyrical Essays, Critical Essays and Camus On Himself, in which I preferred Part II to Part I, in other words, I was primarily keen on the critical essays followed by the lyrical ones. Moreover, avid Camus readers should find reading his ‘Preface to the Stranger��, ‘Letter to Roland Barthes on The Plague��, ‘Letter to P.B.�� and ‘Three Interviews�� in Part III intimately and illuminatingly informative.

For instance, in ‘Between Yes and No��, we can sadly enjoy reading this memoir-based extract between a son and his mother:
��
“Is it true I look like my father?��
“The spitting image. Of course, you didn’t know him. You were six months old when he died. But if you had a little moustache!��
He mentioned his father without conviction. No memory, no emotion. Probably he was very ordinary. Besides, he had been very keen to go to war. His head was split open in the battle of the Marne. Blinded, it took him a week to die; his name is listed on the local war memorial.
�� (pp. 38-39)

Next, in ‘Preface to the Stranger��, Camus has clarified his highly-paradoxical remark by elaborating, “I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game. In this respect, he is foreign to the society in which he lives; he wanders, on the fringe, in the suburbs of private, solitary, sensual life. And this is why some readers have been tempted to look upon him as a piece of social wreckage. A much more accurate idea of the character, ��, will emerge if one asks just how Meursault doesn’t play the game. The reply is a simple one: he refuses to lie. …�� (pp. 335-336)

Then, in his ‘Letter to Roland Barthes��, he has summarized his four interesting points on “the Plague��; Summary 2 cited as follows: “Compared to “The Stranger��, “The Plague�� does, beyond any possible discussion, represent the transition from an attitude of solitary revolt to the recognition of a community whose struggles must be shared. If there is an evolution from “The Stranger�� to “The Plague��, it is in the direction of solidarity and participation.�� (p. 339)

I sometime cannot help wondering if other readers think like me, that is, reading Camus is not only enjoyable but it is also unique since we can come across some good seemingly philosophy-oriented sentences for his readers to think, apply, redefine, etc. For example:
“No longer to be listened to: that’s the terrible thing about being old.�� (p. 24)
“What we seek is the culture that finds life in the trees, the hills, and in mankind.�� (p. 197)
“A novel is never anything but a philosophy expressed in images.�� (p. 199)
etc.