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L'Étranger
The Stranger
by Albert Camus
L'Étranger explores absurdism and existentialism through the life of Meursault, a man confronting the indifference of the universe. Written in a deliberately simple, detached style, the novel is surprisingly accessible to French learners despite its philosophical depth.
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Don't have the EPUB? See where to get it ↓Why it's not in our library
Albert Camus died in 1960, so the novel is public domain only where copyright lasts 50 years after the author's death. In France, the rest of the EU, the UK and the US it is still protected, so it cannot be part of a library that serves readers everywhere. You can still read it in MnemoRead with your own copy.
| Region | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Canada and other countries with a 50-year term | Public domain | Since 2011 |
| France, rest of the EU, United Kingdom | Protected | Until 1 January 2031 |
| United States | Protected | Until 1 January 2038 (95 years from publication) |
This is a summary, not legal advice. Check the rules where you live before downloading.
Get the French EPUB
Free, where it is public domain
See the table above. The site checks your country itself.
Ebooks libres et gratuits
FreeVolunteer-made ePub from Canada, where the novel is public domain.
Downloads are blocked from EU and Swiss addresses: the site serves only countries where the book is public domain (Canada, for example).
Buy it
Only a DRM-free EPUB opens in MnemoRead.
No DRM-free ebook exists
Every ebook edition, including Gallimard's Folio ePub, carries Adobe or LCP DRM and will not open in MnemoRead; we don't remove DRM. Outside the 50-year countries, that leaves the paper book, or waiting for 1 January 2031, when the text enters the public domain in the EU and the UK.
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- 2
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- 3
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Is it right for your level?
Text statistics
- Word count
- 30,959
- Unique words
- 2,868
- Sentences
- 2,274
- Avg. sentence length
- ~13 words
- Est. reading time
- ~3 hours
Comprehension by CEFR level
Share of the words you'll understand at each CEFR level. Above 95% the reading is comfortable.
Recommended level
B1-B2. The sentences are short (13 words on average) and the vocabulary everyday, but the flat narration hides a lot of idiom, and the second half turns to courtroom and moral argument. Comfortable at B2, doable at B1 with translations.
Why read L'Étranger to learn French?
Deliberately simple style
Camus deliberately used short sentences and direct vocabulary. It's an artistic choice that makes the book very accessible.
Common vocabulary
Over 99% of words are among the 5,000 most frequent French words.
Familiar tenses
Much of the narrative uses the passé composé and the present, tenses learners meet early.
Literary masterpiece
One of the most influential French novels of the 20th century, by a Nobel Prize laureate.
Manageable length
Around 31,000 words: a stimulating but achievable challenge for motivated learners.
Natural dialogue
Conversations reflect everyday spoken French, ideal for picking up natural expressions.
About Albert Camus
Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French writer and philosopher, born in Algeria. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 for "his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times."
L'Étranger, published in 1942, was his first novel and remains his most widely read work. It is considered a foundational text of absurdist philosophy.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free?
The novel is free to download from Ebooks libres et gratuits only where it is public domain (Canada and other 50-year countries). Elsewhere the only legal editions are the paper book or DRM-locked ebooks. Reading your own EPUB in MnemoRead is free and needs no account; the free plan has a daily limit on lookups.
Is L'Étranger in the public domain?
Only in countries where copyright ends 50 years after the author’s death, such as Canada, where it has been public domain since 2011. In France, the rest of the EU and the UK it is protected until 1 January 2031, and in the US until 1 January 2038.
Will my Kindle or Kobo copy work?
No. Kindle files never open outside Kindle, and a Kobo purchase opens elsewhere only when the publisher sold it without DRM, which Gallimard does not. We do not remove DRM. Only a DRM-free EPUB, like the one above, opens in MnemoRead.
How long does it take to read?
About 31,000 words: 3 to 4 weeks at 20-30 minutes a day for a B1-B2 learner, or roughly 3 hours of reading time in total. MnemoRead saves your progress on the device.
What level of French do I need?
B1-B2. Camus wrote in a deliberately spare style: short sentences, common vocabulary, direct narration. That makes it one of the more accessible classics, but not a beginner's book: the idiom and the moral argument of the second half need B1 at least, and B2 to be comfortable.
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