Is it possible to die a happy death? This is the central question of A Happy Death, a novella in two parts.

The first part begins with Mersault, a young Algerian, committing a murder, taking the dead man’s money, and leaving the country with his health uncertain but his wallet full. The subsequent chapters of the first part are told in flashback, of Mersault’s ordinary life, his work, women, jealousy, the futility of a search for happiness, and the sun-drenched Algiers.

Part two tells of Mersault’s long travels, his experiments with different ways of living, and his final death as a happy man.

Time is money, but the reverse is equally true: Money is time – which forms the fundamental principle in Mersault’s art of living.

In order to be happy, time is necessary - a great deal of time. Happiness too is a long patience... Time can be bought. To be rich is to have time to be happy when one is worthy of being so.

In many ways, A Happy Death is the first sketch for The Outsider, but it can also be seen as a self-portrait, drawing from Camus’ early relationships, his youth, travels, and the philosophy which was later expounded in The Myth of Sisyphus. This is quintessential Camus, a literary masterpiece that blends the sensuous with the metaphysical, evoking a synesthetic experience of the Algerian life.

I have never come across anyone as lyrical and lucid as Camus in his description of the plight of the modern individual and the (often futile) search for happiness. Truly, reading Camus is like having a love affair with life.

I would definitely recommend it to all, especially to those who’ve read The Outsider. Worth a re-read.

It takes time to live. Like any work of art, life needs to be thought about.