Albert Camus, The Outsider
I knew of 'the stranger' after it was mentioned in other works by Charles Bukowski and Sartre’s Nausea. It reminded me of the doom and loneliness that are the central basis for Gnut Hansum's The Hunger, Nausea, Factotum and elements of Kafka.
Also, while the phrase "Killing an Arab" I recognized from the Cure song as a clever literary reference.
I think anyone can identify with the isolation and apathy of the central narrator, as he meanders aimless from person to person, and denies any emotional attachment to object or concept. He is accused of shooting his victim in cold blood during the court scene, which later becomes significant because his earlier repression or callous behavior during his mother's funeral is used as a reflection of his cruelty.
However, I think we can recognize a boredom and imagination in Mersault's vision that reflects Camus's artistic sensibility, an inner subjectivity that leads the character to his death. Camus argues that the character refuses to lie and only cares for "truth"; this truth only seems to represent the character's futility and trivial indifference towards the world around him.
I think you can describe the character's murdering of the Arab, as a kind of catharsis and attempt to destroy the illusion he sees around him. It seems lack any logical sense, but is somewhat echoed later in the trial as the judge and prosecution attempt to resolve the crime by condemning him as guilty. A guilt that Mersualt does not recognize, since his crime was apparently random and without motive.
A dark novel, probably regarded for its narrative technique than ideas of philosophy or existentialism.
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