I read the Stranger back in High school and never really thought about it much. However with A Happy Death has given a new perspective into Camus's appreciation of Buddhism. We are reading into a mind of a man who learns to be conscious in every seconds of his thoughts. Beautiful.
I read the Stranger in my Senior Year and HATED it. With a fury. And I love to read. Reading A Happy Death (which is like an alternate story that would be changed to formulate the stranger) is a breath of fresh air. I love Mersault's character and there is so much more substance in this book than the other one.
I come back to this book often. It's the prequel to 'The Stranger'. Every time I read it, I want to travel the world again, maybe settle down in Prague, get wasted and sleep with a Czech girl, and then go swim in the sea.