"A Happy Death" by Albert Camus: Patrice Mersault should really be enjoying life. He's young, strong, handsome, and has a beautiful girlfriend. That should be enough to make any man happy. But Patrice is unfulfilled. He works at a menial office job, earning just enough money to keep him working. And although Marthe, his girlfriend, is stunningly lovely, he feels no real connection to her; he merely keeps her around to satisfy physical needs and for the admiration her presence inspires in other men. However, this desired attention soon leads to jealousy, spawning the inevitable conversation concerning past lovers. Marthe takes the unusual step of introducing Patrice to the man who took her virginity. Several years her elder, this Mr. Roland Zagreus is now rich and crippled, confined to a wheelchair after the loss of both legs. Zagreus has extraordinary wealth and no desire to live. Patrice has a passion for life but no money to actually live it. See where this is headed?

When the two men next meet alone, Zagreus sings the praises of money, explaining that while it can't buy happiness, it can buy time, which gives one the opportunity to achieve happiness. He then tells of his strong desire to commit suicide, but he lacks the nerve to pull the trigger himself. He coyly adds the location of not only his fortune but also his gun and a suicide note written in his own hand. Patrice silently accepts the offer, ending Zagreus' life to live his own.

With all monetary worries behind him, Patrice goes off to taste life. His goal is to experience everything he can so that when death comes it will be a happy death, with no regrets or misgivings. His journey takes him across Europe and into the arms of numerous women, but momentary pleasure and the illusion of freedom do little to give his life meaning or spare him from the moment that awaits us all.

"A Happy Death" is Camus' first book, written when he was 24 years old. It remained unpublished throughout his life, not finding print until several years after his death. And this is clearly the work of a young Camus, with his burgeoning philosophical mind somewhat exceeding his skill as a writer. The prose is overwritten and meandering at times when compared to the brisk, succinct style of his later masterpieces. And all the female characters are severely underdeveloped. Groucho Marx would have to come back a year later to take their pictures.

Clearly, "A Happy Death" was an early take on "The Stranger." Not only do the lead characters share the same name, but both books deal with the impact, or lack of impact, in taking a life. While the Mersault of "The Stranger" is arrested and put to death for his crime, searching for meaning and finding nothing, the Mersault of "A Happy Death" murders, escapes punishment, and begins a search for happiness that seems to constantly elude him. It's doubtful "The Stranger" would be the literary classic it is without this early step in the evolutionary process.

That being said, "A Happy Death" can proudly stand on its own. Any weaknesses in plot or characterization can be overlooked thanks to the book's intriguing exploration of existential theory. Sure, it may not be as expertly crafted as "The Sound and the Fury" or "The Great Gatsby," but "A Happy Death" inspires thought. And challenging people to think seems to be a lost art these days, which is just another reason to slip obscure Marx Brothers references into book reviews.

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