Albert Camus
A French writer from Algeria, Albert Camus was famous for his deep yet concise pieces. In addition to his novels, essays and plays, Camus was a journalist, and during World War II, a member of the French resistance against German occupation. His philosophy, which is described in his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, centers around the absurdity of the human condition. Like many other philosophers with works similar to his, he was labeled as an existentialist but rejected the title.
Camus brings a certain humanism to the existentialism. While all of his characters are aware (or quickly become aware) of the absurd, they all rebel against their circumstances. Camus illustrates his views with his stories of characters who live by that philosophy.