What are some possible areas to cover when comparing Kitchen by Mahoko Yoshimoto and The Stranger by Albert Camus?

Two possible areas of comparison are the premises of the
stories and some of the themes. Both stories are built on a basic premise of one or more
young adults forging a path--successfully or unsuccessfully--in big cities that may be
either turbulent or indifferent--or both. In Kitchen, Yuichi and
Mikage try to find their paths in a big city where fathers become women and stalkers who
are disgraced commit murder. In The Stranger, Meursault tries to
find his detached path in a big [hot] city where employers are annoyed and girlfriends
are mistreated.

Shared themes are death, sexual relationships, and
friendship. To elaborate on one, death is central to each. In
Kitchen, Yuichi must reconcile himself to the death of his father,
Eriko, who is murdered by an enraged stalker who "has been made a fool of." Mikage must
reconcile herself to Eriko's death as well since she has become attached to him because
of her deep feelings for Yuichi.

In The Stranger,
Meursault changes the course of his life by how he behaves at the vigil after the death
of his mother. He is overwhelmed by the physicality of life and behaves with shocking
indifference in what he feels is a senseless--even an absurd--situation. His response to
this death determines the course of his life following the death of the
Arab:

This
man, who is morally guilty of his mother’s death, is ... unfit to have a place in the
community ....