Hahaha.... The Stranger is truely a important book in french litterature. But to my mind, you should wait : you will not be able to understand the true meaning of some part of this novel, I mean the meaning hidden behind the sentences : it would be a waste of time... I recommend you to start with poetry : a maximum of feelings in a minimum of words ^_^ ! Try Victor Hugo "Les contemplations" or Charles Baudelaire "Les Fleurs du Mal".

HA! I read Amelie Nothomb's Stupeur and tremblements a few months ago and LOVEDLOVEDLOVED it! I wouldn't recommend this particular one to an intermediate because of the copious use of the passe simple tense, which takes a while to get used to. Maybe the one YoLo suggested would be better, either way I only have good things to say about the writer so far. I would jump right in and suggest a classic - l'etranger by Albert Camus. It's short, interesting, written in the first person with moderately-challenging vocabulary but not much grammar complexity, and there's an excellent added value to it of course :) Courage, ca vaut la peine!!!

I guess you could try Amelie Nothomb : "Hygiene de l'assassin". It is mainly written in the dialog form so it should be easy to read. It's very short. No long sentences and complex grammar. You should also be abe to find an english version in case you are really stuck. And it is a very good book by the way.