The Stranger (1942) by Albert Camus (translated by Matthew Ward). COVID-19 Recreational Reading

The Stranger (1942) by Albert Camus (translated by Matthew Ward). COVID-19 Recreational Reading 

"Aujourd’hui, maman est morte." Perhaps one of the most infamous opening lines in 20th century literature. From that staccato opening, Camus explores, in the first person, the life of the French Algerian Meursault. The death of his mother interrupts, perhaps, his life and he travels to the retirement home in the country where she has been living and now died. Meursault recounts his time at the home, the funeral and burial of his mother. A brief time that Meursault is later forced to relive at his trial for murder through the testimony of others. 

After his mother’s funeral, we follow Meursault’s life at work, at his dingy home, meeting with his friends, the re-kindling of his relationship with Marie, a former co-worker. How Meursault ended up a murderer is never clear, even to him:

“Fumbling a little with my words and realizing how ridiculous I sounded, I blurted out that it was because of the sun.”

Meursault is sent to prison to await execution. As he waits in his cell, refuses to talk a priest, but at last, nearing the time of execution, the priest imposes himself on Meursault:

“He wanted to talk to me about God again, but I went up to him and made one last attempt to explain to him that I had only a little time left and I didn’t want to waste it on God.”

At last, nearing the moment of death, Meursault reaches the Existential tipping point, like Sisyphus, one must imagine him happy:

"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again."

A note on the opening line: The English translation of the opening line, most often, "Today, Mother died," has been subject to much scholarly discussion. The Ward translation, topic if this post, chooses instead, "Today, maman died." Ward retains the French term that lies somewhere between mother/mommy/mom. For an exploration of the opening line, see "Lost in Translation: What the First Line of The Stranger Should Be" by Ryan Bloom from the The New Yorker (11 May 2012).

• Read: May 10 - 17, 2020
• See my complete 2020 Reading list on Goodreads.