The Plague's opening is very prosaic, since that's sort of the voice and the point, that even extraordinary events are meaningless except in the importance we a

The Plague's opening is very prosaic, since that's sort of the voice and the point, that even extraordinary events are meaningless except in the importance we attach to them personally. The opening of The Stranger is much more grabby and also revealing for the narration. It has also presented something of a challenge for translators. I like Matthew Ward's "Maman died today." It's accurate, and neatly shows that infantile quality that Meursault's internal narration has.