The Plague

The people of Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, are in the grip of a deadly plague that condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. The plague begins with a series of unheeded warnings; panic, isolation, and claustrophobia soon follow, as the townspeople are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr. Rieux, resist the terror.

An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, Albert Camus’ The Plague is in part an allegory of France’s suffering under the Nazi occupation as well as a timeless story of bravery and determination in the face of the precariousness of human existence. In this bold and modern translation, Laura Marris breathes new urgency into Camus’ ever-resonant tale. We are reminded, once again, of this classic novel’s lasting power.

“We can finally read the work as Camus meant it to be read. Laura Marris’s new translation of The Plague is, quite simply, the translation we need to have. … A marvel of clarity and poetry.”—Robert Zaretsky, Los Angeles Review of Books