Name: The Plague
Rating: 4.108128834355829 (326 reviews)
ISBN: 9780141045511

Albert Camus

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine, each responding in their own way to the lethal bacillus: 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, Camus's novel is a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

The Plague

Vojtech

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague. Each person responds in their own way to the disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few resist the terror. This title is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery against the precariousness of human existence.

Greg Talbot

“Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot?” ― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot Nate: “None of this turned out the way I wanted it to Lisa. You know that right? I wanted to love you, I did love you. I just feel like I had this once in a lifetime chance and I fucked it up!” Lisa: “Nate, I’m not a chance. I’m a person.” - Six Feet Under - Taking Chances for Granted, “Twilight” (Episode 3.12) With threat of the cornonavirus, COVID-19, the growing awareness of our fragility, and responsibly to each other is on the minds of us. Being social creatures with shared resources and bodily immune systems, our awareness for precautions and social distancing may be our best resource for weakening this malady. Although this virus is not nearly as virulent or widespread as the plague, it follows Camus's observations of a town ravaged by disease, paranoia and hopeless. The Plague, written shortly after WW2, and seeming to be about Camus's perspective of seeing Paris succomb to Nazi occupation. Written with the bare-Hemingway outlines of characters, these character archetypes (doctor, journalist, official, priest) try to find meaning and solution in the coastal city of Oran. The book has the framework of a story (i.e. Sartre's "No Exit", Rand's "The Fountainhead"), but the torpor and drudgery of the plague-riddled town really finds its footing when characters examine their own sense of meaning. "Without memories, without hope, they lived for the moment only. Indeed, the here and now had come to mean everything to them...Naturally enough, since love asks something of the future and nothing was left us but a series of presnt moments. (p.89). Camus gives us a fascinating look at a man (Cottard) "blossoming" when all others fall into despair. "the thing he most detest is being cut off from otehrs; he'd rather be one of a beleaguered crowd than a prisoner alone" (p.94). Camus's hard-worn realism is buoyed by the notions of rising above, meeting the moment, dealing with the reality of our absurd situation. Adding in the humor that Cottard, not much of a looker, not able to attain pleasure from a wife or romantic liasions. And Cottard seems unmoved by the plague's decline, meeting the news with stoic equinimity. Camus brings the sense cycle full-circle. And in some ways the ascent and descent of the plague show different sides of the human folly. We are driven by our emotions, by the wishing of a state, fracturing and convalescing with our brothers and sisters, and always humbled by our absurd ridiculous life. But with the epidemic broken Camus comments passionately through the voice of his doctor "that a loveless world is a dead world, and always there comes an hour when one is weary of prisons, of one's work, and devotion to duty, and all one craves is for a loved face, the warmth and wonder of a loving heart" (p.127). Our crisis, be it disease, war, spiritual brokenness, is never one we fight alone. Camus's story here shows an enemy faceless and unbeatable. And yet. And yet. And yet. And so we find in Camus the shared philosophy of self-governance, leaning into our passions, and finding, in the word's of his philosophical protege Kierkegaard " a truth which is true to me, to find the idea which I am willing to live and die for". Camus's work to me continues to speak of the power of the individual against a hopeless and indifferent world. A world that haunts us, destroys us, and reduces us, but one in which we are always an agent in choosing how we relate to it.

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: 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, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence. An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

I think it is sooooo cool that everyone read this during the first lockdown and did not seem to learn any lessons re: fascism, about violence and destructive impulses in the face of a crisis and the choice to be kind regardless. In the emotional climax of the novel, Tarrou even spells it out for the reader. 

"The Plague" is such a fantastic and rich text to unpack - the kind you hear about and do not quite manage to appreciate until equipped with the tools for it. At moments, it seems longer than it needs to be, yet it is moving and thought-provoking throughout in a manner that is more intellectual than commercial. It is the kind of novel I could see myself obsessing over and desperately pleading people to read and to seek secondary literature on.

I think it is sooooo cool that everyone read this during the first lockdown and did not seem to learn any lessons re: fascism, about violence and destructive impulses in the face of a crisis and the choice to be kind regardless. In the emotional climax of the novel, Tarrou even spells it out for the reader. 

"The Plague" is such a fantastic and rich text to unpack - the kind you hear about and do not quite manage to appreciate until equipped with the tools for it. At moments, it seems longer than it needs to be, yet it is moving and thought-provoking throughout in a manner that is more intellectual than commercial. It is the kind of novel I could see myself obsessing over and desperately pleading people to read and to seek secondary literature on.

La Peste | The Plague

Santiago Alejandro Crime

Chaos prevails when the bubonic plague strikes the Algerian coastal city of Oran.

This book offers a reflection on human nature, capturing the essence of life in the face of crisis. The portrayal of a society grappling with the plague serves as a powerful backdrop for philosophical exploration, inviting me to examine the complexities of emotion, resilience, and the human spirit. The parallels with the COVID-19 pandemic are striking, allowing me to revisit the shared experience of global suffering and the transformations it brings to our collective consciousness; how shared hardship fosters empathy and understanding among individuals, even in the most desperate of circumstances. The characters’ varied responses to the plague not only offer a spectrum of human perspectives but also challenge us to reflect on our own ways of coping with adversity. Their struggles and problem-solving strategies become a testament to the adaptability and strength inherent in human nature. This book doesn’t just explore the devastation of a pandemic but celebrates the resilience and compassion that can emerge even in the darkest of times, both a cautionary tale and a hopeful message for the future. 

🏹

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease- 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, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

Cait🪼

I have no idea why it took me so long to actually read this, but I can guarantee I will re-read it within a year. Camus’ writing is so purposeful that he succeeds in creating both fleshy characters and locations/environments that feel tangible enough to touch - while forming a story of genuine significance. Such a wonderful (and unexpected) book.

hileahrious

A wonderful inspection of humankind. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read it before the covid pandemic, because now I am truly able to relate with the characters through similar experience. As for Camus, he simply has a way with words. I love the way he describes and involves the reader and conveys emotion so easily. In many instances I could compare his writing to a painting or poetry.

jess

Took quite a long period for this one. Now – with the advent of the current pandemic – the book works on the literal as well as metaphorical level. I think Camus intended such a literal – as well as allegorical - reading. Camus insisted that the next plague “would rouse up its rats again” for “the bane and enlightenment of men”, which is what happening to us now. Camus offers us a way of abandoning our pointless quest for “oneness” with ourselves, but carrying on nevertheless, fighting: For some ill-defined moral justice, even though we have ceased to be able to define it. At the conclusion to La Peste, Rieux – whose wife has died of illness elsewhere, unconnected with the pestilence – watches families and lovers reunite when the gates of Oran are finally opened. He wonders – in the wake of so much suffering and pointless struggle – whether there can be peace of mind or fulfillment without hope, and concludes that yes, perhaps there can, for those “who knew now that if there is one thing one can always yearn for, and sometimes attain, it is human love”. This bear me lots of ideas and perspectives I have sometimes missed, where upon us, generation after generation, are more and more likely to be blessed by the advancement of the population. How, as in the matter of fact, that we have been acquiring tremendous things but unable to appreciate each of it? How, that while we are being blessed with the advanced technology to communicate freely, to be able to seek out through the media of the internet, we still be able to relentlessly grumble for a month being quarantined? Why don't we step back and ponder for a while, how others sacrifices have shaped; paved us a way to the solution of this problem; Minority of us utilized this moment to come to appreciate this opportunity. "But for those others”, he says, “who aspired beyond and above the human individual towards something they could not even imagine, there had been no answer”. No answer. No description, even, of what that “something” else might be. And yet it nags, it makes demands of us, especially for those who hit the lowest and highest point during this pandemic, who; concurrently, some who steep into depression for the current pandemic, some who rise to spread positivity and encouragement with others, which evidently, the latter is prevailing, though the definition have been abandoned , for it is also meaningfully embraced. I can't come out any words left for this book, but the similarity of the book eeries me, and the implied messages are left for us, book devourers, to apply and take it to the heart.

Die Pest

Die Absurdität des Todes ist, dass er dich belebt je präsenter er ist. 

Martin Meyer

Daniel K

The first new translation of The Plague to be published in the United States in more than seventy years, bringing the Nobel Prize winner's iconic novel ("A redemptive book, one that wills the reader to believe, even in a time of despair." —The Washington Post) to a new generation of readers. The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation, and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: 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, 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 against the precariousness of human existence. In this fresh yet careful translation, award-winning translator Laura Marris breathes new life into Albert Camus's ever-resonant tale. Restoring the restrained lyricism of the original French text, and liberating it from the archaisms and assumptions of the previous English translation, Marris grants English readers the closest access we have ever had to the meaning and searing beauty of The Plague. This updated edition promises to add relevance and urgency to a classic novel of twentieth-century literature.

a beautiful slog of a story that pedestals human resilience in the face of horror & sickness. oof. but wow.

Roger Amundsen

Not as interesting as The Stranger but still good.

Fraser Simons

This has a narrative structure I wish The Emperor of all Maladies would have had. I found this captivating and engaging. Fantastic theme work, good dialogue. Not to mention prescient in these pandemic times.

Amanda Rocha

“I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing.” ― Albert Camus, The Plague 

this pandemic has me thinking of The Plague by Camus. it is eerily relevant and spooky accurate. on the surface, it is a story about surviving an infectious and deadly epidemic. but if we dig deeper, it stands as an allegory for coming together, fighting the problem as one collective group.

this is such big news right now that I am sure no one needs this reminder, but I hope everyone stays safe and healthy during this time of panic! keep washing hands, practice social distancing, and stay human! we are all going through this together―and we will get through it together and come out stronger.

“For its ordinariness is what strikes one first about the town of [insert your town here]...”

“But once the town gates were shut, every one of us realized that all were, so to speak, in the same boat, and each would have to adapt to the new conditions of life.”

“One of the most striking consequences of the closing of the gates was, in fact, this sudden deprivation befalling people who were completely unprepared for it.”

“Thus each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky.”

@voxdotcom wrote a great commentary on this here ➡️ https://bit.ly/2UgLzK3 & you can find the audiobook FREE on youtube here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKnCn...

The Plague

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