Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Plague by Albert Camus

16 reviews

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Chronic illness

Moderate: Medical content, Blood, Death, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Gore, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

toffishay's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

There exploration of collective grief and suffering in this book reached into my chest, grabbed my heart and squeezed, and won't let go. I think that this will stay with me for a while. The straightforward writing perfectly and bluntly described the despair of dying and living in a plague. Simple sentences described unimaginable death and sadness. 

The book is explicit that in a situation like this, there are no heroes. There are people hurting and healing and hurting all over again. Life is both paused and unending in a time of isolation and confinement. While not being heroes, the names characters that we do follow help connect with the world and give you something to hold onto in the midst of a huge collective event. Dr. Rieux especially won't get out of my head, but all of the characters are complex and layered. Through their inner thoughts and especially through their interactions with each other and their community, you see the tiny ways that people seek control, connection, or commiseration in the midst of death where everything, even the next day is uncertain. 

What I have come to like about Camus, that I think could turn people away or be very polarizing, is that he offers a very particular brand of hope. His books, this one included, have a theme of the necessity of human hope. We are looking for distractions, but that can only get us so far and often alienate us from our true selves. Hope offers a window for something new and encourages you to fight for what matters, but hope doesn't always mean that things will be better. There will be pain again. There will be death again. All we can do is work through it and find what's worth fighting for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Confinement, Medical content, Child death, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Animal death

Minor: Excrement, Death of parent, Xenophobia, War, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

marlene_wp's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Pandemic/Epidemic

nadir's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Medical content

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Body horror, Grief, and Animal death

tisthedamnzuzia's review against another edition

w sensie no to było ok ale nic tam się nie działo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Gun violence

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, Animal death, Terminal illness, Death, Child death, and Blood

planecemetery's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, and Medical content

anka_not_anchor's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A painful, strange, and beautiful portrayal of life in the fear of illness that rings especially true in our current day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness

minaaaaaa's review

dark hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Police brutality

kibiiiariii's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Self harm, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt