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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
it is my purest joy to read camus, especially this one - it’s so beautifully written that it flows. the way he wrote the feelings of love and exile tore my little heart to pieces.
I don't really have much to say about this one. Camus really excels at writing endings to his stories for me and I really enjoyed all of the characters in this one. Still have yet to find something that Camus has written that I haven't enjoyed
3.5/5
reading this post-pandemic felt eerie. it was like staring into a mirror altho, this one felt a tad more depressing
reading this post-pandemic felt eerie. it was like staring into a mirror altho, this one felt a tad more depressing
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“The plague was no respecter of persons and under its despotic rule everyone, from the Governor down to the humblest delinquent, was under sentence and, perhaps for the first time, impartial justice reigned in the prison”
‘The Plague’ is an absurdist chronicle of the French-Algerian town of Oran and the effects on its community when it is shut off from the world as the town faces an epidemic. Reading this after living through our own epidemic was really interesting as it shed a light on how the human response to catastrophe is very unchanged; in both Camus’ plague and the reality of Covid-19 it beginning with denial and gradually evolving to an absurdist insanity. Camus also layers this with establishing the plague as an allegory for fascist occupation of France, writing in the aftermath of the Second World War. The characters were on the weaker side however, the protagonist Rieux having very little development and more serving as an access point (being a doctor) to the many branches of community in Oran. The ending sequence of events also felt very different in tone to the rest of the book and that it didn’t really fit. It seemed to undermine the primary themes and would’ve been a stronger work if it ended a few pages sooner.
"And like this, stranded midway between these abysses and summits, they floated more than they lived, abandoned to directionless days and sterile memories, wandering shadows who could only gather strength by deciding to take root in the country of their sorrow."
"At the start, when they thought it was a disease like any other, religion had a place. But when they saw that it was serious, they remembered pleasure. Then all the daytime sufferings that appear in their faces resolve in the dusty, ardent twilight, to form a sort of haggard arousal, a clumsy freedom that fevers the whole population."
“Paneloux is right,” said Tarrou. “When innocence has its eyes gouged out, a Christian has to either lose his faith or accept having his eyes gouged out. Paneloux doesn’t want to lose his faith, so he’ll follow it to the very end. That’s what he meant.”
"At the start, when they thought it was a disease like any other, religion had a place. But when they saw that it was serious, they remembered pleasure. Then all the daytime sufferings that appear in their faces resolve in the dusty, ardent twilight, to form a sort of haggard arousal, a clumsy freedom that fevers the whole population."
“Paneloux is right,” said Tarrou. “When innocence has its eyes gouged out, a Christian has to either lose his faith or accept having his eyes gouged out. Paneloux doesn’t want to lose his faith, so he’ll follow it to the very end. That’s what he meant.”
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
A slow read, but one that resonates after the experience of the pandemic days. My liking for these characters snuck up on me, and I was affected by each of their endings in ways I didn't expect. While the prose can go a bit too long at points, the end of part three reinvigorated me just as I was thinking of putting the book down, and the story kept me engaged from there