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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Het is twintig jaar terug dat ik 'De Pest' voor het eerst las en bij herlezen is er maar weinig blijven hangen, al maakt de vriendschap tussen Rieux en Tarrou andermaal indruk.
In 'De Pest' wordt de echt bestaande Algerijnse stad Oran getroffen door de dodelijk ziekte. Het boek beschrijft hoe de bevolking ermee omgaat en wat voor keuzen ze hiervoor moeten maken. Hoewel de epidemie opvallend realistisch en feitelijk wordt beschreven, is de pest dus een allegorie voor alle rampspoed die men kan overkomen, of het nu epidemieën, oorlogen, dictaturen of ziekten zijn. Camus pleit ervoor om in tijden van nood anderen te helpen, niet om in de hemel te komen, maar uit 'fatsoen'. De worsteling of wat te doen in een goddeloze wereld, waarin onschuldige kinderen lijden, vormt de kern van de roman. Dit maakt het tot een typisch existentialistisch werk, dat echter in geen enkel opzicht gedateerd is. 'De pest' is bij wijlen nogal droog, maar nodigen de lezer wel uit tot nadenken. De laatste twee delen vormen een glorieuze finale en laten prachtig zien wat het is mens te zijn.
In 'De Pest' wordt de echt bestaande Algerijnse stad Oran getroffen door de dodelijk ziekte. Het boek beschrijft hoe de bevolking ermee omgaat en wat voor keuzen ze hiervoor moeten maken. Hoewel de epidemie opvallend realistisch en feitelijk wordt beschreven, is de pest dus een allegorie voor alle rampspoed die men kan overkomen, of het nu epidemieën, oorlogen, dictaturen of ziekten zijn. Camus pleit ervoor om in tijden van nood anderen te helpen, niet om in de hemel te komen, maar uit 'fatsoen'. De worsteling of wat te doen in een goddeloze wereld, waarin onschuldige kinderen lijden, vormt de kern van de roman. Dit maakt het tot een typisch existentialistisch werk, dat echter in geen enkel opzicht gedateerd is. 'De pest' is bij wijlen nogal droog, maar nodigen de lezer wel uit tot nadenken. De laatste twee delen vormen een glorieuze finale en laten prachtig zien wat het is mens te zijn.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You might find this hard to believe...but I read this during the covid pandemic and had no idea about this being related to another global pandemic.
It took me 2 years to just finish this book...mainly because I kept losing interest as I rarely dwell down the road of reading books that are nearly a century old. The structuring of the work was very telling, the author was very descriptive with his details and I'll be honest...the first few attempts at reading this were very challenging for my hyperactive mind.
When I finally decided to stop procrastinating...I couldn't understand why I refused to give this book the care and attention it deserves. The beauty and significance of this work never occured to me; how the story itself was never about the plague...but about the stories of those affected by it.
The first few passages are just a general start to a story where the author just fills the reader in on who is who and what is what...nothing special.
To truly understand the sheer genius behind this book..one mustn't look with a narrow mindset where the reader expects the writer to elaborate on his words. Instead, this book pushes the reader to make the most out of everything in front of them.
The main story isn't the main story, but it is a collection of those tiny intricate details from the lives of various individuals in this book that are the real focal point to this novel.
"It's only artists who knows how to use their eyes".
This quote from the book is the perfect summary to point I make. It's a slow song that sings the song of those in love, those in grief or those on the brink of death.
It took me 2 years to just finish this book...mainly because I kept losing interest as I rarely dwell down the road of reading books that are nearly a century old. The structuring of the work was very telling, the author was very descriptive with his details and I'll be honest...the first few attempts at reading this were very challenging for my hyperactive mind.
When I finally decided to stop procrastinating...I couldn't understand why I refused to give this book the care and attention it deserves. The beauty and significance of this work never occured to me; how the story itself was never about the plague...but about the stories of those affected by it.
The first few passages are just a general start to a story where the author just fills the reader in on who is who and what is what...nothing special.
To truly understand the sheer genius behind this book..one mustn't look with a narrow mindset where the reader expects the writer to elaborate on his words. Instead, this book pushes the reader to make the most out of everything in front of them.
The main story isn't the main story, but it is a collection of those tiny intricate details from the lives of various individuals in this book that are the real focal point to this novel.
"It's only artists who knows how to use their eyes".
This quote from the book is the perfect summary to point I make. It's a slow song that sings the song of those in love, those in grief or those on the brink of death.
I made the detrimental mistake of drinking diet coke too close to bedtime (bad) but I was able to finish Camus during the deep hours of the night (good)
This was hard to rate…there is so much pandemic lit now because of Covid that it makes it harder for this to shine the same way it probably would have before. I do know from other titles that I like Camus and seeing how little we learned was in a way spellbinding.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"to state simply what we learn in time of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise"
Perhaps I'm rather morbid for choosing to read this book in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, but it seemed highly relevant to our current situation. Albert Camus' The Plague depicts a town called Oran as it is locked down by a deadly pestilence. It was very interesting to see how many parallels one could draw between our current pandemic and the plague of Oran. Everything from rumors about alcohol protecting you from infection to price-gauging to altruism and to love. People have remained the same by nature for all this time, and it speaks to how deeply Camus understood this that his depictions are so accurate. Profound and moving. This novel is expertly written. My one regret is that it is so fixed on the masculine viewpoint. There aren't really any female characters (those that appear are no more than images of mothers and wives etc.).
"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 of devotion to duty, and all one craves for is a loved face, the warmth and wonder of a loving heart."
Perhaps I'm rather morbid for choosing to read this book in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, but it seemed highly relevant to our current situation. Albert Camus' The Plague depicts a town called Oran as it is locked down by a deadly pestilence. It was very interesting to see how many parallels one could draw between our current pandemic and the plague of Oran. Everything from rumors about alcohol protecting you from infection to price-gauging to altruism and to love. People have remained the same by nature for all this time, and it speaks to how deeply Camus understood this that his depictions are so accurate. Profound and moving. This novel is expertly written. My one regret is that it is so fixed on the masculine viewpoint. There aren't really any female characters (those that appear are no more than images of mothers and wives etc.).
"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 of devotion to duty, and all one craves for is a loved face, the warmth and wonder of a loving heart."
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes