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vegantrav 's review for:
The Plague
by Albert Camus
The Plague is a quiet, understated meditation on the human condition. It is an allegory of life, of life's struggle against that which hinders and opposes it, against death.
The story itself--an entire city is quarantined for almost a year due to an outbreak of bubonic plague--is engaging, though the pacing is, at times, a bit slow. What is of greater interest is the philosophy, the psychology, and the theology that Camus incarnates in the struggles of his characters: Dr. Rieux, Tarrou, Rambert, Grand, Cottard, Father Paneloux, and Othon.
One of my favorite exchanges in the novel occurs as Father Paneloux and Dr. Rieux discuss the awful death of Othon's son, who suffered extraordinarily before dying. Father Paneloux continues to cling to his faith and argues for God in the face of this horrific evil, saying that though we cannot understand why such evil as this child's death is permitted, we "should love that which we cannot understand"--basically presenting the God-works-in-mysterious-ways argument. Dr. Rieux's response is a great expression of the attitude of the many non-believers who cannot reconcile the existence of a personal God of perfect goodness with the existence of evil:
"No, Father. I've a very different idea of love. And until my dying day, I shall refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture." Well said, Dr. Rieux. Well said, indeed.
The story itself--an entire city is quarantined for almost a year due to an outbreak of bubonic plague--is engaging, though the pacing is, at times, a bit slow. What is of greater interest is the philosophy, the psychology, and the theology that Camus incarnates in the struggles of his characters: Dr. Rieux, Tarrou, Rambert, Grand, Cottard, Father Paneloux, and Othon.
One of my favorite exchanges in the novel occurs as Father Paneloux and Dr. Rieux discuss the awful death of Othon's son, who suffered extraordinarily before dying. Father Paneloux continues to cling to his faith and argues for God in the face of this horrific evil, saying that though we cannot understand why such evil as this child's death is permitted, we "should love that which we cannot understand"--basically presenting the God-works-in-mysterious-ways argument. Dr. Rieux's response is a great expression of the attitude of the many non-believers who cannot reconcile the existence of a personal God of perfect goodness with the existence of evil:
"No, Father. I've a very different idea of love. And until my dying day, I shall refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture." Well said, Dr. Rieux. Well said, indeed.