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A review by james2529
The Plague by Albert Camus
4.5
I really loved this book. The description of plague was really chilling and evocative and there was a huge amount of great language and writing.
A few scenes really stand out - the deaths of the boy and Tarrou, the meeting between the main characters where they argued about the phrasing of a statement which is immediately followed by the shock of a woman dying.
There are several long descriptions of setting or atmosphere that are absolutely incredible.
However, I hate the parts where Camus insists on telling us that this story was collated from different diaries and eyewitness testimonies. He keeps slamming it in your face for no reason at all and it ruins your immersion in the book.
My edition had an amazing afterword that gave a biography of Camus and explored how he used this book as a metaphor for German occupation of France in the 1940s. This was really fascinating to read.
A few scenes really stand out - the deaths of the boy and Tarrou, the meeting between the main characters where they argued about the phrasing of a statement which is immediately followed by the shock of a woman dying.
There are several long descriptions of setting or atmosphere that are absolutely incredible.
However, I hate the parts where Camus insists on telling us that this story was collated from different diaries and eyewitness testimonies. He keeps slamming it in your face for no reason at all and it ruins your immersion in the book.
My edition had an amazing afterword that gave a biography of Camus and explored how he used this book as a metaphor for German occupation of France in the 1940s. This was really fascinating to read.