Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dịch Hạch by Albert Camus

47 reviews

booktok_hater's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Suicide and Mass/school shootings

applesodaperson's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

3.5

This book was an interesting one. I liked it , but it also was kind of forgettable, and didn't make that much of an impact on me. It has a very interesting premise. Actually, the beginnings of the plague and the quarantine reminded me of a lot of covid, and all the emotions it makes people go through. Like the fatigue of healthcare workers, the effort to distract yourself from the situation, and the despair of people who become separated because of the quarantine. And of course the fear of death, and the fear that things are never going to get better, and the plague will last forever. 
Honestly the worst part about this book were the characters. I honestly don't know why, but I had an extremely hard time remembering the characters and their names and who was who. Really the only person that stuck in my mind was the doctor, but even now I cannot for the life of me remember his name. I think one thing that contributed to this was the fact that basically every character and especially the main character, was a middle aged man. Yeah this book definitely does not pass that Bechtel test. But it also just led to the characters blurring together, especially with them all being in the same situation and physical location. It just wouldn't stick in my mind, even though this book is fairly long.
Overall, this book was good, and had some interesting philosophical thoughts about evil and sin. But it just ended up not catching my attention very well, and feeling forgettable. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Death

bilbili's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

No bc why didn’t anyone tell me this book’s so gay??

Kinda long but I feel like it was worth it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

ghost_rider's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Suicide attempt

skypirateb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

classical_learner's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This would be very fascinating to read alongside Man's Search for Meaning in a bookclub. I am considering the angle that Albert Camus is the French Dostoevsky (maybe Chekhov?).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Mental illness

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

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

clstrifes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Mass/school shootings

woundedhouse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic