Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Dịch Hạch

Reading The Plague in the midst of a pandemic is an odd experience. It’s hard to say whether it makes the story more impactful or less. The idea of a city going into lockdown isn’t particularly shocking to me now, but, at the same time, I can appreciate the accuracy of the depiction in a way I wouldn’t have been able to previously.

At the heart of the story is Camus’s absurdist philosophy. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say it has genuinely changed my life. I’ve often struggled with hopelessness and pessimism, so the insistence on fighting losing battles – on knowing you can’t fix the world but doing the best you can regardless – was something I took to heart. This philosophy most obviously manifests in the actions and beliefs of the protagonists (“Your victories will always be temporary, that’s all.” [...] “Always, I know that. But that is not a reason to give up the struggle.”) but there’s also something to be said about the way it intertwines with other themes. Take language, for instance. There is initially some debate over whether or not the plague should be called a plague, the citizens of Oran struggle to verbalise their anguish when the city is quarantined, and Grand is stuck writing and rewriting the first line of his novel. Words are not enough to accurately describe the human experience, but we try to communicate with them anyway. The irony of this message being conveyed through a work of literature does not escape me.

Speaking of language, my copy of The Plague features a sub-par translation, and I’m going to attribute the clunky sentence structure and wonky grammar to overly-literal translation from French to English. Nevertheless, Camus’s skill as a writer shines through. Something I picked up on was the way he set the mood through careful pacing. The book starts off slow and meandering when discussing the banality of life in Oran before the plague, then pivots to quick, urgent clauses when the plague strikes. It’s masterful.

There are some aspects of the book which deserve criticism (for example, women exist only in their relationships to men) but there’s also so much to love. I think this is the best novel I’ve ever read? I will definitely be checking out the rest of Camus’s work.

Hats off, gentlemen!

Content Warnings

burnt_amber89's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

(Read in French) An important book to read. The experience of reading it during a pandemic was special : it is incredible how Camus was able to pinpoint the human psyche and it allowed for real-life comparisons.
From what I read, this book is also a metaphor for WWII, and some passages are all the more poignant when you keep this in mind. Very interesting and thought-provoking book that I would recommend, especially if you have the opportunity to read it in French since Camus' writing is exquisite.

A regrettable lack of female protagonists is notable, however.

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spanishblue's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

More relevant than ever in times of Covid-19, it is surprising, interesting and even alarming/depressing how many of the issues that Camus imagined (personal, political, medical etc.) that we have also experienced with our own epidemic today, nearly 75 years later. Or, maybe human nature just doesn't change. Can't quite work out if the overall message at the end is optimistic, realistic or nihilistic - probably all three!

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