The Plague (1947)

I remember why I didn't take many 20th century literature classes as an undergrad. The plague is about the happenings in the town of Oran (probably in Algeria) when the plague hits. It is a study in characters and the ways that humans adapt to new and stressful circumstances. It was also somewhat meandering, oddly written (though that could have been the translation) - like he was going for a very old time-y feel but not quite successful, and rather boring. TAKE THAT ENGLISH MAJORS OF THE WORLD. ( )

This is really a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars kind of novel and I'm sure someone could make a great case for 5 stars as well. I feel I've read quite a few of these sort of end of times novels and so I'm always reluctant to start another one (mainly because of the ever uplifting subject matter) but I figured you can't go wrong with Camus. The Plague has a really interesting perspective to me because of the time when it was written. First published in 1947, there's a sort of lessened media element of it that is often present in more modern novels about plagues. There's a mention of radio here but it is short lived in comparison to the idea of the human psyche and how it greatly changes when it encounters a possible end of life and all humanity moment.

I won't say what happens in the end for those who haven't read it and don't want their ending spoiled but even more than the ending is the greater essence or thick of the middle section, which speaks to human psychology and coping mechanisms. Camus really examines how people react, change, and how their behavior can fluctuate rather radically from their typical habits. In many of these types of novels, there's also a greater emphasis on how one will survive. Here, there's an idea that drinking alcohol might help and so the Algiers town of Oran is filled with those who desperately imbibe spirits while our somewhat understated hero protagonist, Dr. Rieux works 20 hour shifts trying to stop the epidemic by curing for the sick and using any serum he's given. Yet, still it seems more of an examination of behavior. The one area where it has most in common with other novels with this topic is in terms of the subject of quarantining but there is less details about how people are separated off and more again about the effect this has on loved ones. A well worthy read in terms of the human psyche and also to give a glimpse of the time and of the culture of Algiers at the time (Camus would certainly be better able to predict how these townsfolk would react than I would). Perhaps what I liked best is just the philosophical aspects.


Memorable quotes:

pg. 37 "There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet plagues and wars take people equally by surprise."

ppg. 71=72 "It was undoubtedly the feeling of exile-that sensation of a void within which never left us, that irrational longing to hark back to the past or else to speed up the march of time, and those keen shafts of memory that stung like fire. Sometimes we toyed with our imagination, composing ourselves to wait for a ring at the bell announcing somebody's return, or for the sound of a familiar footstep on the stairs; but, though we might deliberately stay at home at the hour when a traveler coming by the eveing train would normally have arrived, and though we might contrive to forget for the moment that no trains were running, that game of make-believe, for obvious reasons, could not last. Always a moment came when we had to face the fact that no trains were coming in. And then we realized that the separation was destined to continue, we had no choice but to come to terms with the days ahead."

pg. 73 "Thus, too, they came to know the incorrigible sorrow of all prisoners and exiles, which is to live in company with a memory that serves no purpose. Even the past, of which they thought incessantly, had a savor only of regret."

pg. 171 "The only regulation that seemed to have some effect on the populace was the establishment of a curfew hour. From eleven onwards, plunged in complete darkness. Oran seemed a huge necropolis."

pg. 179 "The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous. In the memories of those who lived through them, the grim days of plague do not stand out like vivid flames, ravenous and inextinguishable, beaconing a troubled sky, but rather like the slow, deliberate process of some monstrous thing crushing out all upon its path."

pg. 181 "...this precisely was the most disheartening thing: that the habit of despair is worse than despair itself. Hitherto those who were parted had been utterly unhappy; there was always a gleam of hope in the night of their distress; but that gleam had now dies out. You could see them at street corners, in cafés or friends' houses, listless, indifferent, and looking so bored that, because of them, the whole town seemed like a railway waiting room"

pg. 252 "I have realized that we all have plague, and I have lost my peace. And today I am still trying to find it; still trying to understand all those others and not to be the mortal enemy of anyone. I only know that one must do what one can to cease being plague-stricken, and that's the only way in which we can hope for some peace or, failing that, a decent death. This, and only this, can bring relief to men and, if not save them, at least do them the least harm and even, sometimes, a little good."




( )

One of those books you can read at multiple levels. On the surface, it's about a town hit by a plague and how the inhabitants deal with this. However, the jacket also describes that it can be read as an allegory for France the Nazis. Not sure I'd have got that without being told up front, but under that interpretation it's pretty damning. Well written, and engrosing (almost missed my station, I had my nose so deep in this) but it isn't a feel good book by any stretch of the imagination. ( )

I'd never read Camus before, and I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It was a little too abstracted to suit me perfectly, but it's a terrifically compelling story about a small group of people doing the very best they can under the very worst of circumstances. ( )

"Classic." "A perfect achievement." "Masterpiece." Big words with significant meaning. I have a better one. "Eh."

The question I have is whether The Plague should be viewed as a work of literature, or something entirely different: philosophy, perhaps? Had I gone into this book expecting a creative work of philosophy, I may have been able to enjoy it. (A little). Essentially, The Plague is a metaphor for Europe under WWII and asks the big questions of life and crises. I went into it expecting a great work of literature, however. And I can only judge it as such.

The Plague starts off well. Sprinkled throughout are wonderful scenes, putting the plague in its proper context, but they are few and far between. For the most part, it reads too much like a text book. The narrator is detached from the characters, making it difficult to differentiate from one to the next and leaving me unattached to all of them. The scenes are largely descriptive, giving a brief overview of the events without showing them. The dialogue is stilted. One character speaks for pages with no break, explaining things the narrator already knows for the sake of the reader. This book is filled with all the things students of writing are told not to do.

So, I say "eh." The metaphor is well done. There is some potential in some of the scenes. But it's not enough for me to care. And what's more damning in a book about thousands of people dying than a lack of care? ( )