A line from the movie “Constantine" come to my mind as spoken by Archangel Gabrielle (Tilda Swinton) to Constantine (Keanu Reeves)
“ It's only in the face of horror that you truly find your nobler selves. And you can be so noble. So, I'll bring you pain, I'll bring you horror, so that you may rise above it. So that those of you who survive this reign of hell on earth will be worthy …..
The road to salvation begins tonight. Right now.!!! “

Oran , a small town is in the clutches of bubonic plague and the effects on the township - physically , psychologically breaking down the protagonists of the story , questioning the moral foundations of each individual .

Arguably the best work of Camu , I found this very thought provoking , how in face of the perfect antagonist “The Plague”; life fights back , existential philosophy at its finest .
( )

It's one of these books that are extremely difficult to rate for me, because I personally hated it, but I still think it was a great book, well-worth reading. I'm happy that I read it, but I don't think I'll ever reread it. ( )

it was like a dance ( )

Read this book when I was maybe 15 or so in translation, along with the stranger

This time, read it again in French right on the heels of L’Etranger

A fine work with lots of insight into the human condition during times of ever present mortal danger, of course so *relevant* at a time like this, one of global pandemic and widespread death, although the mortality of the plague in question is much higher than current figures for COVID-19

I’m assuming that this book, centered on the stoic Dr Rieux is sort of l’inverse of L’Etranger. Whereas Mersault lives a life devoid of intention, alienated from even his own desires, Rieux chooses a life of activism. Camus is careful to differentiate this activism from one based on religion or ideology - it seems we are to understand Rieux as someone (like Mersault) carried along on a certain kind of current. What makes the good doctor different from the hapless narrator of L’Etranger is that his boat has a rudder.

Regardless of the fact that I’d much rather hang out with Bernard Rieux than Meursault, I think L’Etranger is the better book. What makes the story of Meursault so disturbing is that some variation of his story happens to so many people all over the world everyday- in fact, if you don’t take action to steer your life, it’s likely to happen. Despite Rieux saying to Tarrou in an eminently quotable line that he doesn’t strive to be a saint but rather a man, this book sometimes verges on a kind of existential hagiography. I guess we are supposed to see the doctor as a kind of exemplar for the rational man striving against absurdity and death, and he certainly plays this role well. But I think this is where the book shows it’s age. Camus was writing on the heels of Allied victory in WW2 and French liberation from fascist domination. The afterglow definitely seeps into La Peste, and it’s a far more optimistic book than L’Etranger. I can’t help but feel like this book’s vision of human nature has soured a bit in the intervening 70 years, not to mention that for a book based upon valorizing humanism, it barely touches on the colonial situation in French Algeria, and reduces every female character to a kind of cardboard cut out. Camus would probably be scandalized by the fact that the experience of Meursault is more relatable than that of Dr. Rieux to a modern reader. But it feels to me that the world is being overwhelmed by multiple plagues, both physiological and ideological, and there are not enough Dr. Rieuxs to turn the tide. ( )

"It comes to this," Tarrou said almost casually; "what interests me is learning how to become a saint."

"But you don’t believe in God!"

"Exactly! Can one be a saint without God?—that’s the problem, in fact the only problem, I’m up against today."

The Plague is one of those essential books that I didn't read when I was younger and is part of a literary bucket-list. It's also one of those books that I puzzled over as I read it. I didn't find the book depressing at all - In fact, I found it quite hopeful and bucolic. I took away love, friendship, civic duty and hope. As I read the reviews of others, I realized that other people saw despair, hopelessness and crisis. I'm still confused by it.

Camus was an atheist and an absurdist. Since I am also both of these things, I have to believe that I read it correctly.
( )