Thursday, February 20, 2014
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Nobel prize-winning Albert Camus, who died in 1960, could not have known how grimly current his existentialist novel of epidemic and death would remain. Set in Algeria, in northern Africa, The Plague is a powerful study of human life and its meaning in the face of a deadly virus that sweeps dispassionately through the city, taking a vas.t percentage of the population with it
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Sounds gripping and disturbing.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alden- Are you still reading this book? I remember loving it in college, and I taught it one year to my high-school seniors; if you'd like to discuss it in some depth, I'd be happy to. I was very interested in existentialism, which was Camus's philosophy, and which is the basis of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the sort of mysterious way that he portrays the characters. Also the book seem sort of floaty in a way so that I can race my way through the paragraphs without much trouble; which is a nice break from the density of Dante's Inferno. I'm told that The Plague corresponds with The Stranger which I have but haven't read yet. For Missy, have you read The Stranger? Also what do you remember about the The Plague that you found most interesting?
ReplyDeleteWould you recommend this book to a person who has read the stranger, what corresponds with the stranger in the plague?
ReplyDeleteSince I have not read The Stranger yet I would not know what corresponds or connects from each book. However because I find enjoyment from reading this book I imagine that The Stranger must be a decent book also.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, what do you find in the book to be enjoyable?
ReplyDeleteWhat vibe does the book give off?
If you liked that work of camus's in that book I would recommend the stranger to you. I will warn you that this book is a bite morbid.
Like many of the mysteries that I have read they all can be a bit morbid. Do you like morbid death ridden book or would you prefer less death? Kurt what genre is The Stranger?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Stranger is absurdist fiction, or just straight fiction. I think that is more along the lines of absurdist fiction thought, due to the way the character acts.
ReplyDeleteI think "absurdist" describes Camus's (and Sartre's) work. Alden, I liked The Stranger ok, but loved The Plague. I agree with your use of the word "floaty" to describe it; I think Camus was trying to achieve a dreamlike (or nightmare-like) quality. I just love Camus's diction- the way he puts words together- and the way it enhances his philosophy, since he was first of all an existentialist. My introduction to his work was through his book Lyrical and Critical Essays, and if you or Kurt, or anyone there, would like to read some shorter pieces of his, they're great. He was Algerian, and the setting of the heat, blinding sun, and ocean plays a large part in them. Might be just what we need as we look out at the melting snow ;).
ReplyDeleteExistentialist what an interesting term to describe him. Missy do you have other novels/books by Albert camus that I might be able to borrow to read? I enjoyed both Plague and The Stranger equally so why not try others by him?
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