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What books should everyone read before they die?Add Book
The Plague
Albert Camus
Literature
James Mustich
Jul 31, 2018
Welcome to the epidemic city: a place where rumors run wild, government can’t coordinate relief, religious authorities rave ineffectually, and no one knows what today, much less tomorrow, holds in store. At first the citizens of Oran panic and revolt, but before long, as if numbed by the summer sun, their alarm gives way to despondency and resignation. Bodies are piled high in the streets, neighborhoods stink of pestilential flesh, homes are burned, and citizens wander in a hopeless daze. Yet somehow life goes on. The Plague has the intensity of a medical thriller, but it’s more than that. Through his matter-of-fact narration of this book’s horrifying events and their aftermath, Camus manages to convey the lesson, as hopeful as it is simple, that he believes we are taught, not only by pestilence, but by existence itself, "that there are more things to admire in men than to despise."
It makes quite an impression. I read this 20 years ago, and I regularly think about it. I liked this better than 'The stranger'.
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If bleakness is what you're after, there are better books out there to get the job done.
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Reading this after the Covid-19 shut down was lifted in my city was interesting. The Plague shares several elements we used in the shut down but goes even farther. I liked how Camus portrayed different characters some who stepped up and did more than was required of them, while others didn't.
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THE book to read as both prophecy of and a meditation on the era of COVID-19.
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So much to relate to during COVID, this is a powerful read. I think it'd stick with me even without living through the pandemic. It gives me hope for what the future could look like.
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"1,000 Books To Read Before You Die" is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing, Inc. Based on the book: 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich, (Workman Publishing Co., Inc.: © 2018 James Mustich)
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