The Plague

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Summary: A masterpiece of existentialist literature.
Review: Compared to The Outsider, The Plague is a very beautiful novel about life. All the important questions about life and death are asked in The Plague, although they are not answered so readily. The Plague is deeply moving and will make you question your own life and values. The Outsider also asks the big questions, but The Plague handles them with beauty and sadness. A wonderful book to read.

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Summary: A plague devestates a normal town.
Review: Although Camus brilliantly provides meaning to his tale, the story is overly enlongated and there is too much wasted description.

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Summary: An excellent book, not as hard as others would think.
Review: Being in an honors high school English course I chose to read this novel. Although some may find it hard to read, I found it very enjoyable. Camus makes an excellent point using existentialism, symbolism, and desript writing. His book tells of the past, present, and future. It will make you realize what life could be like in hell, and how it might somedaybe in our lives. The Plague will make you think about how your life is now, and how with a blink of an eye it could change.

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Summary: It's marvelously written but insanely difficult to read.
Review: This book is truely a masterpiece, but no one should be made to read it until they are truely ready. It asks questions of each reader that challenge beliefs one may have based one's entire life on. Good luck.

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Summary: Horror and hope
Review: Camus' masterpiece of secular humanism shows the importance of hope and compassion in the midst of horror on a grand scale. Very 20th century. His descriptions are wonderfully evocative.

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Summary: Camus' novel is a timeless literary masterstroke
Review: Even in translation, the simple beauty of Camus' language cannot be ignored. *The Plague* depicts urban life as it is really lived with wonderfully descriptive detail. Camus' insight is profound for its simplicity: to get on in life, people must form habits. As we watch the man who spits on cats and the man who sifts peas, we realize that these habits become the defining characteristics of our existence. During the plague itself, the moral indignation of the church is aptly demonstrated as an absurd imoposition. The wrath of God and the redemption of heaven have no place in the plague-stricken town of Oran. It is in this sense that Camus' allegory is revealed: we are always in times of plague. We must fight our human battles and rejoice in our human feelings. In doing so, our lives become meaningful. Such a book as Camus' should be classified under both "World Literature" and "Philosophy;" and a third, "Classics."

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Summary: A great book that can be read on many different levels
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It perfectly balanced plot with symbolism and ideology. Camus' view of society isn't very good, but I guess that's expected during the era of Nazi Germany. I noticed that Camus' male characters always have broad shoulders. I love the scene where him and Tarrrou go to the balcony on top of the spaniard's house. I think the only drawback to the novel was that sometimes camus was hasty with his characterization. But regardless of that, the characters were very affecting.

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Summary: A mother of a book
Review: As expected, Camus gives us a timeless book with many poignant scenes that leave the reader with many frightening realizations. Though Camus claims to not be an existentialist (instead, a godless Christian), Many of the themes used in this book parallel with the beliefs that make up the foundation of existentialist thinking, such as the issue odf alienation, nothingness, despair, and of course, the absurdity of death. Camus leaves us with a killer last line, that is just as powerful as the last line of The Stranger. What is it, you may ask? Well, you will have to find out on your own. A very profound book; Camus ceases to amaze to this day.

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Summary: compelling moments throughout the story.
Review: This book is not exceptional. But I can not can not blame it on Camus. I think some weight must lie on the translation. I previously read "The Stranger" -- the new translation, which was much better than the first translation I had read a few years back. I am inclined to say that the translation of "The Plague" that I read is not a good interpretation. One of Camus' virtues is his monotone voice when describing events with a sense od detachment. "The Plague" has a lot of good moments and is definitely worth reading, but it feels as though the translator, Stuart Gilbert, is placing flowers where there should be none. Camus' beauty is in its barren deserted descriptions. This book should be retranslated by Matthew Ward who did an excellent job with the Stranger. I will definitely write to the publisher suggesting this, and so should all of you who decide to read this version. Regardless of all this, it is a book worth reading.

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Summary: A brilliant work of existential literature and philosophy.
Review: With the exception of The Myth of Sysiphus this is Camus' best work in the field of existentialist thought. The Plague provides rich characters who demonstrate "authentic" living in the face of adversity and danger, and shows the reader that life, real life, can only be realized by looking danger in the face and thumbing your nose at it. Camus does a magnificant job of integrating the often impenatrable philosophy of Heidegger and Sartre into a wonderfully woven work of literature.