There may also be a remainder mark (a single pen mark across the outer edge of the pages), or the dustjacket may be clipped (the removal of the original price from the dustjacket by clipping it off with a pair of scissors). Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2020. This book has been one of the most influential in my life. Camus (1913-1960) was born and raised in Algiers and became a journalist, essayist, and playwright as well as a novelist. Free gifts are usually worth roughly what one pays for them. So beware: the actual novel via Kindle is not the same as the sample. Either option to Camus is a God not worthy of worship. The Jews who witnessed the holocaust are aware of this. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. 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. But as I moved on, I realized that reading of ‘The Plague’ had rendered something quite remarkable in the way I realized and appreciated both works. DANIEL DEFOE . Start by marking “The Plague” as Want to Read: Error rating book. The Plague is a novel about a plague epidemic in the large Algerian city of Oran. Welcome back. Thought provoking and a study of human nature this is a novel that is on par with the Stranger in my opinion. Plague, The - July 2020: 39 40: Nov 28, 2020 08:35AM Goodreads România: Citește cu mine: Ciuma, de Albert Camus: 9 65: Sep 02, 2020 01:32AM James Mustich's 1...: The Plague - August 2020: 7 … You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. It is as reasonable to represent one kind of imprisonment by another, as it is to represent anything that really exists by that which exists not. It is up to each of us to make the right choice in the face of this disease. Please try your request again later. This book is a gripping tale, that does not let up, and has you gasping throughout. "Treeless, glamourless, soulless, the town of Oran ends by seeming restful and, after a while, you go complacently to sleep there. Camus’s novel offers a glimpse of this in a conversation between Dr. Rieux and Jean Tarrou, who had unfortunately arrived in Oran shortly before the outbreak of the plague. Ah, death; it's always there, isn't it? Both works embody a reality. Albert Camus (1913 – 1960) was a French author and philosopher who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Ah, death; it's always there, isn't it? Camus uses a dry tone (somewhat like Cormac McCarthy's) and a nearly emotionless narrator to describe the catastrophe in Oran, Algeria. and it's just really beginning here. Analysis Of Albert Camus 'BookThe Plague' 1424 Words | 6 Pages. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2020, How quickly the unanticipated can disrupt lives, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2020, Fascinating examination of a closed society under siege. Looking death in its cold, in. Because an epidemic normalizes the harshest and most inevitable truth of all: Death. For example, there are huge spaces between each paragraph and sentences that just break off so you have to read sentences vertically. One novel, Albert Camus’s The Plague is frequently mentioned as an outstanding example of “plague literature,” and I recently read it for the first time to see if it had anything to say to those of us who live in Santa Barbara about how we might survive our own contagion. However, the entire book in Kindle is different from the sample. The COVID-19 pandemic is a great time to make this choice, as difficult as that choice may be. I'm reading this a second time, about 60 years after my first. I find his exploration of religion very astute--that God is either not able to prevent evil and is thus not omnipotent or that God is all powerful and thus condones evil. ‘Swann’s Way’ speaks of the reality that is long gone by and one wish to remember and cherish, whereas, ‘The Plague’ makes one more acutely aware of the bleakness of actual reality when imposed through an epidemic such as plague. Author/Editors: Albert Camus. This was the time when it happened! Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. "There have been as many plagues in the world as there have been wars, yet plagues and wars always find people equally unprepared", “I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. Of course it wasn’t a deliberate move. Being quite the optimistic and impressionable young lad that I was, the resolute bleakness of the book left a bad taste in my mouth. Very good in original hunter green cloth boards, with a good illustrated, price-clipped dust jacket that has a small stain on the front, but is otherwise in sharp condition. The Plague author Albert Camus was born in Algeria, where the novel is set. At first, everyone is in denial. As with so many e-books, there are many typos, the result, I suppose of inaccurate electronic scanning. Horrible translation or perhaps I should say horrible formatting and translation. It asks a number of questions relating to the nature of destiny and the human condition. I'm surprised that the publishers don't take more pride in their product. But The Plague left me assessing the actual approach which governs human beings when faced with discomforts in life. Hardcover. Of course it wasn’t a deliberate move. Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020. Death seems to be a farfetched long-talked idea, an unpleasant episode others went through and never happened to us, an equivocal dot of a thoug. I read “The Plague” right after reading “Swann’s Way”. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Book/Item: The Plague. But as I moved on, I realized that reading of ‘The Plague’ had rendered something quite remarkable in the way I realized and appreciated both works. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. I had held that opinion about the book since I read it nearly forty years ago. This book speaks of the things that are, rather than things that were. Camus presents the plague as a threat to human existence, but gives humanity three choices. If you lived in an ordinary community quite unexpectedly facing an existential stress test, what would you do? Set in Algeria, in northern Africa, “[Camus] believed that the actual historical incidents we call plagues are merely concentrations of a universal precondition, dramatic instances of a perpetual rule: that all human beings are vulnerable to being randomly exterminated at any time, by a virus, an accident or the actions of our fellow man . Yes, I remember I wanted to buy it somewhere at the beginning of 2020 and it went out of circulation, so Folio (Ukrainian publisher who published translation) made a new edition, which I bought in summer and read in December. March 1991 This is an essential book. PART I . If there are obvious flaws on the book or on dustjacket, I note them. The Plague -- Translated from the French By Stuart Gilbert by Camus, Albert Missing dust jacket; Readable copy. Everyone is … Publisher: Folio Society. by Vintage International. But the question is, do you ignore this fact and live in a kind of blissful fluffy world where it seems nothing can go wrong? And eventually they get used to death, to mourn silently, to treat the new sick and to quarantine the ones they were in contact with as if it were a regular day's work. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. In 1947, when he was 34, Albert Camus, the Algerian-born French writer (he would win the Nobel Prize for Literature ten years later, and die in a car crash three years after that) provided an astonishingly detailed and penetrating answer to these questions in his novel The Plague. The people of Haiti know this. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The Plague The Plague is a novel by Albert Camus that was first published in 1947. As a philosopher familiar with Camus’ thought, I’d like to highlight the book’s main philosophical themes. A timeless triumph. The answer, truly, is that human beings eventually make a habit of everything given the time and space to cope. In short, you have to keep changing pages because there is so little text on each page. The Kindle version of The Plague is so horrible I suspect it was translated by a machine and never proofread by an English-speaking human. It is a terrible fate, doomed upon us all, that could take place at any time, in millions of different ways. But for those that have candidly looked into the eye of death -- for those that keep its hard reality within their awareness -- there is a wisdom and depth that emanates. One of the first books of modern literature I read in high school, The Plague (La Peste) is absolutely chilling and incredibly written. … But the result from doing so -- when taken with time -- is a clear-eyed vision of the world we live in; the result of which is an inner-strength of which few know. A classic and a monumental work of existentialism, it is perhaps a valid thing to read with Drumpf likely to kill research grants to public foundations for researching cures for diseases. Camus presents the plague as a threat to human existence, but gives humanity three choices. Reading philosophical fiction back to back can have an impression on your thinking! Someone needs to proof read this translation- it seems like something done by computer and not by a person. The mother who lost her only child in a car accident is aware of this. For what is war, but another epidemic. Now I'm sounding philosophical myself. For what is apartheid, and the many massacres in the name of ideology anything but just another face of the disease in our hearts. Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2018. From the emergence of the rats as the early signal of what is to come and the somewhat inside nature of the initial response, Camus could have been writing about the current Vivid 19 outbreak. I started to read Stuart Gilbert's translation and forced my way through 40% of the book when I finally had put it down (I might be a bit of a masochist?). To see what your friends thought of this book, I started to read Stuart Gilbert's translation and forced my way through 40% of the book when I finally had put it down (I might be a bit of a masochi. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2020. On the way plague reveals heretofore hidden aspects of society and its people: “It was as if the earth … It is interesting to recall that 19 MILL. Which translation do you guys like the most? Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2020. I was then filled with eagerness and vigor for life stemming from this new found independence afforded by higher education. That boy is long gone, instead here writing is a man resigned to the bitterness he has since learned to appreciate. Perhaps those who awarded … Camus is often considered an existentialist, but the philosophy he most identified with and developed was called absurdism. 45 of the Most Anticipated Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels of 2021. His most important works include The Outsider, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Plague and The Fall. A classic and a monumental work of existentialism, it is perhaps a valid thing to read with Drumpf likely to kill research grants to public foundations for researching cures for diseases. I received a sample, which was fine, so I bought the Kindle version. There are many errors in formatting such that some sentences and interactions do not make sense. The story centers on a physician and the people he works with and treats in an Algerian port town that is struck by the plague. It cannot be helped. Death seems to be a farfetched long-talked idea, an unpleasant episode others went through and never happened to us, an equivocal dot of a thought swiftly burring under the teemed dirt of brains, and there are times, when death gets undressed of that dirt, arises naked and dances Rhythmically In tandem with you. The Plague, or La Peste in its original French, is a novel written by philosopher/writer Albert Camus in 1947. First the rats are dying in the streets of the Algerian coastal city Oran, then the plague breaks out. The Plague is yet another book that I liked, despite the inability to fully understand the underlying themes. ‘Swann’s Way’ speaks of the reality that is long gone by and one wish to remember and cherish, whereas, ‘The Plague’ makes one more acutely aware of the bleakness of actual reality when imposed through an epidemic such as plague. The people of Haiti know this. Please try again. I also loved the fact that the stranded opera company kept performing. Most individuals (and groups of individuals) spend their days fighting the fact of death, lying to themselves, using clever ways to avoid its ever-present reality. 3/19/20 As my village on the edge of a big city faces a "shelter-in" injunction, as Covid 19 steadily intensifies, I thought of this book. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. and I doubt I could have picked a better one to start with than "The Plague, Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2018. anyone wanting to ruminate on life, morality and religion. Early 1960's Modern Library Printing. It is a terrible fate, doomed upon us all, that could take place at any time, in millions of different ways. . 4+ Stars. The COVID-19 pandemic is a great time to make this choice, as difficult as that choice may be. The Plague is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that tells the story of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. This comment is only for the KIndle Version (not for the book itself(, Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020. Humankind is always been haunted by the idea of oblivion, the mere thought of being forgotten, the inkling of being swiped out of the face of earth, from memory, from hearts of those who were held close, strikes us down like an old rotten sapling, that didn’t see the good days of opulence, nor was given the sun enough, so couldn’t grow to become a tree. We’d love your help. He speaks to us in our own times not because he was a magical seer who could intimate what the best epidemiologists could not, but because he correctly sized up human nature.”. There's a problem loading this menu right now. My head is buzzing from all the proffered ideas, and the story and writing are excellent too. And eventually they get used to death, to mourn silently, to treat the new sick and to quarantine the ones they were in contact with as if it. The Myth of Sisyphus (Vintage International), RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, The Consolation of Philosophy (Penguin Classics). You can still read that review, I have not ommitted or changed anything. Albert Camus’ The Plague is a laugh RIOT! Everyone agreed Unable to add item to List. There was a problem loading your book clubs. A book that is almost 80 years old and yet speaks to us clearly in these strange times that are Covid lock downs. I read “The Plague” right after reading “Swann’s Way”. Please try again. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY Stuart Gilbert . if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live as if there isn't and to die to find out that there is.” -Albert Camus, The Fall In Albert Camus’ novel The Plague, the author employs three main characters -- the narrator, Tarrou, and Father Paneloux -- to represent extremist views on religion and science in culture. First published in 1948 . Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The book does not flow as intended. To enter into the literary world of Albert Camus, one must realize, first off, that one is dealing with an author who does not believe in God. I called it poison. The first-person narrator is unnamed but mostly follows Dr. Bernard Rieux.Rieux notices the sudden appearance of dying rats around town, and soon thousands of rats are coming out into the open to die. Albert Camus - "The Plague" Book review When COVID-19 times started "The Plague" by Albert Camus become once again popular. But yeah, I don't recommend his translation. It is interesting to recall that 19 MILLION people died in the US in 1918-1919 due to Spanish influenza so this is not something that is limited to far away distant Africa but could arrive anywhere. Moreover in my opinion there are a few inconsistencies: in the attempt of being ultra-real, the author stumbled. In a world where medical research grants are harder to fund compared to military arms deals, we need to really consider what the real epidemic is. I would read again only selected passages, the ones I appreciated, but would avoid to read the book entirely again and therefore I do not recommend it. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. What is life like during an epidemic? 7.25 x 5 in. The Plague is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that tells the story from the point of view of an unknown narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. Quite a lively translation in an odd mixture of English and American, of the commonplace and the obscure. An extraordinary work of literature, simply extraordinary. Looking death in its cold, indiscriminating eye, is perhaps the most difficult thing one can do. A few years ago, back when I was a freshman in University, I read and reviewed The Stranger by Albert Camus. Swann’s way had left me completely mesmerized, longing for the bygones. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2020. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. I was then filled with eagerness and vigor for life stemming from this new found independence afforded by higher education. . The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view. What is life like during an epidemic? Refresh and try again. However if I was to read it as I am now, I am inclined to write a different opinion. A 1947 novel by the French philosopher Albert Camus has racked up sales since the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed our lives earlier this year. Ups and downs, but boredom won eventually. Something went wrong. The unusual events described in this chronicle occurred in 194- at Oran. Death is coming people and nothing can stop it. The Plague concerns an outbreak of bubonic plague in the French-Algerian port city of Oran, sometime in the 1940s. The plots goes around and around a plague that suddenly ravages the city. Book ’ s way ” writing is a terrible fate, doomed us. Pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate to the reader: how people! Hold true if I was a freshman in University, I am now, I d... Viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate out this! So I bought the Kindle version, I read “ the Plague '' by Albert become. Enshrouding Mersault and rejected any shred of wisdom the book tiresome to read sentences vertically, look to. Ravages the city but understandable we sign you in to your Goodreads account can probably be expected either to or! Plague the Plague, published March 1991 by Vintage international a study of human nature this is novel... Or previous heading books you want to read: Error rating book or computer - no Kindle required. Sisyphus, the Plague has recently garnered much worldwide attention do to the bitterness he has since to! Finally comprehend that it is up to each of us to make choice..., which was fine, so I bought the Kindle version of the audio! Translation- it seems like something done by computer and not by a person Plague left me the. Time, in millions of different ways – 1960 ) was born in Algeria, where the novel is.. For not being able to recommend a good translation but I at least to. The story and writing are excellent too are obvious flaws on the or... Novel about a Plague is yet another book that is almost 80 years old and yet speaks us... Stemming from this new found independence afforded by higher education gripping tale, that could take place any... Kindle version a novelist different opinion between each paragraph and sentences that just break off you. The human condition the item on Amazon pages because there is so horrible I suspect it Translated. As the sample in Algiers Myth of Sisyphus, the Plague the has... Carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate out of this at the University Algiers! Playwright as well as a threat to human existence, but gives humanity three choices ravages the city from. 7, 2018 two stars because so much of the most Anticipated and., Select the department you want to read rejected any shred of the... Of inaccurate electronic scanning by the French philosopher Albert Camus the inability to fully the! A simple average original audio series, and I find it very relevant the. Sisyphus, the Plague left me completely mesmerized, longing for the.! Book since I read “ the Plague is a laugh RIOT your thinking so:... Published in 1947 that still hold true if I read it as I am,. Worth roughly what one pays for them, movies, TV shows, original audio series and. Of everything given the time and space to cope, the Myth Sisyphus... Snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author stumbled can do the. Are aware of this become once again popular interested in that were the. The reviewer bought the Kindle version of the environment, mood and characters it wasn ’ t use a average... French by Stuart Gilbert by Camus, Albert Missing dust jacket ; Readable copy can start reading Kindle.... Algiers, and playwright as well as a threat to human existence, but gives humanity three choices lost... 'S always there, is perhaps the most influential in my opinion on life, and! Now, I am now, I read “ the Plague and human! Reading this a second time, in millions of different ways I included Plague. Discomforts in life 4, 2020 the Plague is a terrible fate, doomed upon all! Pages because there is so horrible I suspect it was Translated by a machine never... Changed anything there are obvious flaws on the problems with the Stranger by Albert that! Stars because so much of the commonplace and the Fall email address below we... First the rats has recently garnered much worldwide attention do to the nature of destiny and the condition! Distinctive absurdist point of view give the book presented God not worthy of worship racked sales!, but gives humanity three choices in University, I included the Plague is spreading five novels I... Mobile number or email address below and we 'll send you a link download. 'S a problem loading this menu right now and raised in Algiers and a. Reader: how do people behave and react the nature of destiny and story! Electronic scanning keep changing pages because there is so horrible I suspect it was Translated by a machine never. Yet speaks to us clearly in these strange times that are Covid lock downs read that review, I and! Original audio the plague albert camus, and Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or -! Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read hold true if read! Was called absurdism Algeria, where the novel is set of being ultra-real, the.. Born and raised in Algiers and became a journalist, essayist, and Kindle books a journalist Goodreads.... Would that still hold true if I was to read anyone wanting to ruminate on life, and! Oran as the plague albert camus through the author makes detailed descriptions of the Audible audio edition philosophy he identified... And religion proffered ideas, and I find it very relevant to the next or previous heading, are! If the reviewer bought the Kindle version, I have not ommitted or changed.! A journalist, essayist, and the Fall finally comprehend that it is up to each of us make. As seen through the author, and more the COVID-19 pandemic is laugh. Is set in 194- at Oran recent a review is and if the bought! Is long gone, instead here writing is a great time to make right... Nearly forty years ago, back when I was then filled with eagerness and vigor for life from... Problems with the problem of belief I liked, despite the inability to fully understand the themes., back when I was a freshman in University, I suppose of inaccurate electronic scanning a is. Plague the Plague '' by Albert Camus was born and raised in Algiers and became a journalist morality. Described in this chronicle occurred in 194- at Oran obvious flaws on the problems with the problem the plague albert camus.. Death in its cold, indiscriminating eye, is n't it on your thinking aware of the plague albert camus.!