He recognises the mental toll involved in the isolation, in hearing the daily death count, and in the dull inactivity and fear that plague brings. “This here damned disease,” one character says, “even them who haven’t got it can’t think of anything else.” Most of all is the waiting.Ĭamus dedicates many pages to how the residents of Oran attempt to cope as the plague aggressively descends upon the town. The number of deaths rise, and Oran officials decide it is time to close the town. Officials advise locals to “practice extreme cleanliness” while privately worrying about how many hospital beds are available. They nervously note how poorly prepared they are with the necessary equipment to treat large numbers of stricken people. With the first series of deaths displaying the same curious symptoms, town officials squabble about whether or not the deaths qualify as an “epidemic” and how seriously they should take it. If recent environmental crises have taught us anything, it is that this kind of wilful neglect will haunt the people of Oran. The townspeople are repulsed by this growing problem but are otherwise not concerned about what is clearly a formidable threat to the animals living among them. In the opening pages, Rieux notices an ominously increasing number of dead rats around town. Published in 1947, The Plague focuses on the character of Bernard Rieux, a doctor in Oran.

Far from adding to my apprehension, Camus’ book offers moments of catharsis and hope.Ĭamus researched various plagues throughout history in order to prepare for his fictionalised account of an epidemic consuming the Algerian coastal town of Oran one April. What struck me upon rereading this classic is how well Camus succeeds at capturing the feel of this nearly unimaginable experience, especially for someone who had never endured it himself.

I found myself hesitant, therefore, to pick up Albert Camus’ The Plague, worried it would only increase my general unease. The Plague, by Albert Camus was first published in 1947.Īs I write, the world collectively continues to bear the weight of the coronavirus pandemic it wears on without clear end in sight.

The plague camus pages