The Plague

By: Albert Camus

Narrated by: James Jenner

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

In the small coastal city of Oran, Algeria, rats begin rising up from the filth, only to die as bloody heaps in the streets. Shortly after, an outbreak of the bubonic plague erupts and envelops the human population. Albert Camus' The Plague is a brilliant and haunting rendering of human perseverance and futility in the face of a relentless terror born of nature.

©1947 Librairie Gallimard (P)2006 Recorded Books

A must-read or re-read during this pandemic

Thought-provoking and full of poignant, the book takes on new and deeper dimensions in the era of COVID-19.

Camus can really dissect an epidemic over it’s various emotions

I’m listening to this one again while my current town (Seattle) is shut down due to coronavirus. Many of these similarities of the plague dreamt up in theory by Camus helps make sense of the times that we are currently living through right now. Epidemics deal will so much tragedy, yet Camus points out no matter how dismal it may seem, there is always more to admire in humans rather than despise.

Very deep yet beautifly simple.

Such a good book. It is the perfect read for times like these. It really feels like holding a mirror up to humanity.

book was good my French is bad

if only I could keep all the french names straight in my head . it was a nice book and worth a listen but maybe if I had seen the names ot would have been more clear.

this book is not about the plague

I am new to Albert Camus, but having already read The Stranger, I was smart enough to know that one should think further than the story that is being told and the events that are being described. I expected Camus to write about philosophy, and found him writing about the human condition, life, death, love, hate, evil, good, justice, essence, society, the state, science, metaphysics...the list goes on.

Those that trundle through this book frustrated by the seemingly mindless narrative of thousands of innocent people dying from the plague should know they are not philosophers and would perhaps rather move on. For those who have read Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant or any reasonable amount of pure philosophy will find this to be a delightful and practical simile of the most important questions of life and everything that matters.

A book about Love

This book takes place in a fictional North African plague during the depression in an Algerian town that had actually experienced plagues many times in history. It is about how various people and organizations behave under these conditions. But it is really about the incredible love and compassion people manifest to their fellow Man regardless of their lack of faith in one religion or another. Humanism.

Camus foresaw 80 years ago, so much of human nature that we see now in our COVID crisis. It is startling.

One might think this book might bring you down but it actually gives me hope and a little more faith in my fellow humans.

Revisit from HS

Read this in HS 40+ years ago but the pandemic seemed a good time to revisit - it did provide some insights that apply in the narrators comments mostly.
This was an well read and more enjoyable than in my youth but what did I know. As for being existential, from 2021 it seems like life.

Don’t expect a book about pandemics

This book has little to do with a pandemic virus rather it is an insight into the human psyche.

Camus takes you on an existentialist journey into the human experience full of allegories and metaphors while he provides engaging commentary on the subject through the lenses of his characters.

Fantastic book that lingers in your mind for weeks after you have finished it.

Of course Camus received the Nobel Prize

Albert Camus writes in simple yet powerful eloquence. This was on my reading list months prior to the world-wide Covid 19 pandemic, but oh so poignant during this time. Camus' characters are deep and real in such personal ways and Camus' use of plague as metaphor for fascism and Nazi occupation is palpable. A worthwhile read and worthy of reading again.

A masterpiece

Had I read this one last year, I would have been impressed at Camus' perception of the human condition. This year, it's almost prophetic. I can literally see myself, my loved ones and the whole world in these characters. Depressing and terrifying, but a great work from one of the best writers. I hope I can read it one day and remember these days as something we all overcame.