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

The Plague Chronicles

A character driven chronicle of the plague, with a boring shake of the hand at God.

Psychosis of Fear: Panic, Apathy, Insanity

A powerful novel on a plague's petrifying effects on society's psychosis: the pullulating fear and panic, apathy for life, and loss of fundamental sanity.

Not Camus' best

Meh I thought it was not all that and a bag of chips word word

wish I had read during COVID!!

pace of author was perfect. my first exposure to A. Camut and looking forward to Myth of S. this was beautiful, heart breaking, and astonishingly similar to my memories of COVID. human nature is predictable. mostly good, but occasionally silly and terrible.

Close Down The Town

Perfect Camus. The plot still glistens with situations that are still significant today. Really timeless themes that still resonate today.
Short, concise, and well written just like most of his novels. Narration is good and complements the material.

Some people think Camus is difficult to get into. This could be because of his existential leanings. Otherwise, his works are easily accessible.

Still a classic

In this current covid 19 crisis there is still much to be learned about human nature

Very appropriate for today.

_The Plauge_ by Albert Camus receives four stars from me due to the ideas, and connection I feel to our current situation (that is totally personal, I realize).

This was an audiobook so first I would like to address the reader. James Jenner reads these texts. His style is very straight forward, without too much drama. I don't remember a great variety of voices, but he distinguishes them enough. I liked his interpretation of the text, it is very subdued which I think reflects the text very well. I would get another book narrated by him in the future.

The book.

This is a heavy work, dense with the existential worldview. Not too depressing, but heavy still. The plot involves lots of waiting, so in terms of plot, this isn't a plot-driven text, it is more a presentation of couping with the situation. I dislike lots of summaries when narrators tell us about what has happened instead of narrating the events. There is lots of summary in this text, but I felt it fit this well. We need a brief overview of what the town is doing to help. We need summaries that explain the topics from beginning to nearly the end. For example, the narrator explains the streetcars were used to transport the bodies to the cemetery, due to a large amount of dying, and that families were not allowed to attend. The narrator begins this summary with the early days of the plague and continues to near the end. This gives readers a clear overview of this important aspect of life.

Another aspect I liked about this novel was the characters. They were all interesting, and all offered something to the text. Even the guy who likes to spit on the cats, he reveals something about life. Because the narrator's tone if objective, we don't get any color of the characters. We can base our thoughts about the people based on them, what they do, and what they say.

There were times during this novel, that I just felt bad for the people. I understood their struggle. Maybe because we are living it now.

Recommended: Yes, but one needs to know, it isn't a quick read even though it isn't very long. There are lots of philosophical ideas presented which slow the reading down and makes for a harder to understand the text. As an audiobook, listeners need to know, this is not a text that can be listened too easily while doing housework. It's possible, yes. But I feel it demands more attention.

An important read

import when the book came out, and it's still important now. everyone should give this book a read.

not that my two cents are needed

but both go to Al. this was just breathtakingly relatable and cutting. I feel more for having listened to it.

"But what does that mean - 'plague'? Just life"

What shall we choose amidst the mundane and banal; evil and suffering; relative isolation; and the absence of 'karmic' justice; when there is no meaning or at least, no discernable, certain meaning? Is passion more important than reason? Shall we kick and scream in rebellion? Shall we attach meaning through religion or service? Shall we accept existence as is: smiling and loving one another? Relevant questions at any time and particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

These questions are explored through the narratives of the characters. The characters let us know their beliefs by their actions and curt expositions rather than soliloquy or conversations as negotiation.

It's Camus.

4 stars to narration: The performance is good but I found the pauses to be too long and there was a grating timber to the voice to my ear. It probably won't bother you. I had to listen through a device that had heavy bass.