The Plague“Its relevance lashes you across the face.” —Stephen Metcalf, The Los Angeles Times • “A redemptive book, one that wills the reader to believe, even in a time of despair.” —Roger Lowenstein, The Washington Post A haunting tale of human resilience and hope in the face of unrelieved horror, Albert Camus' iconic novel about an epidemic ravaging the people of a North African coastal town is a classic of twentieth-century literature. The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr. Rieux, resist the terror. An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a timeless story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence. |
From inside the book
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Page 8
... gazed down at the face that turned toward him in the glow of the bedside lamp . His wife was thirty , and the long illness had left its mark on her face . Yet the thought that came to Rieux's mind as he gazed at her was : How young she ...
... gazed down at the face that turned toward him in the glow of the bedside lamp . His wife was thirty , and the long illness had left its mark on her face . Yet the thought that came to Rieux's mind as he gazed at her was : How young she ...
Page 163
... gazed thoughtfully at them . " You two , " he said , " I suppose you've nothing to lose in all this . It's easier , that way , to be on the side of the angels . " Rieux drained his glass . " Come along , " he said to Tarrou . " We've ...
... gazed thoughtfully at them . " You two , " he said , " I suppose you've nothing to lose in all this . It's easier , that way , to be on the side of the angels . " Rieux drained his glass . " Come along , " he said to Tarrou . " We've ...
Page 216
... gazed at Rieux , who was standing immediately in front of him . In the small face , rigid as a mask of grayish clay , slowly the lips parted and from them rose a long , incessant scream , hardly varying with his res- piration , and ...
... gazed at Rieux , who was standing immediately in front of him . In the small face , rigid as a mask of grayish clay , slowly the lips parted and from them rose a long , incessant scream , hardly varying with his res- piration , and ...
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Albert Camus ambulance anyhow asthma began Bois de Boulogne Booker Prize breath café called camp Castel coming concierge Cottard crowd dark dead rats death disease doctor door entered epidemic exile eyes face Father Paneloux feeling fellow citizens felt fever FLAUBERT'S PARROT followed gates gave gazed going Gonzales Grand hand heard heart hope horse hoofs hospital hour idea journalist knew light living looked mind morning mother narrator never night once Oran Othon patient pestilence Philip Roth picture plague pneumonic plague police Prefect quarantine quicklime railway directory Rambert realized Rieux asked Rieux replied round sanitary seemed silence smile sort sound street streetcars suffering talking Tarrou asked tell there's thing thought told took town townsfolk trying turned voice waiting walked walls week wife window words