For the true intellectual and philosopher!!!

Camus’s work of genius combines multiple tenets of existential philosophy to create a masterpiece that is amazingly deep yet concise as well. The onset of the plague on a Algerian town by the name of Oran causes the townspeople to face the constant possibility of death. Their situation exemplifies the situation that all men are in, a situation where their lives’ only certainty is death. This work is most brilliant because it accepts the existentialist’s absurdity, but still demonstrates that this theory is actually optimistic. The constant, and losing, battle against death and for life and happiness must be fought simply because it is the logical thing to do. The Plague vividly depicts the extremes of human suffering, joy, and compassion.


I especially recommend reading this book for those that are interested in existential philosophy! However, if you do not know much about the philosophy, don’t despair! In fact, you might learn a lot through reading this book whether you love or hate existential philosophy. I would recommend at least having some background on it so you can understand where Camus is coming from. Camus is considered an existential absurdist, meaning he believes in the complete irrationality of the world. Although hard to swallow at first, it is also brutally logical and a very interesting perspective. Existentialists also stress personal responsibility and acknowledge that humanity constantly remains in a state of suffering. Camus flirts with various concepts and perspectives throughout the novel, so don’t expect a one sided narration.

Unfortunately, the translator of the book was a British man named Stuart Gilbert. If you have read both versions of Camus’ other work, The Stranger, you know that Gilbert attempts to mold the novel to his own colloquial language. That makes for a few problems: 1. The language is often flashier, making the flow of the novel a little bulkier and hampering its flow. 2. Some of the sentences are just plain awkward and I am reluctant to blame Camus for such inconsistencies. 3. I wonder how the novel would have turned out had it been translated by Matthew Ward (who did an amazing job with The Stranger and was very careful about retaining the exact meaning of Camus’ words)

Overall, the book remains an amazing read and the translator issue remains a minor quip.. Very few books bring us face to face with the reality of suffering like The Plague.

(Be sure to let me know if you want more information by leaving a comment!)