The plague ALBERT CAMUS
@pushpendragold (324)
India
April 23, 2007 1:37pm CST
Have any one read THE PLAGUE of Albert Camus.
The plague is easily one of the best ten novels ever written, for surpassing even the erstwhile classic The stranger. Whereas we examine an uncommonly cold hearted man in a normal world in the pages the Stranger, in this novel it is a harsh outside world which closes in on a group of fascinating characters. It is in this much more developed context that Camus' most effectively. The lesson of good, normal lives in a world gone mad are much more instructive and meaningful than the observations in the Stranger of a man gone made in a normal world.
1 response
@angelicEmu (1311)
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24 Apr 07
Have you read "L'Etranger" and "La Peste" in their original French? With a writer like Camus, the narrative voice being so intrinsic to the novel means that you're really best off reading it in its original format. All too often a translator will put their own slant on the novel, or interpret text which has no equivalent translation in English, and lose the feel and point of the author's intent. You also have to bear in mind the context of these books: Camus fought in Algeria and was also a mercenary. If you're going to get all you can out of his works, you need to research his life, to understand and appreciate what he's trying to do in his novels.
@angelicEmu (1311)
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24 Apr 07
Incidentally, if you're looking for a moralistic "lesson" in his works, you'll probably be disappointed. Camus was more interested in society and the human condition than teaching moral lessons to his readers.
