"L'orage qui secouait ce corps de soubresauts convulsifs l'illuminait d'éclairs de plus en plus rares et Tarrou dérivait lentement au fond de cette tempête."In middle school I read L'Étranger (1942) (The Stranger) by Albert Camus which I remember enjoying very much. When my mother sorted out the book shelves, some of my sister's school books ended up in my room. I had heard about La Peste, knowing it to be a great classic and I decided I should read it, it sounded very much up my alley.
The book opens up some time in the 1940's in colonial French Algeria. The town is first described and we get to learn about the life of its people as well as some characters that will be our main anchors through the entire book. The narrator is unnamed and his identity remains a mystery up till the very last chapter. Once we have got to know more about the characters the first disruptions in the common daily lives of the people of Oran start to occur. At first it seems to be embodied through bizarre animals behaviors, for example rats running in houses and then disappearing entirely. Dogs and cats vanishing. Soon enough, the main doctor that we follow, Dr. Rieux is called to help some patients. When the first deaths occur there is still puzzlement amongst the doctors, but with more and more data the doctors come to discover that the town is being struck by an epidemic of bubonic plague. The authorities have to take measures but also try to avoid any panic. Soon enough, the town has to be hermetically closed and this is where the narrators and all characters will have to cope with losses, abandonment and paranoia of all sorts.
It is not easy to know where to start when it comes to give any critic to La Peste. Let me start by saying that stylistically this is one of the most well written books I have ever read. The economy of words is blatant at times, yet a few words go such a long way and everything is represented with many colors. The many metaphors, whether it be local or on a more global scale , are very clever and multilayered. The reflections of the narrators are the core of some of main reason why the book is said to be a milestone in the theory of the Absurd and also existentialism, but the dialogues are just as rich in their depth.
The narrator in himself is mysterious but through the book he clearly guides the reader and without breaking the fourth wall, makes us feel like we are reading a detailed and very living chronicle. To resume the style, I'd say it might be the most depressive thing to read for anyone who aspires to become a writer as this puts the bar as high as I've ever seen it. Now, the story is just as good. At some point I felt almost sad that this was written back in the 40's, because if it had been written a few decades later this could have had the plague replaced with one of those zombies epidemic and it would have worked, it would have worked so well that it would have been the best zombie story ever. In fact, I'd say it features all the key elements of what makes zombie outbreak movies so entertaining, so much so, that when the style came up it probably was inspired by La Peste, or at least it should have been. What I am trying to say is that the key elements are the same, we have a few characters, all diverse, stricken by many deaths in their surrounding, a closed off town, the lack of places to run, the lack of supply, the impossibility of overcoming the disaster except by surviving. Living becomes surviving. I could go on and on about the different characters, their state of mind and the different events but I wouldn't be making the book any justice.
I liked: Just about everything. I didn't read it quickly but I enjoyed every moment of it.
I disliked: If it weren't for a few slower passages that lacked either events or philosophical ideas (believe me those are very scarce) I would have given this a 100/100
96/100
I can't vouch for the English version but, in any event, this is a must read.
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