A review by ayla_derammelaere
De pest by Albert Camus

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0



In this book, we follow doctor Rieux who lives in a small town where suddenly an outbreak of the plague is happening. The doctor is the realistic one, who knows what is to come, where the governement tries to remain as optimistic as possible to avoid making hard decisions.
Camus writes about the fear for the disease, the pain of being seperated from loved ones, the dispair of not knowing and the strength to do good and help others. Altruisme, for me, is the object of this book.
The book tells us how different people respond in different ways to the plague and yet, they all act the same : dispair of what is to come, pain and loss because of those who died, humanity to help who are in need and joy and relief when they are united and free again.

There are people who said that they read this book and it reminded them of covid and all of its rules. For me, that wasn't the case : Camus paints us a town that responds in an ideallic way. 
When the plague starts, the people are in disbelief and they refuse to let their sick ones be taken to the hospital. They fight of the doctor and the police to try and keep their loved ones with them. During covid, we had no problems bringing our sick ones to the hospital when they needed it, we agreed with the isolation.
The longer the plague lasts, the more Camus makes them obey the rules, don't question them since they all see the necessity of them. During covid, most of us followed the rules but some of marched together to show they didn't agree, they refused to wear the masks or keep their distance to others. 
When they've 'conquered' the plague (the doctor knows the plague can remain dorment for decades), they celebrate and love and are united in happiness. When covid wasn't as dangerous anymore (since it's still here, we can not say we've conquered it) and the rules were less strict, we were not grateful : we thought it was our right to be free and didn't want to be altruistic anymore.

But what struck me most in the book, is that he shows us the best side of humans : love, teamplay, helping others,.. he didn't write about people in that small town who actively tried to ruin it for others. I think covid showed us both sides of humanity : the caring and loving sides versus the condemning side.

I loved reading the book, it was written in such a gentle way, easy words but still with a lot of different emotions. I could feel the love for other people, the exhaustion, all of the steps of grief in different people and different times. Such a strong and delicate work.