The Plague by Albert Camus is an extraordinary odyssey into the darkness and abs
urdity of human existence. 'On the morning of April 16, Dr Rieux emerged from hi
s consulting-room and came across a dead rat in the middle of the landing.' It s
tarts with the rats. Vomiting blood, they die in their hundreds, then in their t
housands.
When the rats are all gone, the citizens begin to fall sick. Like t
he rats, they too die in ever greater numbers. The authorities quarantine the to
wn.
Cut off, the terrified townspeople must face this horror alone. Some resi
gn themselves to death or the whims of fate. Others seek someone to blame or dre
am of revenge.
One is determined to escape. But a few, like stoic Dr Rieux, s
tand together to fight the terror. A monstrous evil has entered their lives but
they will never surrender to it.
They will resist the plague. "A matchless fa
ble of fear, courage and cowardice"
