“There as here it was the same solemn pause, the lull that follows battle; it was the silence of defeat.”

SO BLEAK. This book is technically a reread but I don’t remember anything about it from my first read 10 years ago other than “there was a plague. many people & rats died.”
But reading this now after going through the whole global pandemic thing feels insane because it just goes to show that 1. camus is amazing at observing & characterizing people 2. human beings don’t ever change 3. this book could’ve been written yesterday and I would believe it.
The first 40% felt absurd and fast paced. 40-80% of it dragged on and was incredibly bleak. 80-100% was sad times galore. Also I think it’s a little funny that there is essentially no actual dialogue with any of the female characters in this book other than the minuscule small talks Rieux had with his mom or some patients.

first read 27 Nov 2014
second reread 20 Sept 2024