The Plague in Never too Late to Read Classics

Nov 14, 2020 Tim Callicutt rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-books, country-books

[Really a 3.5] I try with existentialists, I really do. I may have far too much sympathy for their philosophy, but I cannot stand their novels. At first, I thought my struggle with this novel was a translation issue. But the last quarter or so of the story put that theory to rest. The translator tapped into the subtle beauty of Camus' prose, as the characters began to reflect on the legacy of the plague upon them.

My main problem here was the same one I've had with every existentialist novel I've [Really a 3.5] I try with existentialists, I really do. I may have far too much sympathy for their philosophy, but I cannot stand their novels. At first, I thought my struggle with this novel was a translation issue. But the last quarter or so of the story put that theory to rest. The translator tapped into the subtle beauty of Camus' prose, as the characters began to reflect on the legacy of the plague upon them.

My main problem here was the same one I've had with every existentialist novel I've read - I could not connect with any of the characters. At no point did I care what happened to anybody - which is saying something since they're facing a deadly plague that threatens the very fabric of their society. Even the final reveal of the narrator did not shift my experience of the novel. This struggle is surprising considering the way existentialism privileges the individual and her/his experience. I believed that this underlying assumption would lead to the development of more compelling characters. Instead, we have characters whose experiences are so insular that it's difficult to fully engage with them.

A final note - more for posterity's sake than anything. I partially chose this as one of my Algeria novels, not on the understanding that it would provide a greater understanding of the country for me, but rather to see how the author would approach the subject of living through a deadly pandemic. Especially near the beginning of the outbreak, I found a number of similarities. People were immediately combative when faced with a diminishment of their freedoms, and sought ways to bypass the rules that had been put in place. However, by the end of the novel, it seemed as if the similarities had ended. This doesn't reflect poorly on the novel by any means. There's a whole host of cultural differences that could explain the disparity, nor would I expect a novel from the 1940s to fully anticipate the experience of a pandemic well into the 21st century. It's just something to be aware of, if you pick up this novel to better understand our present moment. This isn't to say it has nothing to add to the conversation. When it comes to the psychological toll of a pandemic, especially for those who feel separated from close loved ones, this books hits the mark well. ...more

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