...Than curse the darkness.

Camus brings about an exelent piece on the human spirit and his views on the noble struggle that one cannot possibly overcome. And yet, one must struggle on...

An exelent read if you have the dedication, or the need as philosophy courses may dictate.

I found The Plague to be a profound work of literature, marvelously crafted by Camus. He has a way of making philosophy and morality exciting through his fluent and original style of storytelling. Though Camus had once believed that life was "absurd", the story reflects his later belief that humanity must prove himself worthy of living by his will to survive in times of affliction and exile. The characters are well developed as we learn their tales of love, deprivation, and suffering. It is definitely a must-read for those who ponder the purpose of life.

I read this book when I was researching the philosophy of existentialism. As far as the 20th century goes, Jean-Paul Satre was probably more influential than Camus in the movement.

Anyway, the novel moves very slowly (about 10 months of people suffering from plague) in a town called Oran in Algeria in the 1940's. Camus' contribution to existentialism was the concept of the Absurd (the condition or state in which human beings exist in a meaningless, irrational universe wherein people's lives have no purpose or meaning) specifically when one suffers in life. Aside from the slow pace, I find the whole philosophy illogical and somewhat ridiculous. The despair of existentialism brings to a head the problem when one abandons God.

This is the worst book I've ever read. I couldn't get into it at all. However, it is a very good substitute for sleeping pills.