num_pages: 278
description: A parable of the highest order, The Plague tells the story of a terrible disease that descends upon Oran, Algiers, in a year unknown. After rats crawl from the sewer to die in the streets, people soon begin perishing from terrible afflictions. How the main characters in the book--a journalist, a doctor &amp; a priest--face humanity in the wake of the plague presents one of the book's many lessons. The book deserves to be read on several levels, because the pandemic represents any of a number of worldwide catastrophes--both past &amp; future--&amp; the difficult choices everyone must make to survive them.
language: English
title: The Plague
titlecomplete: The Plague
characters: Raoul, Dr Bernard Rieux, Jean Tarrou, Dr. Richard, Garcia, Cottard, Marcel, Asthma Patient, Raymond Rambert, M. Othon, Father Paneloux, Jacques Othon, Mme. Rieux, Dr. Castel, The Prefect, Joseph Grand, Gonzales
genres: Classics, France, Philosophy, Novels, 20th Century, Literature, Historical Fiction, French Literature, Fiction, Literary Fiction
ratings_count: 248720
places: Oran, North Africa, Algeria
awards: awardedAt: -725817600000
name: Prix des Critiques
publisher: Modern Library