Book Club Guide

The Plague

by Albert Camus · 1947 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

Solidarity in the face of absurd suffering
The different human responses to catastrophe — from heroism to denial
What an epidemic reveals about a community's true values

About this book

A bubonic plague descends on the Algerian port city of Oran, and the citizens find themselves quarantined in an absurd situation of suffering, solidarity and moral reckoning. Camus's most widely read novel is both a realistic chronicle of epidemic and an allegory of occupied France — and of any human community confronting an indifferent catastrophe that demands a collective response.

Published in 1947, The Plague sold nearly 100,000 copies in the first month. Camus said he was using the epidemic as a symbol for any situation where people must resist forces that deny human dignity. Sales surged again during COVID-19.

Discussion questions

The plague is read simultaneously as a realistic epidemic and as an allegory of the Nazi occupation. How does Camus make this double register work — and does the allegorical reading limit or enrich the realistic one?
Dr Rieux is the novel's moral centre — he simply does the work available to him. What is Camus saying through this quiet, unheroic heroism about how to live in the face of absurdity?
Father Paneloux interprets the plague as divine punishment, then revises his position after witnessing a child die. How does Camus handle the question of religious faith — with respect, critique, or genuine uncertainty?
The novel ends with the plague receding but likely to return. What is Camus saying about the nature of evil and suffering — is this hope or resignation?
The Plague was read in a new way during the COVID-19 pandemic. What does reading it in 2020-23 reveal that earlier readings may have missed — or changed?