This week’s Tuesday Book Club takes us to the dusty streets of Oran, where an invisible enemy changes everything. Albert Camus’s The Plague is a novel about a town struck by disease, but it’s also about resilience, solidarity and how people respond to the unknown. It’s one of those books that feels timeless, whether you read it as an allegory, a philosophical reflection or simply a gripping story about survival.

What’s The Plague About?

Set in the Algerian city of Oran, the novel follows Dr. Rieux and a group of townspeople as they deal with an outbreak of bubonic plague. As the city is sealed off, fear spreads as quickly as the disease. Some people try to escape, others look for meaning in the chaos and some, like Rieux, quietly do what they can to help.

Camus wrote The Plague in 1947, and while it can be read as a metaphor for war, totalitarianism or existential struggle, it’s also a deeply human story. It asks: How do we respond when life is turned upside down? Do we retreat into ourselves, or do we try to help others? Do we find meaning, or do we just keep going?

Why Read The Plague Today?

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that Camus was onto something. His characters react in ways that feel all too familiar—some panic, some deny, some find courage they didn’t know they had. The novel doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does remind us that even in the worst times, small acts of kindness and perseverance matter.

It’s not all doom and gloom, either. There’s warmth in the way people come together, a quiet heroism in simply carrying on. Camus was interested in the everyday bravery of ordinary people, and that’s what makes The Plague so powerful.

Let’s talk about it

Have you read The Plague before? Did it feel different this time around? What struck you most about the story? Its philosophy, its characters or its eerie relevance?

Jump into the conversation using #TuesdayBookClub and #ThePlague on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky. Whether you’ve read it once, many times or are just curious, we’d love to hear your thoughts!