coronavirus
In fact, like our fellow citizens, Rieux was caught off his guard, and we should understand his hesitations in the light of this fact; and similarly understand how he was torn between conflicting fears and confidence. When a war breaks out, people say: "It's too stupid; it can't last long." But though a war may well be "too stupid," that doesn't prevent its lasting. Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves. Reading this book has been a shocking reflection of our current times with the pandemic, with the parallels of covid pervasive. The narrator talks constantly about peoples reluctance to accept the reality of the situation, attributing it to one thing or another, coming up with excuse, flat out dismissing it it, etc. But what are a hundred million deaths? When one has served in a war, one hardly knows what a dead man is, after a while. And since a dead man has no substance unles...