I read The Plague several years ago and just finished Doomsday Book and it struck me that they're very similar. They both happen to be about the Black Death but that's not really what I love about them (although I do like a good medical thriller). I'm really drawn by the theme of faith in times of crisis and tragedy, and why someone might choose to have it or not, and how we should react when these things happen. I think they arrive at different answers in terms of faith but agree on how we should respond, which is interesting. Other books I liked in this vein are To Heal a Fractured World by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl but I'd like to find more fiction I think
by aurjolras
2 Comments
The Road by Cormac McCarthy – it’s post-apocalyptic but focuses more on the relationships of the characters and what keeps them moving forward.
The hot zone: the terrifying true story of the origins of Ebola virus is a pretty good book. Granted, it’s a true story put together in a fictionalised style of narration but it is highly gripping. I won’t say it has the existential subtext like Camus’s work but it does make you fearful of nature.
Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin is also pretty good! Has a bit of inception/ paprika theme of manipulating dreams and reality.
Edit: grammar