The Plague

Suddenly one April the rats in Oran came of cellars and sewers, first singly and then in tens and hundreds, to die in the streets. At first the citizens of Oran refused to connect this with the mounting human death rate. But finally the implications had to be acknowledged; the Prefect telegraphed: Proclaim a state of plague stop close the town.
A doctor, a journalist, a minor government official, a criminal avoiding the police, and a priest are among those imprisoned by the plague. Their reactions vary according to the character and philosophy of each: commitment to the human struggle, panic, unquestioning action, philosophic justification.
In its searching, symbolic exploration of the human conscience, The Plague is the most important novel to have come out of postwar Europe. It is a classic not only of the twentieth century, but ranks with the great novels of all time.