The Plague
The Plague by Albert Camusby Albert Camus
Shares rank 31 of 122 novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a clearer, more compelling take on the absurd than The Stranger, with ideas about meaningful action in hard times that apply to real life.
People recommend it as a clearer, more compelling take on the absurd than The Stranger, with ideas about meaningful action in hard times that apply to real life.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
More compelling than The Stranger
“I found The Fall and The Plague to both be stronger books than The Stranger”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “I recall finding The Plague more compelling than The Stranger”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “The Absurdity of Albert Camus”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Plagueby Albert CamusThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“unexpectedly applicable to real life for being philosophical texts”
“I found The Fall and The Plague to both be stronger books than The Stranger”
“The Plague feels closer to an actual reconciliation with the absurd”
“The rebel and the plague show how to do something meaningful in spite of that.”
“I recall finding The Plague more compelling than The Stranger”
“His writing is simple and precise, but his ideas are big.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.