"No longer were there individual destinies; only a collective destiny, made of plague and emotions shared by all."
Many more people in Japan can identify that quote now than would have been the case two months ago. In 1947, when Albert Camus’ novel “The Plague” first appeared, it was interpreted allegorically. World War II had shattered the world. A plague seemed an all-too-fitting metaphor for man’s bleak fate among the ruins.
Now, it’s no allegory. Shinchosha, the book’s Japanese publisher, told the Mainichi Shimbun in March of speeded-up print runs to meet demand that has risen nearly eightfold since February, when the COVID-19 virus was detected in Japan.