The Literature of Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues and Pestilences - Ripping Yarns, Uncanny Truths and hope for the post-Covid-19 world
Searching online recently for a copy of The Plague by Albert Camus, it was obvious that there has been a marked and perhaps unextected surge of interest in books relating to epidemics and pandemics. Historic accounts of former outbreaks, academic textbooks, classic literature and post-apocalyptic science fiction stand side-by-side in lists compiled by bloggers, book-reviewers, media organisations and publishing houses, and anthology editions of plague stories have been reprinted with Covid-19 banners.
Plagues serving as a device in fiction is no surprise. Whether as a framing story (The Decameron), a metaphor for a different threat such as the Nazi occupation of France (The Plague), or an invisible/extraterrestrial antagonist allowing the writer to explore human responses to crisis without summoning geopolitical demons (The Andromeda Strain et al.), there is no shortage of pestilential reading matter to help us through the lockdowns.
But why are we turning to plague fiction at this time? Is it pure academic interest, comfort in communal experience or seeking ansers to help us make sense of the brave new world we find ourselves in? With a name like Covid-19, which could plausibly be plucked from the pages of science fiction, we could ourselves be living through the plot of a dystopian novel. Like Gregor Samsa we woke up and found things had changed.
The Encyclopaedia Pandemica project is intended as a series of blog posts examining the essential Covid-19 book list; working out what is a good read and seeking parallels and answers for modern times. As the project unfolds, other media such as cinema and television will no doubt be included.
Our initial findings, just from compiling a rough readling list for phase one of the project, are that:
there will always be a next pandemic waiting to happen
control methods have changed very little in the last century (and, indeed, since the 1600s)
this has happened to humankind before and we survived it
The Encyclopaedia Pandemica will be a journey rather than a destination; we look forward to taking you along with us and will welcome your comments and input along the way.
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