As we settle into the third phase of the lockdown here in Uganda (South Africa just announced one as well) we thought we would contribute to your list of Must-read books. Because of their frequent occurrence throughout history, pandemics are a topic which many writers, unsurprisingly, have chosen to focus on in their work. There are more books about both pandemics and epidemics than you think there are ─yes, there’s more than just Dean Koontz’s The Eyes of Darkness. We hope this list will be fun, informative, and entertaining and bring hope back to those who may have lost it these last few months. Here we go.
- The Andromeda Strain (1969) – Micheal Crichton
If the author’s name seems familiar it’s because he also brought us classics like Jurassic Park and Congo both of which are worth the read, particularly if you love a good adventure-filled story. The Andromeda Strain tells the story of an outbreak caused by a micro-organism that is literally out of this world. A team is deployed to recover a satellite that landed in Arizona but is not heard from again. Further investigation shows that they are all dead. The book chronicles a group of scientists as they try to understand the micro-organism which caused the deaths and how to curb its spread. The organism is nicknamed ‘andromeda’ for its extra-terrestrial qualities. This book will have you on the edge of your seat, flipping or scrolling through pages unable to put the book or device down. Does it have a happy ending? I won’t spoil that for you.
- Blindness (1995) – Jose Saramago
A city, which throughout the book remains unnamed, is struck by inexplicable mass blindness. The blindness has no origin and, for the city’s inhabitants, is shrouded in mystery. The book centres on a handful of characters and shows their experience within a quarantine asylum. The description of the situation will leave you feeling as though you have lived it. The story is told in such a way that the occurrences within the asylum mirror what is happening in the outside world. It is graphic, it is descriptive, it has run-on sentences and does not name any of the characters merely describes them throughout. This will keep you occupied for a while.
- The Plague (1947) – Albert Camus
This book details the story of a plague that sweeps across Oran, a city in French Algeria in the 1940s. A little research revealed that the city was actually prone to plagues and had, historically, been struck by several before Camus wrote and published the book. As you may know, Camus was a French philosopher and for that reason, while the book told a story, it was also an account of how human beings react to what they deem absurd. Absurdism is a philosophy that was derived from European existentialism courtesy of Camus after he argued that some aspects of the philosophy were questionable, so to speak. This book and its characters will have you thinking about what it means to be human. More to the point, however, you will be able to see a lot about humanity in the story in the same way that you’re seeing it in our current situation.
- Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
This classic, even before the outbreak, was a must-read. The book tells the story of a love that spans fifty years. The lovers are star-crossed and for the majority of the story are not even together. The title is a play on the idea that lovesickness is as severe a disease as cholera (the disease itself plays a role in the story. One of the characters is hell-bent on eradicating it). A little research also revealed that the term cholera in Spanish, colera, is used to show passion in the feminine form. Therefore, the title looks at the fact that cholera is both a passion and a disease. This book cannot be explained in its entirety. I could write an entire essay and would still be unable to capture it in its entirety. If you have not read it, you simply must. If you have read it, there is no reason why you shouldn’t read it one more time.
- Oryx and Crake (2003) – Margaret Atwood
Yes, the Margaret Atwood. I’d say the author alone is reason enough to read this one but I’ll just continue convincing you instead. The story is told by one of the book’s protagonists, Snowball, and is set in a dystopian society. The premise of this is the invention of a pill, by one of the central characters, which promises the kind of life you want and desire. One of its side effects, however, is that it creates infertility. The other is a disease that spreads far and wide, leading to a pandemic. In the present dystopian setting, Snowball is in a sort of ‘lone survivor situation’ with beings called Crakers for company. We see how he handles this situation and strives for survival. This book is the first of a trilogy. In 2009, The Year of the Flood was published and it was followed by MaddAddam in 2013.
- Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939) – Katherine Anne Porter
This a short novel within a larger novel. It is one of three novellas that make up the novel of the same name. The story is based on true events and is set during the influenza epidemic of 1918. The story chronicles the love between a young man and woman and how the disease affected it. If you’re a sucker for a good tear-jerker, this is the story for you. You’re welcome.
- They Came Like Swallows (1937) – William Keepers Maxwell Jr.
They came like Swallows looks at a family’s life at the end of World War II and during the outbreak of influenza in 1918. The story doesn’t seem to look at anything extraordinary and is a simple coming of age story of sorts. This is part of what makes this book so good. It doesn’t try too hard. The story is told from three perspectives: a little boy, his thirteen-year-old brother, and their father. Each looks at what the mother and wife in the family means to them respectfully and in doing so, builds up her character to show just how much she is the glue that keeps the entire family together.
- The Last Man (1826) – Mary Shelley
Did you know that Mary Shelley is credited with having invented the apocalyptic genre of literature? This is the book that started it all. In this book, Shelley looks at a future world, 2037 to be specific, which has been ravaged by war, poor climate, and plague, all of which have led to the gradual wipeout of the human race at the end of the 21st century. The story is told by Lionel Verney, the last man on earth after all these tragedies befall the planet. The book is divided into volumes, each telling a different part of the story that links to the main story itself. The most fascinating thing about this book is how realistic it all feels. The book is set in the 21st century and here we are…in the 21st century with everything Shelley talked about happening in real-time. It almost feels like a blueprint. If ‘bone-chilling’ is one of your preferred book categories, I recommend this read.
- The Year of the Flood (2009) – Margaret Atwood
As was mentioned before, this is the sequel to Atwood’s Oryx and Crakery. The novel is set years after the plague has spread and humanity is trying to regain its footing. One reason why I loved this book is its focus is on a group of people who dystopian writers usually sideline or only use for plot development: women. The book chronicles their fight for survival amidst a quickly changing world and how they handle the emotional as well as physical toll the plague takes on them.
- The Eyes of Darkness (1981) – Dean Koontz
This book garnered a lot of attention earlier this year when someone declared that it predicted the concoction, theft, and spread of a virus (much like COVID-19). According to the book, the virus was generated in a lab just outside the city of Wuhan. We’re not here to speculate, we’re just here to offer you titles to choose from. That being said, The Eyes of Darkness focuses on one mother’s efforts to find out whether or not her son died during a camping trip. She goes through all the motions of grief before she begins receiving messages of all sorts letting her know that her son is not alive. The book looks at the extent to which a mother will go for her child. Heartfelt and informative, Koontz’s The Eyes of Darkness is worth it.
There you have it! Ten books which we thought were worth the read. Grab yourself a drink, cozy up, and dive in. Let us know what you think and which of these your favorite was. Stay safe, stay sane!
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