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I finished this today and enjoyed it. The Stranger is one of my favourite books, so I was interested to see how I got on with this one.
Actually, I started by reading part of the introduction before the novel, so I had already established for what the novel was a metaphor. Usually, I just jump in and read. I'm not sure if knowing the "secret" was an influence, but I found the first part heavier going. I think it might have been because I was constantly standing back (in a manner of speaking) and comparing what was being narrated with the author's intention. So it brought some enjoyment, but equal to that of reading a text book rather than a novel.
Eventually I found that despite my early disadvantage, I became more absorbed as the tale progressed until after halfway I was focusing more on the story and keeping the analysis in the background.
There's a sterility to the writing throughout much of the novel, but at times, beautiful prose broke through. Strangely enough, this beauty was often revealed in the most awful scenes, such as that of Tarrou's death.
One of the things that I loved was Grand's novel. I liked how he was aiming for perfection, for his "hat's off" moment. The agony over every word, the concentration on the adjectives. Then at the height of his despair he orders the manuscript to be incinerated. At the end he's starting again - without adjectives. To me there is a parallel here about the life before, during and after the plague.
I thought this was an important book and a satisfying novel, but I admit that I had some issues finding the rhythm at the start.
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