5 ms·
Wow you got me thinking. 30-60% case fatality rate. Imagine living in those days after the disease was widespread and well known but not understood and one morn
by kshacker 6y ago
Wow you got me thinking. 30-60% case fatality rate. Imagine living in those days after the disease was widespread and well known but not understood and one morning just feeing a little sick and you knew wow is this the end.
Wonder if there is a 'good' novel on those days?
- ghaff 6y agoIn an SF context, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is one.
- ZacharyPitts 6y agoAbsolutely, The Decameron by Boccaccio, written in 1353 just a few years after the plague struck Italy in 1348: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decameron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decameron Rather than a novel, it is a collection of 100 short stories of people during the plague. Enjoyable to this day.
- lou1306 6y agoAlso, the Betrothed (1827) by Alessandro Manzoni, which is set during the 1600s plague. In a very famous chapter, one of the characters finds out he's got the plague, which is pretty close to what the GP describes.
- billfruit 6y agoHow I was amazed by the pace and energy of 'Betrothed', not one boring minute in all of its 700+ pages. The translation by Bruce Penman available from Penguin is an exhilarating read.
- lou1306 6y agoI'm Italian so I read it in the original, but I'm glad to know the English translation does it justice :)
- bboreham 6y agoHence “bless you” after a sneeze. Could be the last thing you say to that person.