Are there any essential reads during a pandemic?

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By now all of us have finished reading books from our libraries at our homes. We have explored love, thriller, romcom, and many more genres and even discovered books from our shelves that we did not even remember buying. But did you come across books that specifically reflect and suit the present times? The COVID-19 pandemic?

How have books helped you during the pandemic?

I am sure that for most of you, literature has, especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic, helped you deal with this situation calmly and also served as a blissful escape. Indeed, books, movies, TV shows have the propensity to give us instant pleasure, even though it’s momentary. But did you get the chance to read and understand novels that primarily deal with things like the plague, natural calamity, and Cli-fi (Climate Fiction) that are in tandem with what we are dealing with at present? The beauty lies in the fact that these themes and genres can be treated like a pandemic after all.

Is there another pandemic?

When reading books like these, one comes to understand what a pandemic means in literary terms. It is imperative to understand what pandemic is in literary terms because it also informs us about the functioning and interconnections of several government bodies and political structures. It also says a lot about your society in general. Books dealing with topics such as plague or calamity also help us in understanding our role and position in society. It also somewhat makes us conscious of the fact that we are living in a digital world. All of these books are essential reads because it concerns you and your family. And if you are wondering about the commonality among these diverse genres, it is a ‘crisis’. A Crisis on planet Earth.

Books on the human-nature conflict

Reading Amitav Ghosh’s works like The Hungry Tide (2004) or The Calcutta Chromosome (1995), primarily focus on the human-nature conflict. He provides an in-depth understanding of the adverse possibilities and happenings that may arise through human interventions in climate. He awakens the sensitive side of the readers by brilliantly portraying Sunderbans and the vivid descriptions that add to our understanding. His approach towards writing Cli-fi is something to be appreciated because it demands a collective action to be taken immediately. It is also about acknowledging the crisis in its earliest stage.

His work The Great Derangement (2016) tells us about the hesitant behaviour of political figures and novelists when it comes to situations like these. How do you locate and contextualize the climate crisis in an increasingly global capitalized nation and also the developing countries? He drives us to rethink our perspectives on the climate crisis and how our lifestyle impacts climate and also other human beings.

Another book that can help you come to terms with reality is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is extremely dark, spine-chilling and a post-apocalyptic novel that makes readers conscious of possible threats with every step that the son and father take. Every stop for rest and refreshments becomes another danger zone. This book is just a matter of survival at a time when there is a search for one of the most basic aspects of your life: food.

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Book suggestions on historical dark?days

The two most recommended of all times are Albert Camus’ The Plague and A Journal of the Plague Year (1664) by Daniel Defoe. Work on the Great Plague of London, Daniel Defoe did detailed and brilliant work in writing the everyday lives of people living in London at the time. This is a highly relatable read because the vivid descriptions can help you visualize the London streets then and the preventative measures taken to fight the plague with the available resources back then were spine-chilling. It can also be called a research work because it has anecdotes and personal accounts of people who have dealt with the plague. Therefore, it can also be classified as a work of nonfiction.

Conclusion

These reads can turn out to be very dark for times like these, but at the same time, it is helpful. The Pandemic has made all of us fall and get lost in the sea of books that have given us mixed pleasures. Whether these books have tragic, open, sad, or fairytale-like endings is something for you to find out. Engaging with literature during the pandemic is essential because the issues they deal with, especially the genres I have mentioned, need immediate attention and action.

It is also interesting to note that a pandemic like COVID-19 can be presented to readers through fiction as well. Something so horrific and real is being told to us through narratives is something with which we should definitely engage. However, don’t brush out the nonfiction reads! There are plenty of options to read from. They can be sad and dark but one takeaway from such books is the understanding of humanity. And to know better what I mean by humanity, go ahead and read books that deal with situations similar to ours.

About the?writer

Rhea Choudhury, Blog Writer, Inkfeathers Publishing

Rhea is currently pursuing MA in English and Cultural Studies from Christ University, Bangalore. She believes in writing from experience and encourages others to do so as well. Her area of interest lies in Fat studies and wants to do research in this particular field.