HALLOWELL — Hubbard Free Library will hold a Zoom community read of “The Plague,” a short 1947 novel by Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 1.

“The Plague” depicts the French Algerian town of Oran, which is suddenly struck by the bubonic plague. It raises many of the same issues we face today with COVID-19: lockdowns, quarantining, social distancing, and vaccines. It also deals with how one should behave when a pestilence strikes.

Two Hallowell residents will lead the discussion. Dr. Greg Fahy, Professor of Philosophy at University of Maine at Augusta, will be the discussion facilitator, and Dr. Syd Sewall, a pediatrician with a degree in public health, will provide background on infectious diseases.

The library will provide any participant with a free copy of the novel. It also can be read online and without charge at 24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The_Plague__Albert_Camus-24grammata.com_.pdf.

For the discussion, the 1948 Modern Library edition, translated by Stuart Gilbert and 278 pages in length, will be used.

The meeting link is https://bit.ly/3vvQRTV

To sign up to get a copy of the book, or for more information, call the library at 207-622-6582.