Embracing the absurd to find meaning amid the coronavirus pandemic in Saleema Nawaz's songs for the end of the world (2020)‎

Abstract EN

March 11, 2020 is an unforgettable day for the whole world as the WHO Director-General Dr.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced COVID-19 a pandemic.

Thus, the world has turned upside down ever since as millions contracted the virus while others lost their lives.

Panic and grief overwhelmed the scene, and people have become preoccupied with existential issues such as isolation, identity, freedom, death, and meaning of existence.

The focus of the present study is a prophetic novel called Songs for the End of the World (2020) by Saleema Nawaz, a Canadian novelist, who depicts a pandemic similar to COVID- 19.

Through an understanding of existential concerns and Albert Camus's concept of 'the rd', the paper aims to examine how the pandemic threatens the characters' sense of existence, and how they manage to find meaning amid the pandemic.

Applying Camus's ideas suggests embracing rdity as the key to cope with the pandemic and find a meaningful life.