The book is set between 1880 and the 1930s. The English translation was 1988 by Edith Grossman. Andrew, I have a quote for you from an interview he gave in New York Times. When asked why he is drawn to stories about plagues, he said, plagues are like imponderable dangers that surprise people. They seem to have a quality of destiny. It's the phenomenon of death on a mass scale. What I find curious is that the great plagues have always produced great excesses. They make people want to live more. That almost metaphysical dimension that interests me.