Dr. Haggard's Disease

by Patrick McGrath

Book Overview

Two novels and one short story follows the life of Dr. Edward Haggard as he reflects on the nature of love, death, medicine, and war and his liaisons with a colleague's wife and a wartime lover.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671727338
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Poseidon Pr
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A splendid novel

Dr Edward Haggard is a country doctor in England just before the beginning of World War II. He has a practice on the south coast and one day James Vaughan pays him a visit. He is the sun of the most fascinating woman Dr Haggard ever knew. And so the memories of a passionate love affair are resurrected and the reader slowly discovers why Dr Haggard is practicing general medicine in a small forgotten sea resort, now a shattered and broken man in body and spirit. The novel catches the feel of England in the 1930s; the barely suppressed terror in the face of approaching war. It is also the story of a relationship which goes wrong, a beautiful story impressively told with a restraint which gives the description of the love affair an epic quality. A splendid novel in the same vein as Graham Greene's The End of the Affair.

absolutely depressing ... and utterly brilliant

At the suggestion from a friend I sought books by Patrick McGrath. I chose Spider over Dr. Haggard's Disease because, well, I didn't think reading about a man's obsession about a former lover would be particularly new or interesting. So I first read Spider, which was very enjoyable. I then read Blood & Water, a collection of McGrath's earlier short stories. Finally, I was ready for Dr. Haggard. What I mistake! I should have read this book first because, as fine as McGrath's other books are, this is far superior.Like Spider, the narrator of this book is the main character (Dr. Haggard). One is immediately absorbed by the persona of Dr. Haggard - a rather pathetic individual. His obsession of lost love is so painfully moving that it almosts hurts to read it. Anyone who has had difficulty getting over a relationship, or knows of anyone who has remained broken-hearted to an extreme extent would relate very well to Dr. Haggard. This is wonderful literature.Of course being a writer of gothic novels, Dr. Haggard's Disease slowly takes on an unusual twist (which I won't reveal). But it really is just a natural progression of Dr. Haggard's "disease".While relatively easy to read, I wouldn't recommend this novel to teenagers. The subject matter is too somber, too intense. For all others, buy this book ... ok? You won't regret it.

A wonderful expose of a man's life ruined by passion.

Patrick McGrath is one of those writers who does not beat around the bush or waste a single word. He draws you into this morass of a man totally subsumed and eventually destroyed by his passion for the wife of a collegue, though I guess it could be argued that, in a spiritual sense, at the end he is redeemed by it. This book has been described to me as being one of horror, which I do not see at all. It is more in the spirit of "Wuthering Heights" meets "The English Patient." The tale is a wonderful read, one which you will not want to put down. And when you do put it down, you will count the minutes until you can pick it up again.

FABULOUS!!!

This book, along with McGrath's other novels, is a joy to read. I loved this character from the first paragraph. McGrath writes horror, but horror arising from the plausible demons of the human mind, not from monsters or aliens. Reading McGrath always gives me enormous pleasure. The last sentence made me shriek with surprise (don't peek!). BUY THIS BOOK.

Twisted Pleasures

This book is a successful heir to the kind of mad narratives written by Poe. Don't read the back jacket; just jump into it. Through McGrath's narrator, the author offers some real insights into just how distorted passion can be. And don't forget to laugh. It IS supposed to be funny, too.