While it has been a few
months since I have posted any reviews (I was involved in my first Shakespeare
play), a lot of what I remember about Dr. Haggard’s Disease by Patrick McGrath
still sticks with me, both the good aspects as well as the bad. First and foremost,
this is an excellent example of a modern gothic novel that is meant to
establish a keen sense of place and an enveloping mood of dread that almost
leaks off the page. Even in the books dull moments I was able to find passages
and little side stories that were effective and very, very creepy at points. It
is like the Poe story that he never wrote, owing lot to his ideas about
obsession and mania. But that is all this book seems to offer, even if that is
enough for some people. At points it is too vague in detail and plot to really
have kept me interested, but luckily it is short so it does not monopolize your
time very much. We meet Dr. Haggard, practicing medicine in his Gothic seaside
mansion, sporting an injury that he got long ago, when the son of his long
deceased love comes knocking at his door, dredging up feelings in him that act
as both a personal comfort as well as a harbinger for his true state of mind.
Like I said, the narrative voice of Dr. Haggard offers many keen insights into
the mind of a desperate and lonely person, such as his recollection of what
happened to another seaside mansion that had burned down, but a lot of the time
this comes at the expense of a cohesive story, which leads to an ending that is
too confusing to be clear and concise. If you prefer mood to story, this should
be a book you like more than I did.
Rating: 3/5
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