Helpful Score: 1
My, how things come in threes. I had recently finished reading Remarques Three Comrades when I stumbled upon Betty MacDonalds The Plague and I (which deals with tuberculosis: the white plague) when I found this book at a local library. Guess what? The narrator has been a lunger also, but while he recovers from it, his wife, who has probably contracted it from him, does not. Consumption, often the cause of some characters demise in 18th and 19th century novelsDumas fils La Dame aux Camellas comes to mind has taken a more dominant role in 20th century literature; it is now the main theme of novels. But, back to this book. Unlike Three Comrades and Manns Magic Mountain (I read this years ago) that deal with the malady mostly from the viewpoint of the outsider, Betty MacDonald, who recovered from the disease, recounts her day to day battle as a patient giving us a laymans view of the clinical treatment of the 1940s. Gide, on the other hand, leans more toward his patients philosophical view of the treatment and recovery process. Then, just when you think it is safe to continue, his wife contracts the disease and we go round again: this time more in the manner of Remarque and Mann. Despite the main topic, the book is written well and will hold your interest (I hesitate to say that you will enjoy it), particularly if you are an aficionado of Gide.
Helpful Score: 1
In English - translated by Dorothy Bussy. This edition published 1958?
