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This Sweet Sickness
In This Sweet Sickness, Patricia Highsmith, in her own inimitable fashion, has created a complex psychological tale as suspenseful as The Talented Mr. Ripley.
David Kelsey, a young scientist, has an unyielding conviction that life will turn out all right for him; he just has to fix the Situation: he is in love with a married woman. Obsessed with Annabelle and the life he has imagined for them—including the fully furnished cabin he maintains for her—David prepares to win her over, whatever it takes.
In this riveting tale of a deluded loner, Highsmith reveals her uncanny ability to draw out the secret obsessions that overwhelm the human heart.
David Kelsey, a young scientist, has an unyielding conviction that life will turn out all right for him; he just has to fix the Situation: he is in love with a married woman. Obsessed with Annabelle and the life he has imagined for them—including the fully furnished cabin he maintains for her—David prepares to win her over, whatever it takes.
In this riveting tale of a deluded loner, Highsmith reveals her uncanny ability to draw out the secret obsessions that overwhelm the human heart.
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 1960
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About the author
Patricia Highsmith
487 books5,034 followersPatricia Highsmith was an American novelist who is known mainly for her psychological crime thrillers which have led to more than two dozen film adaptations over the years.
She lived with her grandmother, mother and later step-father (her mother divorced her natural father six months before 'Patsy' was born and married Stanley Highsmith) in Fort Worth before moving with her parents to New York in 1927 but returned to live with her grandmother for a year in 1933. Returning to her parents in New York, she attended public schools in New York City and later graduated from Barnard College in 1942.
Shortly after graduation her short story 'The Heroine' was published in the Harper's Bazaar magazine and it was selected as one of the 22 best stories that appeared in American magazines in 1945 and it won the O Henry award for short stories in 1946. She continued to write short stories, many of them comic book stories, and regularly earned herself a weekly $55 pay-check. During this period of her life she lived variously in New York and Mexico.
Her first suspense novel 'Strangers on a Train' published in 1950 was an immediate success with public and critics alike. The novel has been adapted for the screen three times, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.
In 1955 her anti-hero Tom Ripley appeared in the splendid 'The Talented Mr Ripley', a book that was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere as the best foreign mystery novel translated into French in 1957. This book, too, has been the subject of a number of film versions. Ripley appeared again in 'Ripley Under Ground' in 1970, in 'Ripley's Game' in 1974, 'The boy who Followed Ripley' in 1980 and in 'Ripley Under Water' in 1991.
Along with her acclaimed series about Ripley, she wrote 22 novels and eight short story collections plus many other short stories, often macabre, satirical or tinged with black humour. She also wrote one novel, non-mystery, under the name Claire Morgan , plus a work of non-fiction 'Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction' and a co-written book of children's verse, 'Miranda the Panda Is on the Veranda'.
She latterly lived in England and France and was more popular in England than in her native United States. Her novel 'Deep Water', 1957, was called by the Sunday Times one of the "most brilliant analyses of psychosis in America" and Julian Symons once wrote of her "Miss Highsmith is the writer who fuses character and plot most successfully ... the most important crime novelist at present in practice." In addition, Michael Dirda observed "Europeans honoured her as a psychological novelist, part of an existentialist tradition represented by her own favorite writers, in particular Dostoevsky, Conrad, Kafka, Gide, and Camus."
She died of leukemia in Locarno, Switzerland on 4 February 1995 and her last novel, 'Small g: a Summer Idyll', was published posthumously a month later.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2010
She lived with her grandmother, mother and later step-father (her mother divorced her natural father six months before 'Patsy' was born and married Stanley Highsmith) in Fort Worth before moving with her parents to New York in 1927 but returned to live with her grandmother for a year in 1933. Returning to her parents in New York, she attended public schools in New York City and later graduated from Barnard College in 1942.
Shortly after graduation her short story 'The Heroine' was published in the Harper's Bazaar magazine and it was selected as one of the 22 best stories that appeared in American magazines in 1945 and it won the O Henry award for short stories in 1946. She continued to write short stories, many of them comic book stories, and regularly earned herself a weekly $55 pay-check. During this period of her life she lived variously in New York and Mexico.
Her first suspense novel 'Strangers on a Train' published in 1950 was an immediate success with public and critics alike. The novel has been adapted for the screen three times, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.
In 1955 her anti-hero Tom Ripley appeared in the splendid 'The Talented Mr Ripley', a book that was awarded the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere as the best foreign mystery novel translated into French in 1957. This book, too, has been the subject of a number of film versions. Ripley appeared again in 'Ripley Under Ground' in 1970, in 'Ripley's Game' in 1974, 'The boy who Followed Ripley' in 1980 and in 'Ripley Under Water' in 1991.
Along with her acclaimed series about Ripley, she wrote 22 novels and eight short story collections plus many other short stories, often macabre, satirical or tinged with black humour. She also wrote one novel, non-mystery, under the name Claire Morgan , plus a work of non-fiction 'Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction' and a co-written book of children's verse, 'Miranda the Panda Is on the Veranda'.
She latterly lived in England and France and was more popular in England than in her native United States. Her novel 'Deep Water', 1957, was called by the Sunday Times one of the "most brilliant analyses of psychosis in America" and Julian Symons once wrote of her "Miss Highsmith is the writer who fuses character and plot most successfully ... the most important crime novelist at present in practice." In addition, Michael Dirda observed "Europeans honoured her as a psychological novelist, part of an existentialist tradition represented by her own favorite writers, in particular Dostoevsky, Conrad, Kafka, Gide, and Camus."
She died of leukemia in Locarno, Switzerland on 4 February 1995 and her last novel, 'Small g: a Summer Idyll', was published posthumously a month later.
Gerry Wolstenholme
July 2010
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May 5, 2017
Αναφορικά με το βιβλιο "αυτη η γλυκιά αρρώστια", διαβάζοντας το νιώθεις περισσότερο άρρωστος και διεφθαρμένος,συναισθηματικά κενός και απόλυτα μίζερος και συνηθισμένος ανθρωπάκος μπροστά στο μεγαλείο ψυχικής αφοσίωσης και αυταπάρνησης που χαρακτηρίζει τον πρωταγωνιστή.
Ενας νέος άντρας με ιδιαίτερη ευφυΐα και πνευματική καλλιέργεια,ήσυχος,ευγενής, προσηνης και απόλυτα ελεγχόμενος απο την συναισθηματική του προσήλωση στη γυναίκα που λάτρεψε σαν θεά του και γύρω της έχτισε το βασίλειο της ευτυχίας τους με όλες τις παροχές (υλικές και ψυχικές) αντάξιες της μοναδικής γι αυτόν βασίλισσας του.
Επικοινωνεί μαζι της καθημερινά αν και τις περισσότερες φορες χωρίς ανταπόκριση κατι που δεν τον πτοεί ποτε αντιθέτως τον δυναμώνει να συνεχίζει να εξελίσσεται ως άνθρωπος για να τελειοποιησει αυτη την μοναδική αποκορύφωση της ευτυχίας που θα επιτευχθεί με την δίκη της αποδοχή της λατρείας του .
Διπολικός; Μπορεί αλλα ακομη και ως κάποιος άλλος στα χαρτιά ή στην ταυτότητα παραμένει ο ίδιος ο παρανοϊκός λάτρης της,ο εμμονικος προστάτης της,ο επικίνδυνα πιστός και αφοσιωμένος άντρας που αγάπησε με όλο το "αρρωστημένο του ειναι"αδιαφορώντας για τα ¨παντα¨.
Υποφέρει απο μια γλυκιά αρρώστια που ειναι θάνατος και ανάσταση μαζι.ειναι το νόημα της ζωής του ειναι τα τραγικά πληγωμένα αισθήματα του που ¨παντα¨ γιατρεύονται μονο με τη σκέψη ΤΗΣ! Δυστυχώς η βασίλισσα των ονείρων του δεν θέλει ή δεν μπορεί να αντεπεξέλθει στις προσδοκίες του και ενώ αρχικά τον αντιμετωπίζει τρυφερά και με κατανόηση κάποτε κουράζεται,φοβάται,αποφεύγει προφανώς να νιώσει την υπέρτατη αγάπη-αφοσίωση-πίστη-αυταπάρνηση του γλυκού μας περιφρονητη των πάντων και εκεί ξεκινάει η ρεαλιστική και επίπονη πραγματικότητα με θύματα (ανθρώπους και ψυχικά ιδεώδη).
Θα ηθελα ενα ψέμμα για το τελος ομως μάλλον όλη η αλήθεια ηταν μια παράφορη γλυκιά απάτη με τραγική κατάληξη αλλα και ανακουφιστική απελευθέρωση
Καλή ανάγνωση!
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
Ενας νέος άντρας με ιδιαίτερη ευφυΐα και πνευματική καλλιέργεια,ήσυχος,ευγενής, προσηνης και απόλυτα ελεγχόμενος απο την συναισθηματική του προσήλωση στη γυναίκα που λάτρεψε σαν θεά του και γύρω της έχτισε το βασίλειο της ευτυχίας τους με όλες τις παροχές (υλικές και ψυχικές) αντάξιες της μοναδικής γι αυτόν βασίλισσας του.
Επικοινωνεί μαζι της καθημερινά αν και τις περισσότερες φορες χωρίς ανταπόκριση κατι που δεν τον πτοεί ποτε αντιθέτως τον δυναμώνει να συνεχίζει να εξελίσσεται ως άνθρωπος για να τελειοποιησει αυτη την μοναδική αποκορύφωση της ευτυχίας που θα επιτευχθεί με την δίκη της αποδοχή της λατρείας του .
Διπολικός; Μπορεί αλλα ακομη και ως κάποιος άλλος στα χαρτιά ή στην ταυτότητα παραμένει ο ίδιος ο παρανοϊκός λάτρης της,ο εμμονικος προστάτης της,ο επικίνδυνα πιστός και αφοσιωμένος άντρας που αγάπησε με όλο το "αρρωστημένο του ειναι"αδιαφορώντας για τα ¨παντα¨.
Υποφέρει απο μια γλυκιά αρρώστια που ειναι θάνατος και ανάσταση μαζι.ειναι το νόημα της ζωής του ειναι τα τραγικά πληγωμένα αισθήματα του που ¨παντα¨ γιατρεύονται μονο με τη σκέψη ΤΗΣ! Δυστυχώς η βασίλισσα των ονείρων του δεν θέλει ή δεν μπορεί να αντεπεξέλθει στις προσδοκίες του και ενώ αρχικά τον αντιμετωπίζει τρυφερά και με κατανόηση κάποτε κουράζεται,φοβάται,αποφεύγει προφανώς να νιώσει την υπέρτατη αγάπη-αφοσίωση-πίστη-αυταπάρνηση του γλυκού μας περιφρονητη των πάντων και εκεί ξεκινάει η ρεαλιστική και επίπονη πραγματικότητα με θύματα (ανθρώπους και ψυχικά ιδεώδη).
Θα ηθελα ενα ψέμμα για το τελος ομως μάλλον όλη η αλήθεια ηταν μια παράφορη γλυκιά απάτη με τραγική κατάληξη αλλα και ανακουφιστική απελευθέρωση
Καλή ανάγνωση!
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.
June 15, 2021
"This Sweet Sickness" is a satisfactory novel from Patricia Highsmith that explores the dark side of attraction and desire. Highsmith excellently portrays how fixations can become very unhealthy, especially when they involve a love interest in someone who doesn't feel the same way in return. Such fixations can develop into delusions if they go unregulated, which is very apparent in the characters of David and Effie, who eventually engage in extreme and illicit behaviour to secure the possibility of one day being with the person who they believe is their soul mate. In regards to all of the characters (who seem to be deranged in one way or another), there is a relentless pattern of admiration and rejection.
The tone of the novel is very consistent; it gives an uncanny vibe throughout.
The weaknesses of the novel include the plot development. The story reaches a point where it appears that things will take an interesting turn, but instead it just moves in circles whereby characters engage in more unhealthy, futile quests. Although, the ending of the novel is filled with suspense and fatalism.
The tone of the novel is very consistent; it gives an uncanny vibe throughout.
The weaknesses of the novel include the plot development. The story reaches a point where it appears that things will take an interesting turn, but instead it just moves in circles whereby characters engage in more unhealthy, futile quests. Although, the ending of the novel is filled with suspense and fatalism.
August 17, 2023
Aunque la narración es en tercera persona, es a través de David Kelsey, un joven y prometedor químico, que vamos conociendo la historia y la progresión del mal que le aqueja. Su gran amor, Annabelle, con la que nunca llegó a prometerse en realidad, se ha casado con otro. Kelsey no acepta “La Situación”, como da en llamarla, y empieza a acosar a Annabelle con numerosas cartas y llamadas telefónicas en la certeza de que esta acabará volviendo con él. Mientras esto ocurre, y para sobrellevar su frustración y su dolor, Kelsey se inventa una doble personalidad, William Neumeister, “un hombre que tenía todo lo que quería, un hombre que sabía cómo vivir, reír y ser feliz... no había fracasado nunca… por consiguiente, había conseguido a Annabelle”.
Kelsey sabe perfectamente que Neumeister es creación cuya, pero cuando cada fin de semana se encierra en la casa de campo que ha comprado bajo dicho nombre mientras sus amigos, sus compañeros de la pensión en la que vive el resto de la semana y sus compañeros de trabajo creen que está en una residencia visitando a su madre, que en realidad está muerta, siente de una forma extraña que es Neumeister y que Annabelle está junto a él.
“Su casa tenía el extraordinario poder de lograr que David nunca se sintiera solo. Notaba la presencia de Annabelle en todas las habitaciones. Se comportaba como si estuviese con ella…cogiéndole la mano mientras escuchaban a Bach, Brahms y Bartok…Por la noche dormía con ella en la cama de matrimonio del piso alto. Annabelle apoyaba la cabeza en su brazo, y cuando David se volvía y la estrechaba contra él, en más de una ocasión la oleada del deseo, ante la imaginada presión de su cuerpo, habían alcanzado la cumbre y se había desbordado…”La realidad paralela que crea en torno a Annabelle y la doble vida que lleva Kelsey se complica con la muerte accidental de Gerald, el marido de Annabelle, cuando este acude a la casa de campo de Kelsey con el objetivo de lograr que deje de una vez en paz a su mujer. Aquí empieza el nudo que, como los lectores de Highsmith se podrán imaginar, empieza a cerrarse poco a poco en torno al cuello de nuestro protagonista.
Una novela interesante, pero en la que, como ya me pasó con «Crímenes imaginarios», un pequeño detalle de la trama, una incomprensible incompetencia policial, echa por tierra todo el castillo de naipes que es la novela, por lo demás tan atractiva como suele ser toda la obra de la autora.
January 29, 2018
This novel is a slow burn. It builds at a needed pace (yet so slowly that at the halfway mark I started to wonder if I should continue) until with only a quarter left, it flares. Then it’s too late, there’s absolutely nothing you can do to put it out.
In the beginning you might even relate to one or two of David’s obsessions. (Or am I giving away too much about myself?) But as David's thoughts turn to actions, and his delusions are revealed, so is his dangerous insanity. This is all told from his point-of-view and it’s due to Highsmith’s sleight-of-hand that the reader is able to see more than he does.
In that last-quarter flare I found the best prose: from a memorable passage about spoken words still certainly existing somewhere to the powerful last sentence.
In the beginning you might even relate to one or two of David’s obsessions. (Or am I giving away too much about myself?) But as David's thoughts turn to actions, and his delusions are revealed, so is his dangerous insanity. This is all told from his point-of-view and it’s due to Highsmith’s sleight-of-hand that the reader is able to see more than he does.
In that last-quarter flare I found the best prose: from a memorable passage about spoken words still certainly existing somewhere to the powerful last sentence.
March 23, 2023
Nothing was true but the fatigue of life and the eternal disappointment.
** Spoilers below **
Whew, this is peak Highsmith - even if it cannot edge out my devotion to Tom Ripley - with a final fifty or so pages that is just nail-bitingly intense as it rushes to a tour de force ending.
This starts off sedately with a typical Highsmithian character in David who has a delusional relationship to a girl he briefly dated, considering Annabelle 'his'. He stalks her, he has bought and furnished a house where he retreats at weekends to live a fantasy life with her, he switches between two identities and somehow just about holds his two lives together. The incursion of violence is no surprise to anyone accustomed to Highsmith's literary obsessions - so far, so familiar.
But - but... one thing Highsmith never does is write to a formula, and so, gradually, things start to change. And I'm going to discuss spoilers from hereon in so look away if you haven't read this book...
Despite his stalkerish behaviour, David start to become more sympathetic as his mind increasingly unravels. He's an intelligent scientist who has won scholarships and who is sought after in his professional life. He is immensely kind to an 80-year old woman who lives a lonely life on the top floor of the boarding house where he has a room. And Annabelle... well, Annabelle with whom he is obsessed turns out to be more complicated and more complicit than we might immediately think. I'm very aware that Highsmith's own misanthropy would never have had any truck with more modern ways of deciphering lack of female agency and victim-blaming - but this uncomfortable positioning is part of the world view of the book and its internal value system. Because, it has to be admitted, Annabelle encourages David. She protests and denies - but she goes out with him, she shares his memories of their dating days, she implies that she might have been won around... it's unsettling to watch and uncomfortable to judge but I guess that's Highsmith's intention.
Reading between the lines, there's some kind of difficult family background in David's past and his friends do little to help him: Wes is an incipient alcoholic with what he claims is a bad marriage, and Effie is a David-lite with her own erotic obsession for him. Both of them edge him on rather than help him get help, and throwing around accusations of him being 'insane' and heading for the 'lunatic asylum' do nothing to avert the situation that's unfolding.
Where I think this crosses from a psychological thriller to something more existential is in the final desperate scenes where David's only true friend is a tree: 'the tree knew who he was really, and he had been destined to bump into it. The tree had a further message. It told him to be calm and quiet' - leading up to the revelation that sort of underpins all of Highsmith's work: 'nothing was true but the fatigue of life and the eternal disappointment'. This penetrating insight throws uncanny light back on what we have seen as David's delusions, but maybe they're really coping mechanisms, maybe they're what we all do, every day, finding ways to be joyful in the face of life's inevitable brevity and discontents.
It's striking that there's even a flash where Highsmith's usual brisk, crisp, pacy prose pauses for a lyrical moment: 'in the dead of night more snow began to fall like billions of white, silent tears' - for all the typical Highsmithian concerns with psychopathy, violence, delusions and 'madness', there's an underlying melancholy that seems to assert that the solace of the imagination is the only thing that makes life bearable.
October 18, 2022
The (Less Than) Talented Mr. Ripley (aka Kelsey)
Spoilers in here; but read this for October suspense month!
At a glance I see not many reviewers agree with me that this is a successful novel by Patricia Highsmith, in the realm of The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Strangers on a Train, but I was thoroughly creeped out by it throughout. A late fifties New York story of a successful chemist, David Kelsey, who is seen by most as a brilliant scientist and nice person. And we hear the story from his perspective.
David reminds me of the also superficially nice Tom Ripley--both are sociopaths--but David, in spite of his professional intelligence, is less talented at his delusions than Ripley. Ripley was published in 1955, and Sickness in 1960, so that’s interesting, an apparent attempt to create another Ripley-type five years later.
David once dated Annabelle, but that was a couple years ago. Can’t let go of the women who dumped you? This is David, who obsesses about her, even though she is married, and now has a child! These facts would normally dissuade most exes, but David is crazier than most. He writes her letters expressing his undenying love, he buys and sets up a cottage with expensive furnishings, all things she would love (I recently re-read The Great Gatsby, and thought of how Jay Gatz wanted to accrue huge wealth to impress the object of his desire, [also married, with child in tow] Daisy, to win her).
In most other aspects of his life, David is perfectly functional, though he lies to everyone about his staying in a boarding house in Manhattan, just to be close to her. Oh, he lies to everyone about everything Annabelle-related, especially to himself. He adopts a second identity, William Neumeister, to help him in his increasingly creepy/crazy plans.
He also finally goes to Annabelle’s house to make it clear to her and her husband--the new parents!--that he is going to take Annabelle away with him. She tries to be reasonable with him, she doesn’t want to hurt him, but she is clear in speaking to David that this plan is plain nuts. But she is maybe just a bit too kind to him. Because David doesn’t accept the truth. And things get creepier and creepier, even as Annabelle’s husband comes to confront David.
David has supporters who just can’t believe he is lying--the boarding house caretaker Mrs. McCartney, his old pal Wes, and Effie, who is in love with David and will do anything to support him, even to the point of helping him with his lies. She meets with Annabelle; she gets what is going on. So she has an unrealistic and unhealthy desire, too.
Highsmith is really good at getting into the head of an obsessive mind. The ending made me shudder. That last sentence was perfect. I thought it was maybe not quite Ripley- or Strangers-level but still, really, really good.
Spoilers in here; but read this for October suspense month!
At a glance I see not many reviewers agree with me that this is a successful novel by Patricia Highsmith, in the realm of The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Strangers on a Train, but I was thoroughly creeped out by it throughout. A late fifties New York story of a successful chemist, David Kelsey, who is seen by most as a brilliant scientist and nice person. And we hear the story from his perspective.
David reminds me of the also superficially nice Tom Ripley--both are sociopaths--but David, in spite of his professional intelligence, is less talented at his delusions than Ripley. Ripley was published in 1955, and Sickness in 1960, so that’s interesting, an apparent attempt to create another Ripley-type five years later.
David once dated Annabelle, but that was a couple years ago. Can’t let go of the women who dumped you? This is David, who obsesses about her, even though she is married, and now has a child! These facts would normally dissuade most exes, but David is crazier than most. He writes her letters expressing his undenying love, he buys and sets up a cottage with expensive furnishings, all things she would love (I recently re-read The Great Gatsby, and thought of how Jay Gatz wanted to accrue huge wealth to impress the object of his desire, [also married, with child in tow] Daisy, to win her).
In most other aspects of his life, David is perfectly functional, though he lies to everyone about his staying in a boarding house in Manhattan, just to be close to her. Oh, he lies to everyone about everything Annabelle-related, especially to himself. He adopts a second identity, William Neumeister, to help him in his increasingly creepy/crazy plans.
He also finally goes to Annabelle’s house to make it clear to her and her husband--the new parents!--that he is going to take Annabelle away with him. She tries to be reasonable with him, she doesn’t want to hurt him, but she is clear in speaking to David that this plan is plain nuts. But she is maybe just a bit too kind to him. Because David doesn’t accept the truth. And things get creepier and creepier, even as Annabelle’s husband comes to confront David.
David has supporters who just can’t believe he is lying--the boarding house caretaker Mrs. McCartney, his old pal Wes, and Effie, who is in love with David and will do anything to support him, even to the point of helping him with his lies. She meets with Annabelle; she gets what is going on. So she has an unrealistic and unhealthy desire, too.
Highsmith is really good at getting into the head of an obsessive mind. The ending made me shudder. That last sentence was perfect. I thought it was maybe not quite Ripley- or Strangers-level but still, really, really good.
November 18, 2015
oh god. What a great book. For a little more about this book, you can go here to my reading journal; otherwise, continue.
This Sweet Sickness is Highsmith's seventh book and somewhere around page 90 I had to put it down for a day because of the knots forming in my gut. Somehow I just knew that this story was going to end very badly and well, I wasn't wrong. This book unnerved me to the max and reaffirmed my belief that it is dangerous indeed to stay in this woman's brain (or that of her main character here) for any length of time.
David Kelsey is an intelligent, successful chemist who lives in a small town in New York. He has a room in a boardinghouse there during the week; over his weekends he goes to a lovely home he owns elsewhere, which he'd bought under the name of William Neumeister, "who had never failed at anything, at least nothing important... " His fellow residents at Mrs. McCartney's boardinghouse know nothing about either Neumeister nor Kelsey's home -- when asked where he goes every weekend, he tells them he is visiting his mother at a nursing home. What no one knows is that David's mother is dead and has been for a while. It seems that David goes home each weekend looking for letters from the only woman he's ever loved, Annabelle. He's also fixed the place up in a style he knows Annabelle will love. But David absolutely refuses to accept or to deal with "The Situation," which
"was the way it was and had been for nearly two years...like a rock, say a five-pound rock, that he carried around in his chest day and night."
David's "situation" is that two years earlier, Annabelle had married Gerald Delaney. That doesn't seem to bother David, though -- in his mind, he had "won Annabelle," who "lived with him here, he imagined," "her presence in every room." Everything he does is for Annabelle, and his obsession with her grows as he pursues his dream.
Quite frankly, This Sweet Sickness is one of the most disturbing novels in Highsmith's lineup to this point, and reader beware -- there is absolutely nothing uplifting or redeeming to be found here, which normally doesn't bother me, but with Highsmith I've found that reading her work has to be done in small doses. Enter at your own risk, but then again, that's true of every Highsmith novel. Her books definitely get an NFE (not for everyone) rating from me -- but I can't help myself. I love her.
This Sweet Sickness is Highsmith's seventh book and somewhere around page 90 I had to put it down for a day because of the knots forming in my gut. Somehow I just knew that this story was going to end very badly and well, I wasn't wrong. This book unnerved me to the max and reaffirmed my belief that it is dangerous indeed to stay in this woman's brain (or that of her main character here) for any length of time.
David Kelsey is an intelligent, successful chemist who lives in a small town in New York. He has a room in a boardinghouse there during the week; over his weekends he goes to a lovely home he owns elsewhere, which he'd bought under the name of William Neumeister, "who had never failed at anything, at least nothing important... " His fellow residents at Mrs. McCartney's boardinghouse know nothing about either Neumeister nor Kelsey's home -- when asked where he goes every weekend, he tells them he is visiting his mother at a nursing home. What no one knows is that David's mother is dead and has been for a while. It seems that David goes home each weekend looking for letters from the only woman he's ever loved, Annabelle. He's also fixed the place up in a style he knows Annabelle will love. But David absolutely refuses to accept or to deal with "The Situation," which
"was the way it was and had been for nearly two years...like a rock, say a five-pound rock, that he carried around in his chest day and night."
David's "situation" is that two years earlier, Annabelle had married Gerald Delaney. That doesn't seem to bother David, though -- in his mind, he had "won Annabelle," who "lived with him here, he imagined," "her presence in every room." Everything he does is for Annabelle, and his obsession with her grows as he pursues his dream.
Quite frankly, This Sweet Sickness is one of the most disturbing novels in Highsmith's lineup to this point, and reader beware -- there is absolutely nothing uplifting or redeeming to be found here, which normally doesn't bother me, but with Highsmith I've found that reading her work has to be done in small doses. Enter at your own risk, but then again, that's true of every Highsmith novel. Her books definitely get an NFE (not for everyone) rating from me -- but I can't help myself. I love her.
May 3, 2023
Lately I've been swamped with have-to-read books rather than want-to-read books. I'd look at the stack of have-tos and inwardly grimace. "But I don't wanna."
Meanwhile, this puppy with the red cover was staring at me. So I'd steal time away from the have-tos and luxuriate in this want-to.
It's not my favourite of her books. There's a bit of a repetitiveness in the structure that starts to feel a little old after a while. Also, unlike her other books, I didn't really warm up to her protagonist. Usually Pat seduces me completely to the whims of her (twisted, morally questionable) main characters. This time I found David Kelsey kind of inscrutable, not wholly three dimensional, and I think that's where the book is problematic. He's also kind of crazy. DSM-5 probably has a page with his photo on it. He needs actual medical help.
Otherwise, it's a pleasure to dip into. Her writing is sublime, and the time she gave me away from the have-tos was just priceless. Soul restoring.
The descent leading to the end of this novel about identity, obsession, and failed dreams, is a gorgeous example of noir. I saw it, I felt it: the whole world crushing in around one man.
"Nothing was true but the fatigue of life and eternal disappointment." BOOM.
3.5 stars (rounded up, because why the hell not?)
Meanwhile, this puppy with the red cover was staring at me. So I'd steal time away from the have-tos and luxuriate in this want-to.
It's not my favourite of her books. There's a bit of a repetitiveness in the structure that starts to feel a little old after a while. Also, unlike her other books, I didn't really warm up to her protagonist. Usually Pat seduces me completely to the whims of her (twisted, morally questionable) main characters. This time I found David Kelsey kind of inscrutable, not wholly three dimensional, and I think that's where the book is problematic. He's also kind of crazy. DSM-5 probably has a page with his photo on it. He needs actual medical help.
Otherwise, it's a pleasure to dip into. Her writing is sublime, and the time she gave me away from the have-tos was just priceless. Soul restoring.
The descent leading to the end of this novel about identity, obsession, and failed dreams, is a gorgeous example of noir. I saw it, I felt it: the whole world crushing in around one man.
"Nothing was true but the fatigue of life and eternal disappointment." BOOM.
3.5 stars (rounded up, because why the hell not?)
January 11, 2018
4.5*
In the dead of night, more snow began to fall, like billions of white, silent tears.
This Sweet Sickness was my 13th book by Patricia Highsmith and you would have thought that by now I would know what to expect and would be able to foresee certain themes or twists. The thing is, I can’t.
One of the very aspects that keeps me reading her books is that I have yet to find a story that follows a formula, or even one that I have encountered in other books of the same era. Sure, some later books may have borrowed from or may have been heavily inspired by her work, but I truly cannot say that I have ever met a Highsmith story that was not expertly crafted and unpredictable.
Unpredictability is not the only element that kept me reading this particular book in every free minute I could find. After a relatively slow start in which we are introduced to David Kelsey, a man in his late 20s, who rents a room in shared house, appears to work in science, and who is in love with a girl named Annabelle.
Little by little, we learn that what we know of David, might not be true. We learn that he leads a double life, that his friends are not all that they are cracked up to be, and that Annabelle… Well, the less said about Annabelle, the better.
The problem is that David’s obsessions have taken over his life and we spend a great deal of page time watching David living a life on the edge, where anything might tip him over at any moment.
It must be great, David thought, really great to have such a high, unchallengeable opinion of oneself, to think that everything one did or possessed or thought or maybe even felt was the best and the finest in the world!
And because this is a Highsmith novel, and if we know anything by now it is that the author loved to torment her characters to see what they are made of, the house of cards that David has so carefully constructed comes crashing down one winter’s day.
He ran into a tree, hurting his shoulder and the right side of his head. It was vaguely familiar to him, the action of running into a tree. Where? When? He went slowly back to the tree and put his hand on its rough, immovable trunk, confident that the tree would tell him an important piece of wisdom, or a secret. He felt it, but he could not find words for it: it had something to do with identity. The tree knew who he was really, and he had been destined to bump into it. The tree had a further message. It told him to be calm and quiet and to stay with Annabelle.
‘But you don’t know how difficult it is to be quiet,’ David said. ‘It’s very easy for you—’
Despite all of the sadness and insanity in This Sweet Sickness, I liked it just a little bit more than some other of Highsmith’s novels. There is a depth to it that sets it apart from other books. The first book in the Ripley series was a thriller that had been magnificently executed. The Cry of the Owl was a page-turner but essentially also a thriller. The Tremor of Forgery was an experiment in existentialism that was also very interesting. But none of them gave me as much cause to think about the main characters in their time as this one and The Price of Salt (aka Carol).
This Sweet Sickness made me uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of sadness I had when thinking about what alternatives there could have been for David. What help would have been available to him in 1960? What treatments may he have had to suffer?
This was a great book, but as with most of Highsmiths’ work it is not a light and fluffy diversion.
He had been here so often before, he thought, in the center of a meager circle of possibilities, each of which offered essentially nothing.
In the dead of night, more snow began to fall, like billions of white, silent tears.
This Sweet Sickness was my 13th book by Patricia Highsmith and you would have thought that by now I would know what to expect and would be able to foresee certain themes or twists. The thing is, I can’t.
One of the very aspects that keeps me reading her books is that I have yet to find a story that follows a formula, or even one that I have encountered in other books of the same era. Sure, some later books may have borrowed from or may have been heavily inspired by her work, but I truly cannot say that I have ever met a Highsmith story that was not expertly crafted and unpredictable.
Unpredictability is not the only element that kept me reading this particular book in every free minute I could find. After a relatively slow start in which we are introduced to David Kelsey, a man in his late 20s, who rents a room in shared house, appears to work in science, and who is in love with a girl named Annabelle.
Little by little, we learn that what we know of David, might not be true. We learn that he leads a double life, that his friends are not all that they are cracked up to be, and that Annabelle… Well, the less said about Annabelle, the better.
The problem is that David’s obsessions have taken over his life and we spend a great deal of page time watching David living a life on the edge, where anything might tip him over at any moment.
It must be great, David thought, really great to have such a high, unchallengeable opinion of oneself, to think that everything one did or possessed or thought or maybe even felt was the best and the finest in the world!
And because this is a Highsmith novel, and if we know anything by now it is that the author loved to torment her characters to see what they are made of, the house of cards that David has so carefully constructed comes crashing down one winter’s day.
He ran into a tree, hurting his shoulder and the right side of his head. It was vaguely familiar to him, the action of running into a tree. Where? When? He went slowly back to the tree and put his hand on its rough, immovable trunk, confident that the tree would tell him an important piece of wisdom, or a secret. He felt it, but he could not find words for it: it had something to do with identity. The tree knew who he was really, and he had been destined to bump into it. The tree had a further message. It told him to be calm and quiet and to stay with Annabelle.
‘But you don’t know how difficult it is to be quiet,’ David said. ‘It’s very easy for you—’
Despite all of the sadness and insanity in This Sweet Sickness, I liked it just a little bit more than some other of Highsmith’s novels. There is a depth to it that sets it apart from other books. The first book in the Ripley series was a thriller that had been magnificently executed. The Cry of the Owl was a page-turner but essentially also a thriller. The Tremor of Forgery was an experiment in existentialism that was also very interesting. But none of them gave me as much cause to think about the main characters in their time as this one and The Price of Salt (aka Carol).
This Sweet Sickness made me uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of sadness I had when thinking about what alternatives there could have been for David. What help would have been available to him in 1960? What treatments may he have had to suffer?
This was a great book, but as with most of Highsmiths’ work it is not a light and fluffy diversion.
He had been here so often before, he thought, in the center of a meager circle of possibilities, each of which offered essentially nothing.
September 5, 2025
Delusions are fun and all until those hairline cracks appear and before you know it you've 'acccidentally' killed two people and begun having thoughts like 'nothing was true but the fatigue of life and the eternal disappointment'. And all before the age of 30, no less. If you can make it out of your twenties w/o feeling the need to assume a new identity you'll be fine (probably). (3.5)
June 28, 2022
⭐⭐⭐ 3 Sad, devastating, bitter stars!
Only Patricia Highsmith knows how to describe the way a psychopath thinks and acts. In this case David Kealsey is driven to madness by loving a girl that does not return his feelings. All he thinks about is Annabelle. His universe is Annabelle. His mind plays tricks with him and he can no longer cotrol his violent actions which lead him to commit terrible things.
Always interesting to read one of Highsmith's books. She is a master of creating a twisted character by giving him flesh and bone in her chilling thrillers which sometimes depict the ugly side of our "perfect" world. Mental health should be a priority to all of us or else books like this particular one may actually become a gruesome reality. We need to embrace people who need our support in every way we can and help them stand on their own feet once again. To be honest, i kind of pitied poor David for his downfall, all this man needed was mental treatment and love.
Only Patricia Highsmith knows how to describe the way a psychopath thinks and acts. In this case David Kealsey is driven to madness by loving a girl that does not return his feelings. All he thinks about is Annabelle. His universe is Annabelle. His mind plays tricks with him and he can no longer cotrol his violent actions which lead him to commit terrible things.
Always interesting to read one of Highsmith's books. She is a master of creating a twisted character by giving him flesh and bone in her chilling thrillers which sometimes depict the ugly side of our "perfect" world. Mental health should be a priority to all of us or else books like this particular one may actually become a gruesome reality. We need to embrace people who need our support in every way we can and help them stand on their own feet once again. To be honest, i kind of pitied poor David for his downfall, all this man needed was mental treatment and love.
November 10, 2019
Reading Patricia Highsmith’s This Sweet Sickness is creepy, very creepy. It’s neither mystery nor thriller nor horror, but still so very creepy. Reading this, I felt as if I were in a nightmare, watching a huge tractor trailer truck hurtling down a very long hill with broken brakes: I knew that David Kelsey, William Neumeister, and The Situation were going to crash, but I didn’t know when, where, how, or what the damage would be.
This Sweet Sickness provides unexpected and unintended enjoyment for Manhattan nostalgia lovers, with its mentions of Romeo Salta’s Restaurant on West 56th right off 5th, just blocks away from the Hotel Wellington where Neumeister stayed, the nearby Museum of Modern Art, and the 110th subway station.
Uncomfortably unforgettable.
This Sweet Sickness provides unexpected and unintended enjoyment for Manhattan nostalgia lovers, with its mentions of Romeo Salta’s Restaurant on West 56th right off 5th, just blocks away from the Hotel Wellington where Neumeister stayed, the nearby Museum of Modern Art, and the 110th subway station.
Uncomfortably unforgettable.
April 12, 2021
Like the previous Highsmiths I've read, this one has a male protagonist who is smart, charming, mostly kind. Well, that's how the other characters see him, at least for starters. The problem for David Kelsey, however, is that he is psychotically obsessed with a former girlfriend (if she was even that).
He invents an alter-ego, keeps a house in his name, and appoints it with things he thinks his beloved Annabelle will appreciate when she comes to live with him. The problem is that Annabelle is married and, in time, a mother. Kelsey writes her letters, full of love for her and plans with her, but also of sarcastic loathing for her husband, indifference to her child. The venom within increases.
Kelsey keeps all this from his friends, fellow employees and the other tenants in a boardinghouse he stays at on weekdays, living a double-life. This creates The Situation. Things turn real when Annabelle's husband pays him a visit, courage fortified with drink and a handgun just in case.
Kelsey's obsession grows and his behavior becomes more erratic. And violent.
As always with Highsmith there is a character - in this case Effie Brennan - who figures it all out. Yet she's in love with Kelsey, and stays in love with him, nevertheless. That was hard to figure. As were the scant reply letters Annabelle writes to Kelsey. She tells him no, no, she's married, but there were still some encouragements within. At one point, Kelsey asks her if she ever imagines them together and she replies, "I guess sometimes I think of it." It was a puzzling response to a palpable obsession.
Still, batshit crazy protagonists do make a reader turn the pages.
If the plot suffered, and if even the obligatory killings were shamefully cinematic, I did not like the writing less.
There was a character, Mrs. McCartney, who was the landlady of the boardinghouse. A nice, friendly lady, always a smile. But as Kelsey got increasingly bizarre, we could see the changes in Mrs. McCartney's smile.
- a smile . . . but he saw surprise in her eyes.
- the smile and the avidly curious eyes.
- a twitch of a smile.
And we could tell Kelsey's double-life would soon be over.
I like when an author adds a little joke, maybe just to amuse herself. I think Shakespeare did that. Here, too, I think. Kelsey is walking with his friend, Wes, to go see Effie. Her apartment was in a building which had businesses on the bottom floors: and one entered the red brick building through a door above which hung a dentist's sign: DR. NAGEL, PAINLESS DENTIST. David, who had learned some German for his science course, pointed out to Wes the name, which meant needle, and they both laughed. I've since learned that nagel translates as nail, not needle, but that hardly stunted my enjoyment.
He invents an alter-ego, keeps a house in his name, and appoints it with things he thinks his beloved Annabelle will appreciate when she comes to live with him. The problem is that Annabelle is married and, in time, a mother. Kelsey writes her letters, full of love for her and plans with her, but also of sarcastic loathing for her husband, indifference to her child. The venom within increases.
Kelsey keeps all this from his friends, fellow employees and the other tenants in a boardinghouse he stays at on weekdays, living a double-life. This creates The Situation. Things turn real when Annabelle's husband pays him a visit, courage fortified with drink and a handgun just in case.
Kelsey's obsession grows and his behavior becomes more erratic. And violent.
As always with Highsmith there is a character - in this case Effie Brennan - who figures it all out. Yet she's in love with Kelsey, and stays in love with him, nevertheless. That was hard to figure. As were the scant reply letters Annabelle writes to Kelsey. She tells him no, no, she's married, but there were still some encouragements within. At one point, Kelsey asks her if she ever imagines them together and she replies, "I guess sometimes I think of it." It was a puzzling response to a palpable obsession.
Still, batshit crazy protagonists do make a reader turn the pages.
If the plot suffered, and if even the obligatory killings were shamefully cinematic, I did not like the writing less.
There was a character, Mrs. McCartney, who was the landlady of the boardinghouse. A nice, friendly lady, always a smile. But as Kelsey got increasingly bizarre, we could see the changes in Mrs. McCartney's smile.
- a smile . . . but he saw surprise in her eyes.
- the smile and the avidly curious eyes.
- a twitch of a smile.
And we could tell Kelsey's double-life would soon be over.
I like when an author adds a little joke, maybe just to amuse herself. I think Shakespeare did that. Here, too, I think. Kelsey is walking with his friend, Wes, to go see Effie. Her apartment was in a building which had businesses on the bottom floors: and one entered the red brick building through a door above which hung a dentist's sign: DR. NAGEL, PAINLESS DENTIST. David, who had learned some German for his science course, pointed out to Wes the name, which meant needle, and they both laughed. I've since learned that nagel translates as nail, not needle, but that hardly stunted my enjoyment.
March 29, 2021
There's a new biography of Patricia Highsmith out at the moment. I read a review of it in The Sunday Times a few weeks ago and I was amazed at what an unpleasant person it described. Highsmith didn't seem to like people very much and channeled this hate into her characters. I've enjoyed some of the movie adaptations of her work such as Carol and The Talented Mr. Ripley, but I'd never read her novels, so I decided to give This Sweet Sickness a try.
The story begins in upstate New York and is narrated by David Kelsey, a young chemist. He's a man with a problem: his true love Anabelle is married to somebody else. But David is certain that everything will work out in the end. During the week he lives in a boarding house with various nosy and interfering inhabitants. The weekends though, he spends at a house in a nearby town, purchased under a fake name. He believes this dream home will be enough to win Annabelle over and often fantasizes about her presence there. David doesn't have many friends - there is an office colleague named Wes that he sometimes shares a drink with. And a girl called Effie at the boarding house who seems to have a crush at him. They are merely distractions from his grand plan - David will win Annabelle's affections, no matter the cost.
This Sweet Sickness is an incredibly creepy tale of infatuation and unrequited love. Highsmith does an amazing job of getting inside an obsessive mind. David is utterly deluded throughout - anyone can see that Annabelle has no interest in him, and she's too polite to tell him to get lost. Every kind of setback in his conquest is put aside - he is absolutely determined that they will end up together. And the character of Effie is a clever invention, a girl who is just as besotted with him as he is with Annabelle. Yet David sees her as pathetic, an annoyance. He's a calculating, devious individual but his lies eventually get him into trouble. It's an uncomfortable yet gripping read, a psychological thriller that demonstrates Highsmith's rare ability to imagine the motivations of tormented and depraved characters.
The story begins in upstate New York and is narrated by David Kelsey, a young chemist. He's a man with a problem: his true love Anabelle is married to somebody else. But David is certain that everything will work out in the end. During the week he lives in a boarding house with various nosy and interfering inhabitants. The weekends though, he spends at a house in a nearby town, purchased under a fake name. He believes this dream home will be enough to win Annabelle over and often fantasizes about her presence there. David doesn't have many friends - there is an office colleague named Wes that he sometimes shares a drink with. And a girl called Effie at the boarding house who seems to have a crush at him. They are merely distractions from his grand plan - David will win Annabelle's affections, no matter the cost.
This Sweet Sickness is an incredibly creepy tale of infatuation and unrequited love. Highsmith does an amazing job of getting inside an obsessive mind. David is utterly deluded throughout - anyone can see that Annabelle has no interest in him, and she's too polite to tell him to get lost. Every kind of setback in his conquest is put aside - he is absolutely determined that they will end up together. And the character of Effie is a clever invention, a girl who is just as besotted with him as he is with Annabelle. Yet David sees her as pathetic, an annoyance. He's a calculating, devious individual but his lies eventually get him into trouble. It's an uncomfortable yet gripping read, a psychological thriller that demonstrates Highsmith's rare ability to imagine the motivations of tormented and depraved characters.
September 3, 2016
What a joyride this book is, menacing and creepy. An in depth look into the mechanics of a twisted sick mind. David Kelsey is a strange character that really gets under your skin. He has no concept of reality but also seems so bleeting normal at first glance. How does Patricia Highsmith do this? Clever clever writing that reels you in like a fish hook. A chilling look at what happens when a man's house of lies comes crashing down and the ramifications of living a double life. He just keeps getting further and further into a big old mess. Even though David is obviously a crazily obsessed man in love with a woman who does not reciprocate it is her character that I have the most problem with. She is totally an enabler! I couldn't help thinking she was narcissist in allowing his obsession to get out of hand...hasn't she ever heard of a restraining order!??! Seriously she must have got off on knowing how much he was into her and allowing him to indulge in his fantasies...absurd! But I guess that's what makes this such a deliciously delirious book that I simply couldn't get enough of! Even the ending was a fitting homage to the grandiose delusions of Kelsey/Neumeister. Brilliant!
February 3, 2022
Ένα αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα διαφορετικό από τα άλλα, το οποίο δίχαζε και συνεχίζει να διχάζει το αναγνωστικό κοινό και τους κριτικούς λογοτεχνίας (1960). Οι New York Τimes εκείνης της εποχής είχαν γράψει ότι το μυθιστόρημα αυτό της Πατρίσια Χάισμιθ αποτελεί μία 'εντυπωσιακή ψυχολογική μελέτη'.
Πάντως θα μπορούσαμε, επιπρόσθετα, να πούμε ότι ανήκει στα 'ψυχογραφικά' αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα ή σε μια κατηγορία μυθιστορημάτων Εναλλακτικής Αστυνομικής Λογοτεχνίας με έντονα στοιχεία ψυχολογικού θρίλερ, και σε αυτό συμβάλλει καί το γεγονός ότι η ίδια η Χάισμιθ αποτελεί από μόνη της μια εναλλακτική πρόταση για τους μελετητές και αναγνώστες αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας. Σε αυτό το βιβλίο, έχει δώσει τέτοιο ψυχολογικό βάθος και εσωτερικότητα στους ήρωές της, τα οποία καταλήγουν να δημιουργούν μια κλειστοφοβική ατμόσφαιρα και την αίσθηση ενός επικείμενου κινδύνου.
Το συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα δεν είναι εύκολο να διαβαστεί, ωστόσο, αν ο αναγνώστης καταλάβει τους κεντρικούς ήρωες, τα κίνητρά των πράξεών τους, και κάνει λίγο υπομονή, στο τέλος, θα αποζημιωθεί. Η ανταλλαγή γραμμάτων (τα οποία εύστοχα αποτυπώνονται καί στο εξώφυλλο του βιβλίου) αποτελούν τον κεντρικό άξονα που συνθέτει τη πλοκή και τα επικίνδυνα γεγονότα που θα διαδραματιστούν.
Η Χάισμιθ, έξυπνα, αποτυπώνει τη καθημερινή ρουτίνα της αμερικάνικης κουλτούρας, η οποία βασιζόταν, εκείνη την εποχή (και ακόμα καί τώρα) στη διατήρηση των προσχημάτων και της επιφανειακής ευπρέπειας, στη κοινωνικοποίηση μέσω δείπνων, γευμάτων και απογευματινού τσαγιού/καφέ, στην συχνή επικοινωνία μέσω γραμμάτων, στην επιφανειακή έκφραση συναισθημάτων, αλλά, κυρίως, στην έντονη πεποίθηση ότι οι άνθρωποι είναι αυτό που δείχνουν ότι είναι.
Η συγγραφέας δεν αναλώνεται με αντιφατικούς χαρακτήρες όπως ο Ρίπλυ, επειδή, εδώ, το παιχνίδι της πλαστοπροσωπίας καλύπτει ένα προσωπικό δράμα και έναν 'διπολικό' χαρακτήρα, ο οποίος επιλέγει, ηθελημένα και μή, να μην αποδέχεται την πραγματικότητα των καταστάσεων.
Το 1ο μέρος του βιβλίου είναι πιο αργό και ψυχογραφικό, ενώ το 2ο διαθέτει πιο έντονους ρυθμούς και δράση, ενώ, το τέλος της ιστορίας μπορεί να φανεί προβλέψιμο, ωστόσο, γίνεται κατανοητό, χωρίς να προκαλεί σύγχυση στον αναγνώστη.
Βαθμολογία: 4,1/5 ή 8,2/10.
Πάντως θα μπορούσαμε, επιπρόσθετα, να πούμε ότι ανήκει στα 'ψυχογραφικά' αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα ή σε μια κατηγορία μυθιστορημάτων Εναλλακτικής Αστυνομικής Λογοτεχνίας με έντονα στοιχεία ψυχολογικού θρίλερ, και σε αυτό συμβάλλει καί το γεγονός ότι η ίδια η Χάισμιθ αποτελεί από μόνη της μια εναλλακτική πρόταση για τους μελετητές και αναγνώστες αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας. Σε αυτό το βιβλίο, έχει δώσει τέτοιο ψυχολογικό βάθος και εσωτερικότητα στους ήρωές της, τα οποία καταλήγουν να δημιουργούν μια κλειστοφοβική ατμόσφαιρα και την αίσθηση ενός επικείμενου κινδύνου.
Το συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα δεν είναι εύκολο να διαβαστεί, ωστόσο, αν ο αναγνώστης καταλάβει τους κεντρικούς ήρωες, τα κίνητρά των πράξεών τους, και κάνει λίγο υπομονή, στο τέλος, θα αποζημιωθεί. Η ανταλλαγή γραμμάτων (τα οποία εύστοχα αποτυπώνονται καί στο εξώφυλλο του βιβλίου) αποτελούν τον κεντρικό άξονα που συνθέτει τη πλοκή και τα επικίνδυνα γεγονότα που θα διαδραματιστούν.
Η Χάισμιθ, έξυπνα, αποτυπώνει τη καθημερινή ρουτίνα της αμερικάνικης κουλτούρας, η οποία βασιζόταν, εκείνη την εποχή (και ακόμα καί τώρα) στη διατήρηση των προσχημάτων και της επιφανειακής ευπρέπειας, στη κοινωνικοποίηση μέσω δείπνων, γευμάτων και απογευματινού τσαγιού/καφέ, στην συχνή επικοινωνία μέσω γραμμάτων, στην επιφανειακή έκφραση συναισθημάτων, αλλά, κυρίως, στην έντονη πεποίθηση ότι οι άνθρωποι είναι αυτό που δείχνουν ότι είναι.
Η συγγραφέας δεν αναλώνεται με αντιφατικούς χαρακτήρες όπως ο Ρίπλυ, επειδή, εδώ, το παιχνίδι της πλαστοπροσωπίας καλύπτει ένα προσωπικό δράμα και έναν 'διπολικό' χαρακτήρα, ο οποίος επιλέγει, ηθελημένα και μή, να μην αποδέχεται την πραγματικότητα των καταστάσεων.
Το 1ο μέρος του βιβλίου είναι πιο αργό και ψυχογραφικό, ενώ το 2ο διαθέτει πιο έντονους ρυθμούς και δράση, ενώ, το τέλος της ιστορίας μπορεί να φανεί προβλέψιμο, ωστόσο, γίνεται κατανοητό, χωρίς να προκαλεί σύγχυση στον αναγνώστη.
Βαθμολογία: 4,1/5 ή 8,2/10.
June 8, 2018
Es bueno y trepidante pero se parece tanto a A pleno sol (El talento de Mr Ripley) q no he podido disfrutarlo al 100%
March 12, 2020
Πέμπτο βιβλίο της Πατρίσια Χάισμιθ που περνάει στη λίστα με τα διαβασμένα και δηλώνω για ακόμα μια φορά ιδιαίτερα ικανοποιημένος μαζί της, τόσο από την ιστορία, όσο κυρίως από τη γραφή και την ικανότητά της στη σκιαγράφηση των βασικών χαρακτήρων. Η Χάισμιθ έγραφε κυρίως δραματικά, ψυχογραφικά νουάρ με στοιχεία εγκλήματος, και όχι αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα. Στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση, όσοι θέλουν απλώς να διαβάσουν μια αστυνομική ιστορία με μυστήριο και ανατροπές, καλύτερα να διαβάσουν κάποιο αμιγώς αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, μιας και τούτη η ιστορία περιέχει ένα έντονο ψυχογράφημα ενός ασταθούς και διπολικού πρωταγωνιστή, του οποίου ο δίχως ανταπόκριση έρωτας για μια κοπέλα έχει γίνει εμμονή.
Μπορεί κάποιοι να χαρακτηρίσουν πολλά σημεία του βιβλία ως βαρετά και ανιαρά, προσωπικά όμως απόλαυσα σε μεγάλο βαθμό την αποτύπωση της καθημερινότητας ενός ανθρώπου που έπεσε στην παγίδα του ανεκπλήρωτου έρωτα, κάτι που μπορεί να οδηγήσει έναν ασταθή χαρακτήρα σε περίεργες και επικίνδυνες καταστάσεις. Η συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με κάνει ένα με το δράμα του πρωταγωνιστή, τον οποίο από τη μια μπορεί κάποιος να συμπαθήσει (ή, τέλος πάντων, να λυπηθεί), από την άλλη όμως ίσως εκνευριστεί μαζί του για την εμμονή του, γι'αυτά που κάνει ηθελημένα ή άθελά του, αλλά και για τη συμπεριφορά του απέναντι σε έναν συγκεκριμένο άνθρωπο που δείχνει να ενδιαφέρεται γι'αυτόν.
Γενικά, είμαι από αυτούς που λατρεύουν τα νουάρ μυθιστορήματα παλαιότερων δεκαετιών (ειδικά τα αμερικάνικα και τα γαλλικά), μιας και μεταξύ άλλων μου δίνουν μια εικόνα από την κοινωνία και την καθημερινότητα των ανθρώπων εκείνης της εποχής, και το συγκεκριμένο πληροί (σχεδόν) όλα τα κριτήρια που έχω για τα βιβλία του είδους. Και, βέβαια, όταν η γραφή είναι τόσο υπέροχη και τόσο οξυδερκής όσο είναι της Χάισμιθ, όταν έχει τέτοιο βάθος στις περιγραφές και τις σκέψεις των χαρακτήρων, τότε δεν μπορώ παρά να απολαύσω το βιβλίο, έστω και αν η πλοκή δεν είναι ιδιαίτερα σύνθετη. Ουσιαστικά για κάποιες λεπτομέρειες δεν τσιμπάει και πέμπτο αστεράκι.
Μπορεί κάποιοι να χαρακτηρίσουν πολλά σημεία του βιβλία ως βαρετά και ανιαρά, προσωπικά όμως απόλαυσα σε μεγάλο βαθμό την αποτύπωση της καθημερινότητας ενός ανθρώπου που έπεσε στην παγίδα του ανεκπλήρωτου έρωτα, κάτι που μπορεί να οδηγήσει έναν ασταθή χαρακτήρα σε περίεργες και επικίνδυνες καταστάσεις. Η συγγραφέας κατάφερε να με κάνει ένα με το δράμα του πρωταγωνιστή, τον οποίο από τη μια μπορεί κάποιος να συμπαθήσει (ή, τέλος πάντων, να λυπηθεί), από την άλλη όμως ίσως εκνευριστεί μαζί του για την εμμονή του, γι'αυτά που κάνει ηθελημένα ή άθελά του, αλλά και για τη συμπεριφορά του απέναντι σε έναν συγκεκριμένο άνθρωπο που δείχνει να ενδιαφέρεται γι'αυτόν.
Γενικά, είμαι από αυτούς που λατρεύουν τα νουάρ μυθιστορήματα παλαιότερων δεκαετιών (ειδικά τα αμερικάνικα και τα γαλλικά), μιας και μεταξύ άλλων μου δίνουν μια εικόνα από την κοινωνία και την καθημερινότητα των ανθρώπων εκείνης της εποχής, και το συγκεκριμένο πληροί (σχεδόν) όλα τα κριτήρια που έχω για τα βιβλία του είδους. Και, βέβαια, όταν η γραφή είναι τόσο υπέροχη και τόσο οξυδερκής όσο είναι της Χάισμιθ, όταν έχει τέτοιο βάθος στις περιγραφές και τις σκέψεις των χαρακτήρων, τότε δεν μπορώ παρά να απολαύσω το βιβλίο, έστω και αν η πλοκή δεν είναι ιδιαίτερα σύνθετη. Ουσιαστικά για κάποιες λεπτομέρειες δεν τσιμπάει και πέμπτο αστεράκι.
March 24, 2022
Highsmith likes her protagonists dark and twisty: the obsessive David Kelsey is no exception.
This quiet, intellectual fella becomes increasingly unhinged as he pitches into pursuit of an old flame who has 100% moved on. The more she rejects him, the more he ramps up his bird-dogging until the proverbial fit hits the shan.
And you know? Even though I understood something really, really bad was going to happen... Highsmith surprised me with the particulars of her protagonist's upshift to 5150.
The result is an unsettling, somehow satisfying finish that has already commenced to haunting - this one will stay with me a while.
This quiet, intellectual fella becomes increasingly unhinged as he pitches into pursuit of an old flame who has 100% moved on. The more she rejects him, the more he ramps up his bird-dogging until the proverbial fit hits the shan.
And you know? Even though I understood something really, really bad was going to happen... Highsmith surprised me with the particulars of her protagonist's upshift to 5150.
The result is an unsettling, somehow satisfying finish that has already commenced to haunting - this one will stay with me a while.
January 30, 2023
David Kelsey is in love with a married woman. He is obsessed with her and cannot stop wanting her. He maintains a fully-furnished cabin and imagines the two of them together. He writes her letters and waits for her answer to come to him. When she does not write him for a while he visits her at her house and confronts the husband. Writes to her again and again. He is completely obsessed. To stop the letters from coming, the husband visits David at his cabin. I won’t say anything else, but it is a great read.
May 18, 2023
That ending though
December 17, 2015
Από τον τίτλο του βιβλίου, αλλά και την περίληψη, περίμενα να διαβάσω μια εντελώς διαφορετική ιστορία. Παρόλα αυτά, και το βιβλίο και οι ήρωές του κατάφεραν να με κερδίσουν. Μια εντελώς διαφορετική εποχή, χαρακτήρες που το φέρσιμό τους και οι συμπεριφορές τους ποικίλλουν, προσφέροντας ποικιλία και στην ίδια την αφήγηση, και μια τραγική ερωτική ιστορία, με δύο εξίσου τραγικούς πρωταγωνιστές.
Ο Ντέιβιντ μπορεί σε κάποιους να φάνηκε αντιπαθητικός, σ’ εμένα όμως προσωπικά προκάλεσε λύπη και συμπόνοια. Η αρρώστια του, εκτός από ‘γλυκιά’, στάθηκε μοιραία για εκείνον. Παρόλα τα λάθη, τις εμμονές και τη συμπεριφορά του, η συγγραφέας πείθει τον αναγνώστη να τον κατανοήσει, ακόμα και να τον δικαιολογήσει! Από την άλλη, η Άναμπελ είναι εξίσου τραγική ηρωίδα, μιας και πυροδοτεί τα πάθη του Ντέιβιντ – άθελά της και εν αγνοία της, βέβαια – αναγκαζόμενη όμως να υποστεί τις συνέπειες των δικών του πράξεων. Μπορεί στο τέλος να καταφέρνει να φτιάξει τη ζωή της, δεν πέρασε όμως και λίγα εξαιτίας αυτής της ‘γλυκιάς αρρώστιας’ που κατέτρωγε τα σωθικά του άλλοτε φίλου της.
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποπνέει ένα άρωμα μιας άλλης, πολύ πιο αθώας εποχής, μας ταξιδεύει πίσω στο χρόνο και μας παρουσιάζει μια ιδιαίτερη, ιδιόμορφη ιστορία αγάπης, όμορφη μέσα στην πλάνη της και επικίνδυνη ταυτόχρονα.
Ο Ντέιβιντ μπορεί σε κάποιους να φάνηκε αντιπαθητικός, σ’ εμένα όμως προσωπικά προκάλεσε λύπη και συμπόνοια. Η αρρώστια του, εκτός από ‘γλυκιά’, στάθηκε μοιραία για εκείνον. Παρόλα τα λάθη, τις εμμονές και τη συμπεριφορά του, η συγγραφέας πείθει τον αναγνώστη να τον κατανοήσει, ακόμα και να τον δικαιολογήσει! Από την άλλη, η Άναμπελ είναι εξίσου τραγική ηρωίδα, μιας και πυροδοτεί τα πάθη του Ντέιβιντ – άθελά της και εν αγνοία της, βέβαια – αναγκαζόμενη όμως να υποστεί τις συνέπειες των δικών του πράξεων. Μπορεί στο τέλος να καταφέρνει να φτιάξει τη ζωή της, δεν πέρασε όμως και λίγα εξαιτίας αυτής της ‘γλυκιάς αρρώστιας’ που κατέτρωγε τα σωθικά του άλλοτε φίλου της.
Το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποπνέει ένα άρωμα μιας άλλης, πολύ πιο αθώας εποχής, μας ταξιδεύει πίσω στο χρόνο και μας παρουσιάζει μια ιδιαίτερη, ιδιόμορφη ιστορία αγάπης, όμορφη μέσα στην πλάνη της και επικίνδυνη ταυτόχρονα.
March 30, 2008
I sort of identify with the main character. You have a crush on a girl. For fun you imagine your life with her. Maybe getting an apartment together. The thing is you don't know her at all - but still a daydream. Nothing wrong with that right?
And this is where Patricia Highsmith comes in and makes it really creepy and weird. She has a genius to get under one's psychie skin and make it sound really reasonable. A totally unique visionary writer who is very truthful regarding the moment when you are alone and daydreaming....
And this is where Patricia Highsmith comes in and makes it really creepy and weird. She has a genius to get under one's psychie skin and make it sound really reasonable. A totally unique visionary writer who is very truthful regarding the moment when you are alone and daydreaming....
March 18, 2023
This Sweet Sickness (1960) is another timeless insight into the murky and twisted mind of Patricia Highsmith. David Kelsey is one of her classic delusional characters, trapped by an obsession which causes ever increasing levels of chaos and confusion.
David Kelsey obsesses about his ex, Annabelle, who married another man. On the surface he's a respectable young chemist living in a boarding house and who visits his ailing mother. What could be more normal?
Beneath this veneer of normality he makes believe that Annabelle stayed with him and he becomes increasingly invested in this alternate reality.
The first half is superb and the plot developments make for an exciting ride. The story gets a little bogged down in the second half and the novel could easily lose 20-25% of its total and thus been a five star read. Still wonderful though.
4/5
More info...
In This Sweet Sickness, Patricia Highsmith, in her own inimitable fashion, has created a complex psychological tale as suspenseful as The Talented Mr. Ripley.
David Kelsey, a young scientist, has an unyielding conviction that life will turn out all right for him; he just has to fix the Situation: he is in love with a married woman. Obsessed with Annabelle and the life he has imagined for them—including the fully furnished cabin he maintains for her—David prepares to win her over, whatever it takes.
In this riveting tale of a deluded loner, Highsmith reveals her uncanny ability to draw out the secret obsessions that overwhelm the human heart.
David Kelsey obsesses about his ex, Annabelle, who married another man. On the surface he's a respectable young chemist living in a boarding house and who visits his ailing mother. What could be more normal?
Beneath this veneer of normality he makes believe that Annabelle stayed with him and he becomes increasingly invested in this alternate reality.
The first half is superb and the plot developments make for an exciting ride. The story gets a little bogged down in the second half and the novel could easily lose 20-25% of its total and thus been a five star read. Still wonderful though.
4/5
More info...
In This Sweet Sickness, Patricia Highsmith, in her own inimitable fashion, has created a complex psychological tale as suspenseful as The Talented Mr. Ripley.
David Kelsey, a young scientist, has an unyielding conviction that life will turn out all right for him; he just has to fix the Situation: he is in love with a married woman. Obsessed with Annabelle and the life he has imagined for them—including the fully furnished cabin he maintains for her—David prepares to win her over, whatever it takes.
In this riveting tale of a deluded loner, Highsmith reveals her uncanny ability to draw out the secret obsessions that overwhelm the human heart.
October 21, 2022
Ο Ντέιβιντ έχει μια ήσυχη, σχεδόν μονότονη ζωή που αλλάζει μόνο κατά τη διάρκεια του Σαββατοκύριακου που "θεωρητικά" επισκέπτεται την άρρωστη μητέρα του. Εκείνος όμως, έχει φτιάξει ένα γλυκό σπιτικό και περιμένει την ώρα που θα στεγάσει τον έρωτά του με την Άναμπελ. Μόνο που η Άναμπελ, είναι ήδη παντρεμένη...με άλλον. Ο Ντέιβιντ, της γράφει ρομαντικά γράμματα, της τηλεφωνεί και είναι σίγουρος ότι θα καταφέρει να είναι μαζί της.
Ο Ντέιβιντ, μοιάζει σαν να ζεί στο δικό του κόσμο, στον οποίο είναι εκείνος κι η Άναμπελ και ζούν ευτυχισμένοι. Έχει χτίσει όλη του την καθημερινότητα γύρω της, ή μάλλον γύρω απ΄τη ζωή την οποία θα ήθελε να της προσφέρει. Από την άλλη, θεωρώ ότι κι εκείνη υποδαυλίζει το ενδιαφέρον του μιας και δεν ξεκαθάρισε τη θέση της. Προφανώς βαυκαλίζεται με τη σκέψη ότι ο Ντέιβιντ την αγαπά, χωρίς να μπορεί να φανταστεί όλο αυτό που εκείνος έχει πλάσει στο μυαλό του.
Το βιβλίο σε παρασέρνει να θές να μάθεις τι θα συμβεί τελικά στη ζωή του κεντρικού ήρωα, που ενώ δίνει την εντύπωση του συγκροτημένου και ευφυούς ανθρώπου, όλη αυτή η προσκόλησή του στο πρόσωπο μιας γυναίκας, σε κάνει να αναρρωτιέσαι, πόσο να απέχει η λογική από την τρέλα?
Υπήρξαν στιγμές που σχεδόν λυπήθηκα τον Ντέιβιντ και άλλες που αισθάνθηκα πολύ περίεργα.
Αλλά κι οι δευτερεύοντες χαρακτήρες παίζουν το ρόλο τους στην εξέλιξη της ιστορίας και στην κορύφωση της, που ενώ την υποψιαζομουν, με λυπησε.
Ο Ντέιβιντ, μοιάζει σαν να ζεί στο δικό του κόσμο, στον οποίο είναι εκείνος κι η Άναμπελ και ζούν ευτυχισμένοι. Έχει χτίσει όλη του την καθημερινότητα γύρω της, ή μάλλον γύρω απ΄τη ζωή την οποία θα ήθελε να της προσφέρει. Από την άλλη, θεωρώ ότι κι εκείνη υποδαυλίζει το ενδιαφέρον του μιας και δεν ξεκαθάρισε τη θέση της. Προφανώς βαυκαλίζεται με τη σκέψη ότι ο Ντέιβιντ την αγαπά, χωρίς να μπορεί να φανταστεί όλο αυτό που εκείνος έχει πλάσει στο μυαλό του.
Το βιβλίο σε παρασέρνει να θές να μάθεις τι θα συμβεί τελικά στη ζωή του κεντρικού ήρωα, που ενώ δίνει την εντύπωση του συγκροτημένου και ευφυούς ανθρώπου, όλη αυτή η προσκόλησή του στο πρόσωπο μιας γυναίκας, σε κάνει να αναρρωτιέσαι, πόσο να απέχει η λογική από την τρέλα?
Υπήρξαν στιγμές που σχεδόν λυπήθηκα τον Ντέιβιντ και άλλες που αισθάνθηκα πολύ περίεργα.
Αλλά κι οι δευτερεύοντες χαρακτήρες παίζουν το ρόλο τους στην εξέλιξη της ιστορίας και στην κορύφωση της, που ενώ την υποψιαζομουν, με λυπησε.
December 4, 2020
This is a slow-burn psychological drama that hooked me in and shook me!
It delves exclusively into the psyche of our protagonist David...and that does not make for comfortable reading. His growing obsession with his ex-girlfriend Annabelle is explored alongside his work / family relationships that...er...complicate matters.
If you are looking for action and plot twists then this is not going to do it for you; but if you like looking into the minds of deeply flawed characters and watching an evitable story of woe unfold through meticulous and compelling storytelling then go for it!
It delves exclusively into the psyche of our protagonist David...and that does not make for comfortable reading. His growing obsession with his ex-girlfriend Annabelle is explored alongside his work / family relationships that...er...complicate matters.
If you are looking for action and plot twists then this is not going to do it for you; but if you like looking into the minds of deeply flawed characters and watching an evitable story of woe unfold through meticulous and compelling storytelling then go for it!
January 23, 2024
Highsmith really is the peak writer of character-driven crime novels about terrible men. This is definitely the mid-century version of toxic masculinity, incel-esque behavior, a Saturday Evening Post version of misogyny that is wrapped up in the overidealization of one woman in particular. As she likes, she goes very very slowly and keeps it simple. Highsmith never needs a B plot, and there aren't many novelists you can say that about.
October 22, 2022
*3.5*
Ο Ντέιβιντ εκ πρώτης όψεως φαίνεται ένας άνθρωπος σωστός,ευγενικός,σπουδαγμένος με μια καλή δουλειά.Μπορεί να μην είναι τόσο κοινωνικός, αλλά όσοι συναναστρέφονται μαζί του τον συμπαθούν.Μεγάλο κομμάτι της ζωής του είναι η Αναμπελ που ενώ είναι παντρεμένη, εκείνος την διεκδικεί και ονειρεύεται την υπόλοιπη ζωή του με εκείνη.Η εμμονή του έχει φτάσει σε ένα σημείο που θα μπορούσε να είναι λογικό, άλλωστε τι κακό μπορεί να έχει ένας άνθρωπος που "επισκέπτεται" την άρρωστη μητέρα του κάθε Σαββατοκύριακο;
Ένα βιβλίο που έφυγε πολύ γρήγορα και με ρούφηξε στην ιστορία του Ντειβιντ, στις σκέψεις και στα συναισθήματα του.Ένας άντρας που έχει κολλήσει σε καταστάσεις που δεν οδηγούν πουθενά και όσα σκέφτεται τα ζει μόνος του ,χωρίς κάποια ανταπόκριση.Η γλυκιά αρρώστια της αγάπης μπορεί να φτάσει κάποιον στα όρια, αλλά ακόμα και να τα ξεπεράσει.
Μπορώ να πω οτι ήταν ωραίο και το απόλυσα,παρόλο που δεν ηταν μια ιστορία που εστιάζει τόσο στην πλοκή, με δράση και ανατροπές, αλλά περισσότερο στο ψυχογράφημα των χαρακτήρων. Θα ήθελα να διαβασω και το Κάρολ που επανεκδίδεται της συγγραφέως
Ο Ντέιβιντ εκ πρώτης όψεως φαίνεται ένας άνθρωπος σωστός,ευγενικός,σπουδαγμένος με μια καλή δουλειά.Μπορεί να μην είναι τόσο κοινωνικός, αλλά όσοι συναναστρέφονται μαζί του τον συμπαθούν.Μεγάλο κομμάτι της ζωής του είναι η Αναμπελ που ενώ είναι παντρεμένη, εκείνος την διεκδικεί και ονειρεύεται την υπόλοιπη ζωή του με εκείνη.Η εμμονή του έχει φτάσει σε ένα σημείο που θα μπορούσε να είναι λογικό, άλλωστε τι κακό μπορεί να έχει ένας άνθρωπος που "επισκέπτεται" την άρρωστη μητέρα του κάθε Σαββατοκύριακο;
Ένα βιβλίο που έφυγε πολύ γρήγορα και με ρούφηξε στην ιστορία του Ντειβιντ, στις σκέψεις και στα συναισθήματα του.Ένας άντρας που έχει κολλήσει σε καταστάσεις που δεν οδηγούν πουθενά και όσα σκέφτεται τα ζει μόνος του ,χωρίς κάποια ανταπόκριση.Η γλυκιά αρρώστια της αγάπης μπορεί να φτάσει κάποιον στα όρια, αλλά ακόμα και να τα ξεπεράσει.
Μπορώ να πω οτι ήταν ωραίο και το απόλυσα,παρόλο που δεν ηταν μια ιστορία που εστιάζει τόσο στην πλοκή, με δράση και ανατροπές, αλλά περισσότερο στο ψυχογράφημα των χαρακτήρων. Θα ήθελα να διαβασω και το Κάρολ που επανεκδίδεται της συγγραφέως
December 1, 2021
my only prior Highsmith was the Talented Mr. Ripley. Took this book on vacation with me and it helped fill the nights in various hotels along the way. Interesting read about a young man who falls in love and fails to make his move in time. His sickness is in refusing to let go of his dream girl. The one who got away takes him on a mental journey that does not end well for him and those around him. The story builds slowly and though I knew tragedy lay ahead I was never sure exactly what form it would take. Really an engaging read though slightly dated it is a timeless story. Will certainly get me to read more of Highsmith.
November 25, 2012
Re-reading one of my favorite books by my favorite authors. This was my second time, and I didn't love it quite as much as I did a decade ago. My one complaint is that it's too long (typical of me). But altogether still brilliant. About unrequited love and fantasy, it is told from the perspective of the one in the throes of these plagues, skewing the reader's view and expectations as he is shown as more and more insane.
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