Mash Goes To Maine

War changes people. In the case of Hawkeye Pierce and his gloriously unconventional colleagues, it also appears to leave them utterly incapable of living quiet, respectable lives. MASH Goes to Maine reunites Richard Hooker’s irrepressible band of surgeons after the Korean War, proving that while the battlefield may have disappeared, chaos remains a permanent feature of their professional lives.

Back home in the peaceful surroundings of rural Maine, Hawkeye attempts to establish a sensible medical practice. This, naturally, lasts for approximately as long as it takes for Trapper John, Duke, Spearchucker and the rest of the old gang to become involved. Before long, operating theatres, golf courses, bedrooms and respectable medical institutions are all being treated with equal levels of cheerful irreverence. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when gifted surgeons with almost no respect for authority are released into civilian life, Richard Hooker has already conducted the experiment on your behalf.

Unlike the television series, which gradually became more reflective and dramatic, these original novels retain the anarchic spirit of the first book. The humour is broad, irreverent and unapologetically outrageous, filled with practical jokes, eccentric patients, colourful local characters and enough medical mischief to make an NHS administrator quietly faint. The doctors may have swapped army uniforms for civilian clothes, but they remain gloriously incapable of behaving like ordinary adults. 

There is a pleasing irony at the heart of the novel. These men survived one of the twentieth century’s bloodiest conflicts through intelligence, skill and an almost pathological refusal to take authority too seriously. Yet peace proves every bit as capable of producing absurdity as war ever was. It turns out that bureaucracy, pompous colleagues and small-town politics can be nearly as exhausting as enemy artillery, albeit with considerably fewer explosions.

Hooker’s greatest strength lies in making extraordinary people feel oddly believable. Beneath the outrageous humour sit genuine friendships forged under impossible circumstances. The practical jokes and outrageous escapades are entertaining enough, but they also reveal characters who understand one another in ways that only shared hardship can create. The comedy works because there is always a hint of affection beneath the madness.

This 1972 Sphere edition is in Fair condition. It has clearly been read, enjoyed and perhaps accompanied more than one reader through a train journey or holiday over the past five decades. It shows its age, but remains a complete and perfectly readable copy, ideal for someone more interested in the laughs than in museum-quality perfection.

Perfect for fans of the original MASH* novels, lovers of classic comic fiction and readers who appreciate satire with a distinctly medical flavour. Add it to your shelves today and discover that retirement from military service is no guarantee of a quieter existence, especially when Hawkeye Pierce is involved. As always from Crappy Old Books—where even the most battle-scarred paperbacks still know exactly how to raise morale.

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