3 out of 4 stars
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In The Spirit of Want by William H. Coles, published in 2016, family dynamics and career complexities affect the characters' lives. Luke is an eye surgeon. Lucy is a lawyer. The two don't get along at first, but they become closer after a car accident. Lucy was driving under the influence of alcohol and allegedly hit a pedestrian who died instantly. Luke marries Lucy but doubts her reasons for accepting his proposal. They have a daughter called Jennifer, who Lucy initially did not want to keep.
Luke finds himself in an unfortunate situation when a scandal erupts at his workplace. A.J. Macmiel is his father-in-law and occupies a leading position at the hospital. To make matters worse, he is at the center of the scandal. Luke has to choose either to let his father-in-law or the law prevail. At the same time, his marriage to Lucy is failing. Lucy takes the complicated case of Hower Bain- a preacher charged with the rape of a minor. He is described as a "preacher, a philanderer, a stubborn, opinionated bully with deceitful charm." The plot of the novel answers several questions. Can Lucy resist Hower Bain's charm? Will Luke ever forgive Lucy for her betrayal?
The most impressive characteristic of The Spirit of Want is how it reads like real life. You can get engrossed in it and identify with the humanness of the characters, the common battles they face and how they manage their human wants. Furthermore, the fluid flow of ideas and vivid descriptions of individual characters makes it interesting. Every character and every scene in the story fulfills a crucial purpose.
The title is eminently proper for the book because the issue that stood out the most to me as I was reading was how morality and values control natural wants. Morality and values seem to have lost their grip on humans if you take a generalized view of the world. This makes this work relevant to today's society. Additionally, it explores complex themes including morality, sexism, marriage, professional ethics, deception and terminal illness.
Despite the remarkable plot and gripping narration, the book has petty grammatical errors that can be eliminated through professional editing. For example, this sentence on page 169: "... and t was obvious to everyone but her.”
The other issue I have with the novel is how the author keeps referring to Lucy's and Hower's time in Africa. Such references mislead people into thinking that Africa is a country rather than a continent. He could be more specific by replacing "Africa" with "Ghana" when either Lucy or Hower reminisces about the time they spent there.
Therefore, my rating of The Spirit of Want is 3 out of 4 stars since it possesses the potential for improvement. I can recommend the book and discuss it with others. This book is a worthy read for readers who enjoy family sagas, dramatic twists, and fitting illustrations that portray the whole story at a glance.
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The Spirit of Want
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