3 out of 4 stars
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Guardian of Deceit by William H. Coles is a story of an orphaned boy, Darwin Hastings, who struggles to realise his dream of being a medical doctor amidst the trials of life. Due to her ill health, Darwin's widowed aunt sends him to live with his cousin Luther Pinelli, who is a famous footballer. Darwin's expectations of quality care from his cousin (who he barely knows) are shattered when Luther refuses to see to his needs the way his Aunt did. He decides to train Darwin his own way - the hard way.
Darwin's intelligence and hard working nature gains him favor in the eyes of members of the Pinelli mansion. His virtues also facilitate a relationship with Dr. Malverne, an orthopaedic surgeon, who he met on board a plane during his trip to meet his cousin. With time, Darwin gets to meet the Malverne family and Dr. Malverne helps him receive quality education and adequate experience to assist him gain admission into medical school. As Darwin struggles to achieve his goal, he also has to deal with the debauchery he gets exposed to during his stay at the Pinelli mansion.
If you are a lover of fictional stories on the rewards of hard work and discipline, then you will certainly enjoy reading this book. I like the way the protagonist's lifestyle brought out the reward of hard work, discipline and dynamism in a law-abiding way. I also enjoyed the way various characters in the story found peace. For instance, Darwin had a chance with Dominique and Helen Malverne found peace in her baby (Elizabeth). However, what I liked most about the book is the great use of vocabulary. I love discovering new words and this book did not disappoint in that sector.
Though I disliked the fact that Darwin decided not to practice medicine, I believe the reason for his decision is quite plausible. In fact, I think health personnel should reflect on this reason and have a rethink on their purpose in the health sector. What I disliked most about the book is the tragedy that struck the house manager of the Pinelli mansion, Mrs. Thomas. I did not see it coming.
The moral values (hard work, discipline, confidence, charity, ) portrayed by the protagonist of this story are worth emulating. Despite a few typos, I think this is a well written story and I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Rating this book 2 out of 4 stars would be doing injustice to this educative story. This book was also not given a perfect 4 out of 4 because I hate the depressing feeling i got when the mystery behind Betsy's sudden disappearance was solved. I felt even worse when it was discovered that the one person who was supposed to help her realise her dream was the same person who was responsible for her demise. Notwithstanding, I enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
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Guardian of Deceit
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