Review by Aladon -- McDowell by William H. Coles

[Aladon]

[Following is a volunteer review of "McDowell" by William H. Coles.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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McDowell: A Novel by William H. Cole is a fictional novel about the metamorphosis of the main character, Hiram McDowell. The novel opens with Hiram climbing the Himalayas in a snow storm and making the decision to leave his fellow climber behind to die in order to survive himself. The ease with which he made the decision fore shadows the character of Hiram as the novel progresses. He is a highly successful man. He is a surgeon, President of the Board of the International College of Surgeons, is head of a medical research lab, created a multi-million charitable foundation and a hospital in Nepal to provide medical care to impoverished individual where there is no available health care. The novel shows you the difference between Hiram's polished, professional persona that he shows the world and who he really is through his involvement and interactions with his family, his peers and his other relationships. Hiram is not a nice man. He is self absorbed, and cruel in many of his interactions with others particularly with his wife and step-daughters. He is primarily uninvolved with his children and is dismissive and self serving in his relationships with peers and colleagues. Hiram has no doubts about his own brilliance or that he is deserving of all recognition and rewards given to him. He does not take responsibility for his behaviour if anything goes amiss and feels that others need to accept his behaviour as "they knew what they were getting into".

Hiram's downfall begins when he fails to live up to his promise to a colleague Michael O'Leary. He promised Michael an Executive Director position in exchange for getting him enough votes to be elected President of the Board of the International College of Surgeons. Once elected, Hiram reneges on his promise and Michael works hard to exact his revenge by uncovering falsified research data in Hiram's lab and raising questions about his charitable foundation. A reporter, Paige Sterling becomes convinced Hiram's foundation is fraudulent and works hard to expose him. Hiram feels persecuted and victimized but fails to recognize his own responsibility or culpability. Hiram's grandson is involved in a school yard shooting and then tries to take his own life. He is in a coma but with continued brain functioning. Hiram euthanizes his grandson and is convicted of murder. He is sentenced to jail for his crime and escapes. This begins the second phase of this novel. While on the run Hiram must eschew all of his former standards of living. Although he initially continues to be invested in believing in his own victimization he begins to realize that he is not as self sufficient as he thought. Through his encounters with a range of characters that help him while he is in hiding Hiram slowly begins to evolve and develop as a person. Just as the first phase of the novel showed you Hiram's paucity of character through his interaction and relationships with others, the second phase shows how Hiram begins questioning his previously held beliefs and conduct and begins to be capable of empathy and caring in his relationships.

Hiram is a despicapable character and is very unlikeable in the initial phase of the book. One can't help being happy about the dismantling of his life. Once he escapes from prison his ability to live off the grid is interesting and his experience mountain climbing makes it seem plausible. Its the second phase of the book that I really enjoyed. The individuals Hiram encounters in his new life that begin challenging his perceptions of himself and his life are what make the book a great read. You are able to see the growth and change in him build with each encounter and each relationship.

I would give this novel a three out of four stars . Although the use of other characters was necessary to portray Hiram's metamorphosis I felt that there were many characters that were unnecessary to the portrayal of Hiram's character development and the plethora of characters at times became confusing. I felt that some of the characters could have been eliminated and more time could have been spent on developing the critical characters and their relationship with Hiram, in particular Maud and her daughter. I was also disappointed with the lack of relationship development that Hiram had with his children. As Hiram became more compassionate and caring there was no discernible change in his relationship with his daughter Sophie and the novel did not describe any contact with his son or other daughter. Although he maintained regular contact with Sophie while he was in hiding, the relationship continued to feel self serving as it revolved around having his memoire published. My favourite was Hiram's final relationship with Winona. This relationship was effective in demonstrating the magnitude of his personal growth.

This book demonstrates how someone can have everything in the world, (power, money, influence) and be unhappy. Hiram does not become happy until after he has lost everything. It is a great book for individuals who like to read about redemption and the impact that random encounters with others can have. The book magnifies the power of how some people and your relationship with them can bring out the best in you.



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McDowell
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