3 out of 4 stars
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When picking up the novel McDowell by William H. Coles you should remember to leave all sympathy for main characters behind you. Throughout the fine offering of 347 pages readers are expected to follow along the life of the highly intelligent surgeon Hiram McDowell, who is not only a father and husband but an egotistical, selfish and sexist bigot who will do whatever it takes to further his career and pride.
McDowell follows the path of Hiram’s children as well as his colleagues and those influenced by his decisions and path whether righteous or self-absorbed. Many aspects are touched within this novel including incest, mental instability, cheating, poverty, suicide and murder. It becomes nearly impossible to try and reconcile any empathy towards Hiram, yet when we see his actions with his children we can see reasons to keep reading if not for his sake but theirs. This novel put readers in the shoes of his daughters, his son, his lovers and his foes just as much as his own, and in truth their actions are the only reasons I finished until the end.
There were many good things that I enjoyed throughout this book. William H. Coles is marvelous when it comes to descriptions; there were many scenes throughout McDowell where I could picture the exact outfit and gestures that each character used which not only drew me in but also kept me re-reading for a heightened sensory affect. Chapters were quick, easy to decipher, thoroughly descriptive and very straight forward. His style of writing is very hard to come by in today’s readings, especially when most authors will use every chance to avoid immersing their readers through not only plot but through their senses.
When it comes to issues in writing I tend to avoid being picky, but with this story I had to give it a simple rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The reason why I couldn’t give this novel a full rating was very simple to me: too much detail in a short expanse of time. Within the first chapter we are given identities of upwards of ten different people, half of which are completely ignored after their brief introduction and then suddenly introduced much farther along the story with the expectancy that readers could remember their exact background off the top of their head. I had multiple instances where I had to return to the beginning of the book just to find out who each new character was!
I recommend this book to those who tend to stay within the realm of more realistic novels instead of the fantasy oriented. This book is filled with drama, angst, redemption and is ready to pull on the strings controlling your guilt and your heart.
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McDowell
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