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katwithahat's review against another edition
2.0
Writing a good story with a deeply dislikeable main character is a difficult task, and unfortunately, I don’t think the author pulled it off here. While the central theme was solid enough, the execution left a lot to be desired. Too many paper thin characters and plot points that are skimmed over and rushed.
This was an FRC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and BookBuzz.Net
This was an FRC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and BookBuzz.Net
lisbethivies's review against another edition
2.0
Who determines the worth of a person? Is it ourselves, our peers, or the law? The titular character that William H. Coles has created in McDowell dramatically changes as the novel progresses. Not only does Hiram McDowell’s self-perception shift, so does the opinion of his family, his colleagues, and society at large.
A world-renowned surgeon, Hiram has a world-sized ego to match at the beginning of the novel. He is a misogynistic, neglectful father and the most apathetic doctor I have ever heard of. The opening scene has Hiram not only leave two members of his climbing expedition behind to die on Mount Everest, he rifles through one of their jackets to steal supplies while the man is pleading for help.
I do appreciate the fact that the author was able to write a character as capable of evoking strong emotions as Hiram. The author is also able to thread multiple character perspectives into a mostly cohesive narrative across multiple locations. However, the only character that has any growth is Hiram, and even that is handled in a way which made me feel robbed as a reader.
At the literal middle of the novel, a personal choice takes all of the accolades, climbing trips, and money that Hiram holds dear away from him. Hiram goes to trial, goes to jail, gets beaten up there, and escapes all on a single page of text that spans two years. We don’t get a true transformation so much as a chute. One Hiram goes in, and an entirely new Hiram tumbles out. Except the new one is still self-centered and still treats women like things. The topic of Hiram's redemption is also questionable because he doesn’t use his new perspective as a fugitive to try to be a better man or father. He uses it to write a memoir explaining exactly why he doesn’t deserve his current situation because he is right, and everyone else is wrong.
The treatment of women is a sore point of this novel for me. I understand there is blatant misogyny present at the start because it is intended to offset the new-and-improved Hiram at the end. Yet there are more subtle instances that never go away. The author uses the format “woman [blank]” instead of “female [blank]” every time he describes a woman holding a profession (and it's arguable if the distinction is needed in the first place). If a woman is single, she is automatically depressed and desperate for sexual attention. What attracts both Hiram and his son, Billie, is also telling. Women seem to only have value to them if they exhibit demure, subservient behavior and are pretty. Hiram’s thoughts about his own biological daughters in comparison to his son are often sexist. There is also an instance of Billie physically forcing one of his sisters to comply with his choice over her own.
Although decently edited, I do not think it was professionally done. I found more than a handful of errors consisting of missing commas, missing words, misspellings, and sentence fragments. Because of these errors and the reasons above, I decided to rate McDowell by William H. Coles at 2 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy character studies, particularly ones that delve into the medical profession.
I do not recommend this book to young readers. In addition to language and descriptions of sex, there are a few other elements that can put off some readers. One of Hiram’s biological children enters into a sexual relationship with a step-sibling. A school shooting, attempted suicide, and euthanasia are also graphically described as is the aftermath of such violence.
A world-renowned surgeon, Hiram has a world-sized ego to match at the beginning of the novel. He is a misogynistic, neglectful father and the most apathetic doctor I have ever heard of. The opening scene has Hiram not only leave two members of his climbing expedition behind to die on Mount Everest, he rifles through one of their jackets to steal supplies while the man is pleading for help.
I do appreciate the fact that the author was able to write a character as capable of evoking strong emotions as Hiram. The author is also able to thread multiple character perspectives into a mostly cohesive narrative across multiple locations. However, the only character that has any growth is Hiram, and even that is handled in a way which made me feel robbed as a reader.
At the literal middle of the novel, a personal choice takes all of the accolades, climbing trips, and money that Hiram holds dear away from him. Hiram goes to trial, goes to jail, gets beaten up there, and escapes all on a single page of text that spans two years. We don’t get a true transformation so much as a chute. One Hiram goes in, and an entirely new Hiram tumbles out. Except the new one is still self-centered and still treats women like things. The topic of Hiram's redemption is also questionable because he doesn’t use his new perspective as a fugitive to try to be a better man or father. He uses it to write a memoir explaining exactly why he doesn’t deserve his current situation because he is right, and everyone else is wrong.
The treatment of women is a sore point of this novel for me. I understand there is blatant misogyny present at the start because it is intended to offset the new-and-improved Hiram at the end. Yet there are more subtle instances that never go away. The author uses the format “woman [blank]” instead of “female [blank]” every time he describes a woman holding a profession (and it's arguable if the distinction is needed in the first place). If a woman is single, she is automatically depressed and desperate for sexual attention. What attracts both Hiram and his son, Billie, is also telling. Women seem to only have value to them if they exhibit demure, subservient behavior and are pretty. Hiram’s thoughts about his own biological daughters in comparison to his son are often sexist. There is also an instance of Billie physically forcing one of his sisters to comply with his choice over her own.
Although decently edited, I do not think it was professionally done. I found more than a handful of errors consisting of missing commas, missing words, misspellings, and sentence fragments. Because of these errors and the reasons above, I decided to rate McDowell by William H. Coles at 2 out of 5 stars. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy character studies, particularly ones that delve into the medical profession.
I do not recommend this book to young readers. In addition to language and descriptions of sex, there are a few other elements that can put off some readers. One of Hiram’s biological children enters into a sexual relationship with a step-sibling. A school shooting, attempted suicide, and euthanasia are also graphically described as is the aftermath of such violence.
bookmarked642's review against another edition
1.0
Thanks to OnlineBookClub.org for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this.
This was, in my opinion, a very strange book. I shall attempt to summarise the plot briefly, but I'm afraid I am going to find it quite difficult. The plot was very... [i]all over the place[/i], for lack of a better term.
As the title suggests, this novel follows the life of Hiram McDowell, a wealthy surgeon and father. He has been married several times, and is currently with his wife Carole, who has two daughters of her own. One of the first noteworthy happenings involves one of these daughters, Tasha, and Hiram's son, Billie. Tasha falls pregnant with Billie's child. Hiram refuses to accept this, denying Billie's involvement with Tasha or his responsibility with the child. A restraining order is placed against Billie, and he falls into a depression of sorts. The next major event involves Hiram's eleven-year-old grandson, Jeremy. His mother has known something was different about him for a while, but her husband refused to listen. Eventually, Jeremy goes on a killing spree, shooting classmates, teachers, his sister and his mother, before then shooting himself. But he is not dead - severely brain-damaged and unconscious, but alive nonetheless. Hiram's second daughter, Sophie, tries to encourage Jeremy to communicate with them, to show that he can hear them. But McDowell does not believe he will ever recover.
Soon, Jeremy passes away. Evidence suggests McDowell's involvement in the death; murder? Euthanasia? He is convicted and sentenced to several decades imprisonment. But before long, McDowell decides he doesn't deserve this, and so he escapes. His past experience in hiking and mountain-climbing enables him to survive without proper human contact for weeks, [i]months[/i], at a time, until he believes it is safe enough for him to migrate back into society. He begins a new life, developing different identities and beginning to earn a living again. He meets a lot of people, many of which become quite attached to him. But the law soon comes after him, and he is forced to move on.
In the end, McDowell is betrayed by a woman who's life he saved. He is shot dead, accused of resisting the arrest despite no evidence of any weapons or fighting.
Of course, there are a lot of subplots that I haven't included. There are also a lot of characters that have gone unnamed; too many, I believe. I couldn't keep track of all the different characters and stories in the end. I got a bit lost, and felt no emotional connection to any of them whatsoever. This was probably my biggest criticism; there was a distinct lack of emotion. At the end of the novel, it was suggested that McDowell had grown as a person since his arrest, but I didn't see any of this character growth myself. I didn't [i]feel[/i] anything.
Another issue I had with this book was the repetitive nature of the writing. Several details were repeated within close proximity, removing any subtlety to the writing. I also found that the inner dialogue of characters was not particularly convincing, sounding clunky and awkward.
Throughout the book there were paragraphs in italics, supposedly a separate narrative/summary of the events. But these paragraphs sounded exactly the same as the rest of the writing, and I failed to understand why they were separated from the rest of the text by being in italics.
I know there are a lot of negatives in this review, but I didn't actually [i]hate[/i] the book. I can't say I enjoyed it, either, though. There was definite room for improvement, and very little that was noteworthy in a positive way. I'm giving this book 1 out of 5 stars.
This was, in my opinion, a very strange book. I shall attempt to summarise the plot briefly, but I'm afraid I am going to find it quite difficult. The plot was very... [i]all over the place[/i], for lack of a better term.
As the title suggests, this novel follows the life of Hiram McDowell, a wealthy surgeon and father. He has been married several times, and is currently with his wife Carole, who has two daughters of her own. One of the first noteworthy happenings involves one of these daughters, Tasha, and Hiram's son, Billie. Tasha falls pregnant with Billie's child. Hiram refuses to accept this, denying Billie's involvement with Tasha or his responsibility with the child. A restraining order is placed against Billie, and he falls into a depression of sorts. The next major event involves Hiram's eleven-year-old grandson, Jeremy. His mother has known something was different about him for a while, but her husband refused to listen. Eventually, Jeremy goes on a killing spree, shooting classmates, teachers, his sister and his mother, before then shooting himself. But he is not dead - severely brain-damaged and unconscious, but alive nonetheless. Hiram's second daughter, Sophie, tries to encourage Jeremy to communicate with them, to show that he can hear them. But McDowell does not believe he will ever recover.
Soon, Jeremy passes away. Evidence suggests McDowell's involvement in the death; murder? Euthanasia? He is convicted and sentenced to several decades imprisonment. But before long, McDowell decides he doesn't deserve this, and so he escapes. His past experience in hiking and mountain-climbing enables him to survive without proper human contact for weeks, [i]months[/i], at a time, until he believes it is safe enough for him to migrate back into society. He begins a new life, developing different identities and beginning to earn a living again. He meets a lot of people, many of which become quite attached to him. But the law soon comes after him, and he is forced to move on.
In the end, McDowell is betrayed by a woman who's life he saved. He is shot dead, accused of resisting the arrest despite no evidence of any weapons or fighting.
Of course, there are a lot of subplots that I haven't included. There are also a lot of characters that have gone unnamed; too many, I believe. I couldn't keep track of all the different characters and stories in the end. I got a bit lost, and felt no emotional connection to any of them whatsoever. This was probably my biggest criticism; there was a distinct lack of emotion. At the end of the novel, it was suggested that McDowell had grown as a person since his arrest, but I didn't see any of this character growth myself. I didn't [i]feel[/i] anything.
Another issue I had with this book was the repetitive nature of the writing. Several details were repeated within close proximity, removing any subtlety to the writing. I also found that the inner dialogue of characters was not particularly convincing, sounding clunky and awkward.
Throughout the book there were paragraphs in italics, supposedly a separate narrative/summary of the events. But these paragraphs sounded exactly the same as the rest of the writing, and I failed to understand why they were separated from the rest of the text by being in italics.
I know there are a lot of negatives in this review, but I didn't actually [i]hate[/i] the book. I can't say I enjoyed it, either, though. There was definite room for improvement, and very little that was noteworthy in a positive way. I'm giving this book 1 out of 5 stars.
bookishlynerdy's review against another edition
3.0
McDowell by William H. Coles was interesting in that it discussed taboo subjects. By that, I mean, subjects that normally society shies away from. Such as euthanasia; it’s a huge part of this book and it was interesting to see various points of view on it. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes also touches on that subject. In Me Before You the main character decides to do it himself. It ultimately affects a lot of people in the main character’s life. Much like it affects the family and ultimately friends of McDowell’s decision. The main character in McDowell, Hiram McDowell, was a surgeon that made mistakes and was convicted of a crime, ultimately escaping and learning from his mistakes.
McDowell had wealth, a family, and a reputation of an excellent doctor but a terrible human being. The first part of the book deals in the excellent doctor portion of his life. It showcases a man that, while being charitable, will stop at almost nothing to get to where he wants to go. He has three children, with two different women, and the children truly only contact him if they need something. One child, Ann, is married, with two children of her own and the children are problematic. Her husband wasn’t paying much attention to the family and was later incarcerated himself. The son, Billie, had an illegitimate son that Hiram refused to let him acknowledge. And Hiram’s oldest child, Sophie, was a disappointment to him. It wasn't emotional at all either. The book was very blase about it.
Hiram shows remorse and change in the second part of the book yet it was not until he finally let go of the idea that everything bad happening to him was because of other people, not the choices he made. I didn’t particularly like the book. The language was passive and boring. It made for a monotone read. McDowell wasn’t an extraordinary book. It brought to light several compelling arguments for euthanasia as well as other controversial topics. I also didn’t like the way women were portrayed in this book. It showed them as flimsy and somewhat unimportant. As a sidepiece and not as part of something larger; the women in McDowell’s life were all either out to get him or were not intelligent enough to hold a conversation with. In the center of the book, it was about changing one’s ideals and ideas.
It was interesting in that Hiram changed at all. Even though, towards the end, nobody was quite sure how to take the act that changed everything for him. Even that act was selfish, though. Hiram did what he did to make his life easier. I don’t think Hiram really took into account what the consequences were going to be. He definitely didn’t account for his daughter to completely lose herself. It also seemed that almost every female in this book was a lesbian at least once in the book. Representation matters but I think there is something of a limit here. McDowell had relations with a woman named Maria and later on in the book, she shows up with her girlfriend. His daughter Sophie had a girlfriend in the beginning of the book but changes her mind later on in the book. Paige, a reporter dedicated to McDowell’s story, was also thinking about it. I’m not entirely certain why Coles did this but I didn’t appreciate it. I can’t truly comment much on it though since I’m not a lesbian but I don’t think it enhanced the story at all.
In the end, I suffered through the book, not liking it. It was written well but it wasn’t captivating. I liked the topics it discussed but almost nothing else.
McDowell had wealth, a family, and a reputation of an excellent doctor but a terrible human being. The first part of the book deals in the excellent doctor portion of his life. It showcases a man that, while being charitable, will stop at almost nothing to get to where he wants to go. He has three children, with two different women, and the children truly only contact him if they need something. One child, Ann, is married, with two children of her own and the children are problematic. Her husband wasn’t paying much attention to the family and was later incarcerated himself. The son, Billie, had an illegitimate son that Hiram refused to let him acknowledge. And Hiram’s oldest child, Sophie, was a disappointment to him. It wasn't emotional at all either. The book was very blase about it.
Hiram shows remorse and change in the second part of the book yet it was not until he finally let go of the idea that everything bad happening to him was because of other people, not the choices he made. I didn’t particularly like the book. The language was passive and boring. It made for a monotone read. McDowell wasn’t an extraordinary book. It brought to light several compelling arguments for euthanasia as well as other controversial topics. I also didn’t like the way women were portrayed in this book. It showed them as flimsy and somewhat unimportant. As a sidepiece and not as part of something larger; the women in McDowell’s life were all either out to get him or were not intelligent enough to hold a conversation with. In the center of the book, it was about changing one’s ideals and ideas.
It was interesting in that Hiram changed at all. Even though, towards the end, nobody was quite sure how to take the act that changed everything for him. Even that act was selfish, though. Hiram did what he did to make his life easier. I don’t think Hiram really took into account what the consequences were going to be. He definitely didn’t account for his daughter to completely lose herself. It also seemed that almost every female in this book was a lesbian at least once in the book. Representation matters but I think there is something of a limit here. McDowell had relations with a woman named Maria and later on in the book, she shows up with her girlfriend. His daughter Sophie had a girlfriend in the beginning of the book but changes her mind later on in the book. Paige, a reporter dedicated to McDowell’s story, was also thinking about it. I’m not entirely certain why Coles did this but I didn’t appreciate it. I can’t truly comment much on it though since I’m not a lesbian but I don’t think it enhanced the story at all.
In the end, I suffered through the book, not liking it. It was written well but it wasn’t captivating. I liked the topics it discussed but almost nothing else.