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lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
Somewhere, I read that Willa Cather had claimed that Sarah Orne Jewett had been influential in her own development as a writer. Given that old Willa had developed rather nicely—I've read ten Cather books now, and there's not a pig in the bunch—I considered taking a flier on Sarah. Then, I vaguely remembered her name from 11th grade English, and given that Miss Garner, my 11th-grade English teacher, was the first great love of my life, the decision to read Jewett became pretty much a no-brainer. If it's good enough for Cather and Miss Garner, it ought to be more than good enough for the likes of me. And, indeed, it was that. I found this to be a really engaging book.
A young woman shows up on her mother's doorstep, after having been absent for some years, carrying a young child. The young woman expires, but not before requesting the local doctor, Dr. Leslie, become the official guardian of her daughter, Anna Prince. The grandmother brings the girl up for the first few years of her life, with regular check-ins by Dr. Leslie. Anna grows up fairly wild and undisciplined for a few years on her grandmother's farm, developing, thereby, a deep love for the wilds of Maine. After her grandmother dies, she goes to live with Dr. Leslie and takes interest in his work. Eventually she accompanies him on some of his visits, shows interest in and aptitude for doctoring, and determines that she would like to become a country physician herself.
So she studies to be a physician and so forth. And naturally, given that this was published in 1884, most people disapprove. Woman, after all, were created by God to be home makers and to please their husbands. Period. It says so in the Bible. Double Period! (Damn! How come no one told my spouse she had been ordained by God to please me? Ah, the difference a century makes.) So we have this conflict, and wonder how it might resolve. Well, we don't wonder if we've read the book. But, I'm not going to tell you about all the difficulties and self doubts and resolutions and re-resolutions, along with all the trips around the luminous country and visits to simple country folk and meeting a rich, lost aunt after a couple of decades of speculation about her and temptations to embrace old-fashioned "domestic felicity", and so forth. It's worth reading to find out.
This book carries lots of interesting descriptions of the people of Maine at the time and their diversions and interests. A lot of that, of course, involves snooping on the neighbors and engaging in idle gossip. But it is portrayed very realistically and sympathetically by Jewett (I hear echoes of some of my more elderly New Hampshire in-laws and also my Kansas kin). She also takes time to describe the settings of her scenes, the flowers, trees, birds and so forth. Sometimes, excessive descriptive passages can get tedious and boring, such as, for example in Mrs. Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (this, based on my recollection from when I read it on the London Underground back in the dark ages). I didn't find the description of settings and people to be tedious in the least in this book. I'm guessing that means that Sarah Orne Jewett was a much better writer than Mrs. Radcliffe, despite the latter's having influenced the incomparable Jane Austen.
There's also lots of interesting philosophical discussion about the human condition and the place of women in the world and so forth. As I read this book, I realized that it should be popular with feminists (well everyone, it's a good book, and besides, we should all be feminists by now), and wondered how in the hell feminist studies could skip this book (or Anne Brontë's works—much more feminist than her more famous sisters) and instead include Kate Chopin's piece of dreck, The Awakening. Or maybe they don't anymore; but the point remains, Chopin's book is crap and should long ago have been tossed into the dust bin. It should make proper feminists cringe. This book, not at all.
A young woman shows up on her mother's doorstep, after having been absent for some years, carrying a young child. The young woman expires, but not before requesting the local doctor, Dr. Leslie, become the official guardian of her daughter, Anna Prince. The grandmother brings the girl up for the first few years of her life, with regular check-ins by Dr. Leslie. Anna grows up fairly wild and undisciplined for a few years on her grandmother's farm, developing, thereby, a deep love for the wilds of Maine. After her grandmother dies, she goes to live with Dr. Leslie and takes interest in his work. Eventually she accompanies him on some of his visits, shows interest in and aptitude for doctoring, and determines that she would like to become a country physician herself.
So she studies to be a physician and so forth. And naturally, given that this was published in 1884, most people disapprove. Woman, after all, were created by God to be home makers and to please their husbands. Period. It says so in the Bible. Double Period! (Damn! How come no one told my spouse she had been ordained by God to please me? Ah, the difference a century makes.) So we have this conflict, and wonder how it might resolve. Well, we don't wonder if we've read the book. But, I'm not going to tell you about all the difficulties and self doubts and resolutions and re-resolutions, along with all the trips around the luminous country and visits to simple country folk and meeting a rich, lost aunt after a couple of decades of speculation about her and temptations to embrace old-fashioned "domestic felicity", and so forth. It's worth reading to find out.
This book carries lots of interesting descriptions of the people of Maine at the time and their diversions and interests. A lot of that, of course, involves snooping on the neighbors and engaging in idle gossip. But it is portrayed very realistically and sympathetically by Jewett (I hear echoes of some of my more elderly New Hampshire in-laws and also my Kansas kin). She also takes time to describe the settings of her scenes, the flowers, trees, birds and so forth. Sometimes, excessive descriptive passages can get tedious and boring, such as, for example in Mrs. Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (this, based on my recollection from when I read it on the London Underground back in the dark ages). I didn't find the description of settings and people to be tedious in the least in this book. I'm guessing that means that Sarah Orne Jewett was a much better writer than Mrs. Radcliffe, despite the latter's having influenced the incomparable Jane Austen.
There's also lots of interesting philosophical discussion about the human condition and the place of women in the world and so forth. As I read this book, I realized that it should be popular with feminists (well everyone, it's a good book, and besides, we should all be feminists by now), and wondered how in the hell feminist studies could skip this book (or Anne Brontë's works—much more feminist than her more famous sisters) and instead include Kate Chopin's piece of dreck, The Awakening. Or maybe they don't anymore; but the point remains, Chopin's book is crap and should long ago have been tossed into the dust bin. It should make proper feminists cringe. This book, not at all.
wolfsonarchitect's review against another edition
3.0
This is an important work as a treatise on a woman choosing the medical profession as opposed to accepting the dictum that a woman’s place is in the home. There are strong arguments put in the heroine’s mouth and I appreciate that the author argues for Nan becoming a doctor without denigrating women who choose marriage and homemaking. These feminists arguments are put in strongly Christian terms, which differs from some of the strong women created by George Elliot or Thomas Hardy.
I was surprised to read that the book is set in Maine, as I’d assumed Massachusetts because of the references to the factories in Lowell. I guess Lowell pulled women to work from a larger area than I realized.
The story has a weak plot and not as rich language and metaphors as some of her contemporaries. My biggest disappointment was that the character of Nan was not deeply developed. She was too perfect. Just before this I read Anne of Green Gables, which has much more dialogue that helps develop the character’s depth.
I was surprised to read that the book is set in Maine, as I’d assumed Massachusetts because of the references to the factories in Lowell. I guess Lowell pulled women to work from a larger area than I realized.
The story has a weak plot and not as rich language and metaphors as some of her contemporaries. My biggest disappointment was that the character of Nan was not deeply developed. She was too perfect. Just before this I read Anne of Green Gables, which has much more dialogue that helps develop the character’s depth.
shellystilger's review against another edition
3.0
Very lovely prose. Not plot-driven, that's for sure. But an enjoyable listen.
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
3.0
I began reading this novel around five years ago and was enraptured by the first three chapters: Jewett's three-dimensional characters come to life in carefully crafted dialogue between country neighbors. Brilliant foundation laying of exposition, small town ideals, and character attributes. But the chapters afterwards slow down drastically; there's a lot of "telling" instead of "showing," as entire chapters are devoted to relaying facts or reasons about a character (major and minor), and none of the sharp dialogue or interiority that was showcased in the opening chapters. I found it interesting that the novel is called A Country Doctor; A Doctor's Country would be a more apt title, as Jewett documents meticulous details concerning the flora and fauna, as well as minor characters (e.g. Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Meeker, neighbor women). But save for two isolated incidents--and one of them not even described in real time but relayed by one character to another--and a wrapped up denouement of Nan making house calls in the final chapter, we the reader do not actually see Nan Prince being a doctor. There is a bit more description about her med school life, but even that is scant compared to the volume of detail given to her simply talking about her career.
Nor do we see much struggle with her chosen career until she takes a brief holiday in Dunport; her hometown of Oldfields, where she resides and ultimately practices medicine, gradually accepts her position with no drama and limited controversy. Jewett herself wraps up any hesitation or conflict in a few sentences that more or less detail that everyone eventually came around. In fact, Nan's only real struggles to reconcile her chosen career and deliberate singlehood involved her once-estranged aunt and a "lover" whom we never saw engage in any romantic affair--simply because Nan was never interested. My book copy describes the plot as one in which Nan must choose between marriage and career, but for Nan, it is evident that her desired vocation was never threatened, only defended. It is Jewett's thesis for the unmarried woman professional, and indeed, later dialogues between Nan and the Dunport citizens read like manifestos rather than actual character banter or debate. From the scant little I know of Jewett's own life, I imagine much of this novel was drawn from her own life and decisions and may have used this novel as a vehicle to voice them. It doesn't make for much of a plot, but the writing is heartfelt and engaged and the characters sincere. Whether or not I ever return to this novel, I am glad that I sat down and finally finished this book!
Nor do we see much struggle with her chosen career until she takes a brief holiday in Dunport; her hometown of Oldfields, where she resides and ultimately practices medicine, gradually accepts her position with no drama and limited controversy. Jewett herself wraps up any hesitation or conflict in a few sentences that more or less detail that everyone eventually came around. In fact, Nan's only real struggles to reconcile her chosen career and deliberate singlehood involved her once-estranged aunt and a "lover" whom we never saw engage in any romantic affair--simply because Nan was never interested. My book copy describes the plot as one in which Nan must choose between marriage and career, but for Nan, it is evident that her desired vocation was never threatened, only defended. It is Jewett's thesis for the unmarried woman professional, and indeed, later dialogues between Nan and the Dunport citizens read like manifestos rather than actual character banter or debate. From the scant little I know of Jewett's own life, I imagine much of this novel was drawn from her own life and decisions and may have used this novel as a vehicle to voice them. It doesn't make for much of a plot, but the writing is heartfelt and engaged and the characters sincere. Whether or not I ever return to this novel, I am glad that I sat down and finally finished this book!
tjwallace04's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I read "The Country of the Pointed Firs" by Sarah Orne Jewett in my early twenties and really liked it. I remember thinking it felt like an American version of L.M. Montgomery for adults.
Unfortunately, "A Country Doctor" will not be a favorite. It also had a bit of the flavor of L.M. Montgomery, especially in the flowery descriptions of the landscape and the overall gentle tone. (And even some of the plot elements were...oddly familiar. The main character is an orphan named Anna/"Nan" who lives in a house with a strict, sniffy housekeeper named Marilla. There is also a neighborhood gossip character who is a dead ringer for Mrs. Lynde.) (To be clear, "A Country Doctor" was published 25 years before "Anne of Green Gables," so if there was any borrowing of ideas going on, it was not Jewett doing it.)
But "A Country Doctor" has none of the heart or human interest or action of Anne...or any other book I have read recently. It is a glacially slow book that is tragically lacking in meaningful character development. Looking back, just a day after finishing it, I am having trouble understanding how the book could have lasted 300+ pages because so little happened. Other than a lot of philosophical rambling about the meaning of life and what it means to have a calling.
It's a shame because the premise is very promising: Nan decides she wants to be a doctor like her guardian but must fight past her own doubts and the disapproval of the community. (It is the 1880s, after all). But Nan is basically cardboard; you never get to know her at all. (One thing that weirdly frustrated me throughout is that Jewett never tells you her age at any point other than when she is introduced as a toddler. When her guardian says things like "she's becoming quite companionable"...I want to know. Is she 8?? 12? 16??) Towards the end, there is a trumped up "conflict" between Nan's professed calling to be a doctor (a single, unmarried doctor) and a potential romance, except for the romance is completely unbelievable, coming out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly.
Overall, this book was a chore. The main thing I will remember from this reading experience is my curiosity about whether Montgomery read "A Country Doctor" in her youth and either consciously or unconsciously plagiarized some of it.
Unfortunately, "A Country Doctor" will not be a favorite. It also had a bit of the flavor of L.M. Montgomery, especially in the flowery descriptions of the landscape and the overall gentle tone. (And even some of the plot elements were...oddly familiar. The main character is an orphan named Anna/"Nan" who lives in a house with a strict, sniffy housekeeper named Marilla. There is also a neighborhood gossip character who is a dead ringer for Mrs. Lynde.) (To be clear, "A Country Doctor" was published 25 years before "Anne of Green Gables," so if there was any borrowing of ideas going on, it was not Jewett doing it.)
But "A Country Doctor" has none of the heart or human interest or action of Anne...or any other book I have read recently. It is a glacially slow book that is tragically lacking in meaningful character development. Looking back, just a day after finishing it, I am having trouble understanding how the book could have lasted 300+ pages because so little happened. Other than a lot of philosophical rambling about the meaning of life and what it means to have a calling.
It's a shame because the premise is very promising: Nan decides she wants to be a doctor like her guardian but must fight past her own doubts and the disapproval of the community. (It is the 1880s, after all). But Nan is basically cardboard; you never get to know her at all. (One thing that weirdly frustrated me throughout is that Jewett never tells you her age at any point other than when she is introduced as a toddler. When her guardian says things like "she's becoming quite companionable"...I want to know. Is she 8?? 12? 16??) Towards the end, there is a trumped up "conflict" between Nan's professed calling to be a doctor (a single, unmarried doctor) and a potential romance, except for the romance is completely unbelievable, coming out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly.
Overall, this book was a chore. The main thing I will remember from this reading experience is my curiosity about whether Montgomery read "A Country Doctor" in her youth and either consciously or unconsciously plagiarized some of it.
zebra_scribbles's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
toniapeckover's review against another edition
3.0
Jewett's first novel, chronicling the life of a young woman who feels called to medicine instead of marriage. Largely autobiographical, I would imagine, as Jewett chose a writing career over a traditional path. Thoughtful and aware, it's a slow, comfortable read perfect for cozy days.