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A review by bookishlynerdy
McDowell by William H. Coles
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.