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

I rate the book McDowell by William H. Coles four out of four stars. It is an excellent read for anyone interested in the psychology of a person and how they can change. Hiram McDowell, the titular character, is introduced to the reader as a not very likeable person, one who leaves a man—a good friend—to die on a mountain climb, one who cheats on his wife without compunction, and one who is on a quest for power and recognition.

Part one is the story of an unfeeling man who will do anything to get to the top. If anything, he seems to me to be a high functioning sociopath. He doesn't care who he hurts and his wife's tears when she finds out he has been cheating on her fail to move him. He steps on people to get where he wants and reneges on promises made once he's there. When tragedy strikes his family, he is barely present and when he is, he is compassionless and extremely matter-of-fact.

Part two is about how he is forced to leave his old life behind and how he learns to be a better person through other people. He really struggles to take criticism and has to look at life in ways he didn't before. He is very focused on writing his own memoir so that people will understand why he did what he did. Through critiques by editors, he learns to tell his story in a better way and to be a better person himself.

I found the book to be quite well edited with only one error. I do not feel that this detracted from the book in any way and it was nice to read something that flowed well. My only complaint is that there were occasional tense shifts from past to present and the time frame wasn't very well defined. Years passed much more quickly than I thought they were with little detail of how things were progressing at times.

Anyone who loves plot twists and crime novels will love this book. Anyone who questions the idea of redemption will be intrigued by this book, as will anyone interested in the human psyche. I think it will appeal to a variety of readers. It was a little hard for me at first to continue reading with such an unlikeable main character, but I kept getting drawn back into the plot and I am glad I stuck with it.

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McDowell
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Coles' exploration of the American Dream and its pitfalls is both poignant and timely.

I would find it quite hard to read at first too, especially from his point of view which sounds so different to my own. I am glad he gets a bit better as the book continues. Thanks for a great review!