Review by amahstone -- McDowell by William H. Coles
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amahstone
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Review by amahstone -- McDowell by William H. Coles
[Following is a volunteer review of "McDowell" by William H. Coles.]
McDowell by William H. Coles is a thrilling read with lots of twists and turns. The book is divided into two parts. The first part tells the story of Dr. Hiram McDowell, the protagonist of the story. He is a highly respected mountaineering surgeon. However, he is very unlikeable, arrogant, selfish, self-important, and quick to judge. The story also follows his children, Ann, Sophie, and Billie, as well as journalist Paige, and many others in Hiram’s life. A hallmark of his character is that he consistently cheats people around him for personal gain, whether it be a coworker or his wife.
The second part of the story follows Hiram’s downfall after a tragic event leaves him with criminal charges and how he comes to terms with his actions and their consequences. The author does a good job of portraying Hiram as a real person. His inner monologue comes across as genuine. He is not instantly apologetic for things he has done, nor does he have a change in attitude right away. In fact, he is a very angry man for most of the story. Towards the end of the novel, we start to see a shift in Hiram. He is becoming more introspective and thinks about how he has hurt the people in his life.
While I enjoyed reading about Hiram’s journey, I felt that the story ended with him being lauded as a sort of hero even though he did a lot of wrong throughout the story to the same people who are now praising him. While they acknowledge his faults, I think that a lot of his past actions were swept under the rug. While the main conflict of the story has to do with the tragic event and his foundation’s less than transparent finances, there are many problematic aspects of his character that are left unresolved such as: his infidelity, the sexually inappropriate conversations he has with his underage son about his also underage stepdaughter, his blatant sexism, and the treatment of his children.
Despite my dislike of how the story ultimately played out, I would still rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed reading it. The writing was very compelling and kept me hooked. The dialogue was very natural, and I did enjoy a lot of the character exploration. Also, it is clear that this book has been thoroughly reviewed and edited, as I did not find any serious mistakes.
This book is not for readers who are uncomfortable reading books with profanity, sexism, racism, gun violence, violence against children, and sexual content. In particular, there is sexual content between underage (under 18) characters. I would advise discretion and would recommend this book only to mature readers.
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McDowell
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
McDowell by William H. Coles is a thrilling read with lots of twists and turns. The book is divided into two parts. The first part tells the story of Dr. Hiram McDowell, the protagonist of the story. He is a highly respected mountaineering surgeon. However, he is very unlikeable, arrogant, selfish, self-important, and quick to judge. The story also follows his children, Ann, Sophie, and Billie, as well as journalist Paige, and many others in Hiram’s life. A hallmark of his character is that he consistently cheats people around him for personal gain, whether it be a coworker or his wife.
The second part of the story follows Hiram’s downfall after a tragic event leaves him with criminal charges and how he comes to terms with his actions and their consequences. The author does a good job of portraying Hiram as a real person. His inner monologue comes across as genuine. He is not instantly apologetic for things he has done, nor does he have a change in attitude right away. In fact, he is a very angry man for most of the story. Towards the end of the novel, we start to see a shift in Hiram. He is becoming more introspective and thinks about how he has hurt the people in his life.
While I enjoyed reading about Hiram’s journey, I felt that the story ended with him being lauded as a sort of hero even though he did a lot of wrong throughout the story to the same people who are now praising him. While they acknowledge his faults, I think that a lot of his past actions were swept under the rug. While the main conflict of the story has to do with the tragic event and his foundation’s less than transparent finances, there are many problematic aspects of his character that are left unresolved such as: his infidelity, the sexually inappropriate conversations he has with his underage son about his also underage stepdaughter, his blatant sexism, and the treatment of his children.
Despite my dislike of how the story ultimately played out, I would still rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed reading it. The writing was very compelling and kept me hooked. The dialogue was very natural, and I did enjoy a lot of the character exploration. Also, it is clear that this book has been thoroughly reviewed and edited, as I did not find any serious mistakes.
This book is not for readers who are uncomfortable reading books with profanity, sexism, racism, gun violence, violence against children, and sexual content. In particular, there is sexual content between underage (under 18) characters. I would advise discretion and would recommend this book only to mature readers.
******
McDowell
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
-Amanda
Latest Review: When North Becomes South by Becky Bronson
