Official Review: The Pharmacy At Hails Gate

[Gabriel Merêncio]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Pharmacy At Hails Gate" by Ava Newman-Rafter.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Discrimination comes in many flavors and can stem from unlikely sources. The race relations between black people and Hispanics, although seldom explored, have the potential to be filled with much more tension than one would expect. That’s the main theme of Ava Newman-Rafter’s The Pharmacy at Hails Gate, a novel inspired by real-life experiences.

The story is told from the perspective of Esther Smith, a black pharmacist who began working for Hails Gate Grocery and Pharmacy. She initially thrived at her job, but a shift in location and supervisor marks the beginning of a harassment, discrimination, and conspiracy campaign. Will Esther falter from the toxicity or will she find justice?

Having led a long career in Pharmacy, the author imparts her experience and insights into the narrative. We learn about many interesting details that go behind a pharmacy counter and the people who work there. The author also adds some humor to lighten up the drama in how she names her antagonists: Jezzie Bell, Vibora, Satania, and more.

While the book has its engaging moments, a major flaw is that several events aren’t described in enough detail. For instance, though we get concrete examples of the troubles Esther faces, we never see how they started. Instead, chapter 4 simply states, without elaborating much further: "This was when harassment, conspiracy, racism, lies and deceit became a reality to me!" In general, the novel is too short and could use some extra chapters.

Faith is a fairly important component in Esther’s life, and the reader will find plenty of Bible quotes throughout the chapters. The religious aspect never gets particularly proselytizing, but Christians will likely enjoy the book more than non-Christians.

I’ve spotted more than ten errors in the book, especially concerning the use of apostrophes. The author tends to misplace the apostrophe when dealing with decades, writing “90’s” instead of “’90s,” for example. I also found a few awkward sentences and a sentence that ends with a question mark for no apparent reason.

Though I believe the book brings important issues to light, it fails to stand on its own as a narrative due to violating the “show, don’t tell” principle. This, coupled with the poor editing, compels me to rate The Pharmacy at Hails Gate 2 out of 4 stars. There are no profanities aside from the mention of a dated term, so the novel is suitable to many audiences, but adults will relate to it the most. I recommend the book to readers interested in “David versus Goliath” stories. I don’t recommend it if you hate memoirs since the story reads more like one than an actual novel.

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The Pharmacy At Hails Gate
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[adamgreenrock]

A shame that the book with an interesting theme and concept would be pretty rush writing-wise and grammar-wise. It's best for me to skip it. Thanks for your review!

[Letora]

I think the lack of detail would turn me away. I want to be able to immerse myself in the character's experiences, and just glossing over details won't let me do that. I'm also not one to enjoy bible quotes, or religious motivations. Thank you for your review!

[Gabriel Merêncio]

I think the lack of detail would turn me away. I want to be able to immerse myself in the character's experiences, and just glossing over details won't let me do that. I'm also not one to enjoy bible quotes, or religious motivations. Thank you for your review!

A shame that the book with an interesting theme and concept would be pretty rush writing-wise and grammar-wise. It's best for me to skip it. Thanks for your review!

Indeed, the book is somewhat rushed, which is a shame, since the subject matter is interesting and important. Thanks for the comments!

[AvidBibliophile]

I'd been wondering about this one, as the racial and discrimination aspects in such a field would certainly be worth exploring and understanding further. The religious scripture aspect kind of surprises me, as I would not have necessarily anticipated that being an included attribute, but the theme itself is certainly deserving of further consideration, especially if some of the grammatical and editorial issues could first be addressed. Thanks for the helpful review!

[Gabriel Merêncio]

I'd been wondering about this one, as the racial and discrimination aspects in such a field would certainly be worth exploring and understanding further. The religious scripture aspect kind of surprises me, as I would not have necessarily anticipated that being an included attribute, but the theme itself is certainly deserving of further consideration, especially if some of the grammatical and editorial issues could first be addressed. Thanks for the helpful review!

Yes, the book is certainly worthwhile, but it still needs to go through some rounds of editing. Thanks for the comment!