March 6, 2008

Book Review: The Doctor's Wife


Let me warn you now. If you haven't read this book -- don't. If you have read it and liked it, let me ask you -- why??

When I first picked this book up at the local used book store, it sounded promising. It was billed as a psychological thriller, which is something I am always interested in.

However, I couldn't make it past the first couple of chapters. The bad writing and bad character development turned me off immediately. Along with the typical overuse of the F-word (which is becoming increasingly common in modern "literature" these days.).

As an example of bad writing, here is an example of a metaphor she uses in the first chapter:

"His love for her is ripe in his mouth. The fruit has rotted, perhaps."

I just cannot stand reading books that rely more on metaphors and similes to describe things, rather an imaginative writing.

But it is a good thing I didn't give this book any more of my time than I did. According to another review:

The doctor of the title is Michael Knowles. He's an ob-gyn in upstate New York, content to deliver babies and give Pap smears. But when an old flame, the "ballsy," "tough as nails" Celina approaches him about her newly opened indigent women's health clinic, Michael agrees to start performing abortions there, even though when his child asks him if abortion is murder, he can't say no. Immediately, Michael and Celina are harassed, followed, and threatened. Michael is run off of the road. The clinic is defaced, then bombed, and then an attempt is made on Michael's life. It's at this assassination attempt, which is in the first chapter, that the book goes wrong.

And it was shortly after that I put the book down and have gone on to read something else. It was just starting to not make sense. And the bad writing didn't make it any better.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks. I won't be picking this one up either.

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  2. I was looking at this book the other day. Now I'm glad I didn't get it. Thanks.

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  3. I sniggered when I read that metaphor you quoted. I definitely won't be reading that book...lol

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  4. Thanks for the warning. This is why it's good that we share the good AND the bad!

    I hate that foul language is such a part of "literature" today. Part of being a good writer is using a VARIETY of words!

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  5. Hey I love that you've got a book review blog going too! We've reviewed a lot of the same books too!

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Thanks for joining our discussion of this book!

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