Overall rating and opinion of "McDowell"

Cecilia_L · Post by **Cecilia_L** » 02 Oct 2018, 11:21

Debjani Ghosh wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 23:18
DC Brown wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 21:18 I'm sorry I can't get past the blurb: "When readers first meet Hiram McDowell, he is leaving a hiking partner for dead and trying to make a decent alone on a mountain in Nepal in 1981. McDowell is a world-renown surgeon who treats women like sex-objects and deceives his third wife."
I have better things to do than read a book where it is required to read English naively and a man who makes a decent alone on a mountain...I think someone meant natively and descent. If you can't get the description right...yeah, I don't need to waste my time.
I had read another novel from this author previously which was a disaster, to say the least. Based on the official review of this book on the OBC platform, I was willing to give this author another chance but the snippet of the blurb you provided has made me make an about-turn. I am not going to pick up this book.

I'm tending to agree with both DC Brown and Debjani. I was also put off by the book's review and sample as well as a previous book by the author with consistently weak female characters.

EvaDar · Post by **EvaDar** » 02 Oct 2018, 16:46

BookReader+6 wrote: ↑02 Oct 2018, 08:14 Wow! I'm really on the fence about this one. I noticed that the word decent really should be descent also. I'm just wondering if there are a lot of editing problems. I haven't read the whole book yet, but it seems like I probably wouldn't like it from the sample I've read. It seems to be getting a lot of mixed reviews.

I am in the same boat. I caught the typos in the description, also. Not professional considering this is a seasoned author. I see that there are some interesting themes that are explored later in the book, but I think I am not up for the serial bad treatment of women, both by the narrator/author and the characters.

Angeleve88 · Post by **Angeleve88** » 02 Oct 2018, 20:32

As I have read the first chapter of this book. I dont think I enjoy reading this kind of book. Eventhough i live twists in a story, but with this, I dont think so.
Not my kind of book, actually.

Debjani Ghosh · Post by **Debjani Ghosh** » 02 Oct 2018, 23:01

Cecilia_L wrote: ↑02 Oct 2018, 11:21
Debjani Ghosh wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 23:18
DC Brown wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 21:18 I'm sorry I can't get past the blurb: "When readers first meet Hiram McDowell, he is leaving a hiking partner for dead and trying to make a decent alone on a mountain in Nepal in 1981. McDowell is a world-renown surgeon who treats women like sex-objects and deceives his third wife."
I have better things to do than read a book where it is required to read English naively and a man who makes a decent alone on a mountain...I think someone meant natively and descent. If you can't get the description right...yeah, I don't need to waste my time.
I had read another novel from this author previously which was a disaster, to say the least. Based on the official review of this book on the OBC platform, I was willing to give this author another chance but the snippet of the blurb you provided has made me make an about-turn. I am not going to pick up this book.
I'm tending to agree with both DC Brown and Debjani. I was also put off by the book's review and sample as well as a previous book by the author with consistently weak female characters.

Ferdinand_Otieno · Post by **Ferdinand_Otieno** » 03 Oct 2018, 02:37

This was an amazing literary fiction book that i rated 3 out of 4 stars and would recommend it to others.

Post by **Sushan Ekanayake** » 03 Oct 2018, 12:28

William H.Coles is an author who discusses about various human relationships. In this book also he has shown his unique style and this is a quite good book

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 03 Oct 2018, 20:25

gali wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 00:22 This is a discussion topic for the October 2018 Book of the Month, "McDowell" by William H. Coles. What is your overall opinion of McDowell? What do you like most about it? What do you like least? Will you recommend the book to other people? Why or why not?

Please remember to add your actual rating using the book's page on Bookshelves.

I first read McDowell a couple of years ago, for a review. McDowell was my introduction to William H. Coles. At this point, I believe I've read all of his works. I love how the story touches on every emotion known to man. The pull on my heartstrings was strong, especially towards the end. There are times where the story jumps around from different characters but after a while, it makes sense. I recommend ALL of Coles books to readers who like depth in their fictional reading.

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 03 Oct 2018, 23:51

DC Brown wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 21:18 I'm sorry I can't get past the blurb: "When readers first meet Hiram McDowell, he is leaving a hiking partner for dead and trying to make a decent alone on a mountain in Nepal in 1981. McDowell is a world-renown surgeon who treats women like sex-objects and deceives his third wife."
I have better things to do than read a book where it is required to read English naively and a man who makes a decent alone on a mountain...I think someone meant natively and descent. If you can't get the description right...yeah, I don't need to waste my time.

This is true and I hope that the errors will be corrected. At times, however, we may not be right in judging a book by its cover, I guess. You can give it a try.

Post by **Kibet Hillary** » 03 Oct 2018, 23:52

Given the level of character development, I would definitely recommend this book to others. It is always true that no book no matter how nice and well built the plot is, if the characters are not developed well, then the story will not be good.

bear_6743 · Post by **bear_6743** » 04 Oct 2018, 09:59

It was a remarkable character study. The author did a fabulous job of showcasing a character that we want to hate but also we want to see him redeem himself and find that inner subconscious that he seems to be lacking throughout the novel. I will recommend this book to other readers. The breadth of Coles' characters are tremendous once you can get past their insecurities.

DC Brown · Post by **DC Brown** » 04 Oct 2018, 20:47

KMSingh wrote: ↑02 Oct 2018, 09:02
Debjani Ghosh wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 23:18
DC Brown wrote: ↑01 Oct 2018, 21:18 I'm sorry I can't get past the blurb: "When readers first meet Hiram McDowell, he is leaving a hiking partner for dead and trying to make a decent alone on a mountain in Nepal in 1981. McDowell is a world-renown surgeon who treats women like sex-objects and deceives his third wife."
I have better things to do than read a book where it is required to read English naively and a man who makes a decent alone on a mountain...I think someone meant natively and descent. If you can't get the description right...yeah, I don't need to waste my time.
I had read another novel from this author previously which was a disaster, to say the least. Based on the official review of this book on the OBC platform, I was willing to give this author another chance but the snippet of the blurb you provided has made me make an about-turn. I am not going to pick up this book.
It's unfortunate that you have both decided not to read the book based on a blurb written by someone other than the author. This is the only book of Coles that I've read, so I can't speak to any, earlier book that may have been a disaster. I can say that I found this a really interesting novel. Though, it's not easy to categorize it, so obviously it won't be for everyone.

I'm sorry I gave the impression I've never read anything by Mr. Coles. I've read two of his other books. I had hoped that he had fleshed out one of the stories that I had enjoyed in his book of short stories.

Tim Terry · Post by **Tim Terry** » 05 Oct 2018, 08:28

I almost thought that this was a true biography, it is so realistic. The portrayal of the world that McDowell lives in and manipulates is convincing. I found the range of emotions to be overwhelming and true to life. I normally prefer historical or science fiction/fantasy novels, however, this was an interesting change for me.

Shaza9190 · Post by **Shaza9190** » 07 Oct 2018, 13:27

I would definitely recommend this book. This book engages you to the extent that you cannot put it away.The charachter in the book is very strong and composed. The book surely is impressive.

T_stone · Post by **T_stone** » 07 Oct 2018, 20:01

Currently reading the book. McDowell has so far not been an affable character. Might end up giving it a 3 out of 3 star

Dael Reader · Post by **Dael Reader** » 08 Oct 2018, 11:03

I would probably give the book three stars. I think the author had a great idea and did a fairly good job introducing thought-provoking topics. This is a book that could easily lead to a great discussion in bookclubs. But I wasn't drawn into the narrative very deeply. In fact, there were sections that I thought were downright boring. The author tells us a lot of things rather them revealing them through the characters words and actions, and thats not really the type of narrative I prefer. I also felt cheating by missing information or sections that seemed unrealistic. For instance, how did McDowell escape? Inquiring minds want to know. And it seems unlikely that McDowell's grandson, a known shooter, would not have had some type of police guard at the hospital, in which case McDowell would never have the private opportunity to kill the boy. Also, I can't imagine that McDowell would have been stupid enough to return to the trailer park long enough for the police to find him there. Those details matter to me.
I personally wouldn't recommend this book, but I know I'm a little too picky about literature sometimes. I'm sure many others would love it. Hence the three.