Book Review: The Doctor's Wife

"The Doctor's Wife" by Elizabeth Brundage

Okay ~ this is my first book review, so go easy on me! I just read an amazing review that said everything that I would want to say and I came close to copying and pasting it here, but decided that I should put my own two cents in instead.

This is Elizabeth Brundage's debut novel and as a whole, it is a good read. It is suspenseful, engaging, controversial, relevant and the characters' are relatable in their flaws. I won't say that it will be my on my favorite's list, but it is a book that I won't soon forget.

At the center of the story are two couples ~ Dr. Michael Knowles and his wife Annie and Simon and Lydia Haas. Michael is a prominent OB/GYN doctor in upstate New York and Annie is a professor at a local college with a background in journalism. They have two children and as happens in marriages with children, careers and busy lives, they have drifted apart. Annie is already resentful of Michael's busy schedule when he decided to volunteer one day a week at the local abortion clinic. Her resentment and his 'sense of duty' only alienate the couple even more. Just as Annie is searching for an outlet for her frustrations, she meets Simon Haas, an has-been artist who also teaches at the college. He is smooth and charming, but instead of allowing him to be typecast into that roll, Brundage exposes his flaws through his marriage to his young wife, Lydia an unstable and almost childlike character who is the catalyst for all the drama that unfolds.

Without giving too much away, I will note that Brundage does a good job in dealing with the controversial subjects of adultery, abortion and emotional instability. She allows the characters to be real and exposes them for who they really are, letting their emotions drive their actions and set the stage for the consequences that follow. There is no good guy/bad guy here, only a sense of sadness that permeates the entire story as each character is trying to find fulfillment through their job, their partner or their beliefs.

The criticism I have for this story is that Brundage begins with the critical action and then goes back to explain how we got there. At times, the story can seem segmented with flashbacks intermingling with the present, leaving the reader sorting out the details. The other criticism I have, which is one of my biggest peeves with books, is that it seems that Brundage wrote this with the intention of making it into a movie. While this definitely could be a Hollywood blockbuster, I am annoyed when books are written for that purpose, instead of allowing them to be just what they are, stories in the readers' minds.

If it were a movie, I would give it four stars. As a novel, I give it 3 1/2. Well written, but disjointed at times, Brundage deals with controversial issues through the actions of her flawed characters in a way that creates suspense and drama, leaving the reader to sort through it for herself long after the last page is turned.