A Country Doctor Book

This falls short of three stars'I cannot say I like it. It's OK. It could have been better.

The story is set in rural Maine in approximately the 1870s and 1880s. It is about a woman who chooses between marriage or being a doctor. We follow her from infancy, this way we see what has shaped her, and into her twenties.

Some of the prose works for me. The descriptions of nature are delightful. Other sections are wordy and old-fashioned, to the point where I was unsure of what was meant.

Although the plot and what characters say and do is realistic, given the setting and time period, the tone is inspirational and there is too much talk about religion and faith, for my taste at least. I prefer harsher, more nitty gritty realism--this I can bear, and it is this I prefer. What is delivered is at times more a sermon than an engaging story.

There is a good balance between dialogue and narrative, and yet neither the events nor the characters engage me.

I found little new to think about. The value of a general medical practitioner who knows their patients over many years is pointed out, and on this I thoroughly agree. Here follows a nice line on the concept of time:

"Towns that can be built in a hurry, can be left in a hurry."

I like also the idea stated that it is the slower hand of the clock that is the more important. In today's world, all we do is rush around, making it difficult to properly absorb, think about and appreciate that around us. I want more such lines. Such lines give me food for thought.

Kate Reading narrates the audiobook. I set the speed at 90%, allowing me time to absorb and think about the content. The elderly are given an accent that is not always easy to decipher. There is a rhythm to the reading that I find lulling and somehow artificial. Three stars for the narration. It's fine but I was not blown over by it.

This is the author's first novel, published in 1884, and said to be semiautobiographical. Willa Cather, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Julia Ward Howe were the author's friends and contemporaries. I see a similarity between Cather's and Jewett's prose. On the basis of this one book, I find Cather's better. My view may change when I have read more by Jewett.

I am going to give the author another try. I have immediately begun The Country of the Pointed Firs. Hopefully, I will enjoy it more.



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ETA: I certainly did enjoy it more ! See both ratings below!

*The Country of the Pointed Firs 4 stars
*A Country Doctor 2 stars