Chrissie's Reviews > Doc

NO SPOILERS!!!!!

I chose to read this book because I very much liked Mary Doria Russell's novel A Thread of Grace. I enjoy historical fiction, but not science fiction, the genre of several other of the author's books. True, I was not terribly interested in a cowboy story, but in a good author's hands almost any topic is interesting. So I was willing to give this a chance. I am glad I read the novel, but I do not believe it matches up with "A Thread of Grace",

This book is not primarily about the 1881 shoot-out in Tombstone, Arizona, but it is about the same individuals of this event and following events. It is about the personalities of Doc Holliday and his flames, Wyatt Earp and his family, and it is about life in Dodge City, Kansas, prior to the gunfight at the OK Corral. It is about life in this place and at this time. It is about saloons, and whore houses and brawls and cowboy life. Life as it was for both women and men in the West. It is very much about dentistry and consumption and cleanliness or lack thereof…… It is also very much about people of different personalities. The book starts with a listing of all the people in the book. My first thought was – how am I going to keep track of all these people?! That is no problem. Each one becomes a real character; each has their own idiosyncrasies. Your heart will bleed for some. You will feel pity for others. You will get angry at some, and you simply nod when some of them make the choices they do because although you personally would never make such choices you do understand why they make these choices. So, character portrayal is very well done.

The author has given us an "Author's Note" that clearly explains what is fictitious and what isn't. She sticks to the known facts as much as possible. I believe in the character portrayals she has drawn. She has done her homework regarding treatment of tuberculosis in the 1800s and of dentistry and off other historical events.

The author is fluent in several languages. She has an appreciation for music and Greek mythology. She throws all these elements into the novel and thus makes the story even more interesting. There is French and Latin and poetry and cowboy songs and classical music and Greek mythology. There are bits about Seminole Indians and the Civil War. There is a lot to suck on.

So what are my complaints? As I said above, and this cannot be termed a complaint, cowboy stories are just not my top reading choice, but this does affects how many stars I will give the book. However sometimes I would think - please, please, please get to the point. The book should have been tightened up a bit. While every sentence in the last few chapters is utterly perfect, the middle chapters were too long and winding. Some of the details were a bit superfluous. But then the wide range of facts will draw a larger reading group……I am giving the stars, and I was bored sometimes.

I ended up feeling: Yup, I liked this book and I am glad I read it. I could have been carried away by the ending and given it more stars, but when you judge a book it is the whole book. Right? I definitely liked the book and can recommend reading it. But hey, it is not a light read. TB is a horrible illness and you will suffer alongside Doc. What a horrible illness TB was. If you read this book, you will come to understand that.