My 2 star review of The Physician, by Noah Gordon:-
Spoiler:
I'll never come to grips with the decision of the writer, Noah Gordon, to extend the chapters, to outstay his welcome. I freely admit to skipping a couple of chapters. That was a thing I didn't want to do, but the relevant chapters were too abysmal.
I'll never read another book by said author. I ought to be thankful that someone can infuse some life, urgency, pathos, and interest in such a big book, but I think the decision to end the book the way it did was treacherous. I happen to think that the author and the reader don't owe each other anything, but instinctively I find it logically incorrect.
The writer owes us something. What that something is, is not clear. Gordon made me hate the entire book by proxy of him exhausting his goodwill with boring and suicidal writing. The one good thing the book did was awaken me to the possibility of reading non fiction by writers like Karen Armstrong. That is the only tangible thing left to me. The rest of my reading experience has been wasted. I won't return to this storyteller, ever.