Trying to breathe
Written: Jul 02 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Engaging novel, skilled description
Cons: Some typical plot devices
The Bottom Line: Factual and with an ending you won't ever see coming, Oxygen is difficult to put down.
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| ssjakira1's Full Review: Carol Wiley Cassella - Oxygen |
First things first: I don’t like much of the literature that is out there, that sort of “real life” fiction. It all feels the same. Especially the books with women as central characters. They all have issues that merit a psychologist’s insight, men are difficulties to work with, families are always broken/falling apart, jobs always test their mettle. It’s all the same. That’s why I never read any of it. I don’t want to be depressed, I want to enjoy myself. If I want to hear these kinds of stories, I’ll turn on the news or Lifetime television.
Having said that, when I received an advanced reading copy at work, I read the back and became mildly interested. During my break I skimmed the most dramatic part in the book and just kept reading. I finally decided I was hooked enough to take the book home and read it start to finish.
Dr. Marie Heaton is an anesthesiologist who loves what she does and is very good at it. She may not have a husband or children, but that’s okay. Working at First Lutheran in Seattle, one day a young girl comes in for routine surgery, but suddenly things take an abrupt and tragic turn, leading to a malpractice suit and Marie sinking into a mindset consisting of grief, guilt, and many questions. It seems the only people she has to turn to are Joe, a close colleague, and her sister Lori. To make matters worse, Marie’s father is going blind and needs more attention than Lori can give him, which means he’ll have to rely on Marie’s help. Marie must finally confront her issues with her father, the sorrow of the patient’s mother, the never-ending lawsuit, and the real truth of what happened in the operating room that day.
The best part is that the author, Carol Cassella, is actually an anesthesiologist who happened to dabble in writing, which has really worked out beautifully. You get a real sense of why Marie does what she does (even though Cassella describes this feeling at least three times in the book which made me think, “Er, didn’t you already mention this?”) and a little part of you wonders if that’s true for Cassella as well. Her medical know-how gives the reader exact wording and crystal clear actions, as well as assisting with a surprise at the end I don’t think any will see.
Cassella definitely excels when it comes to description and the art of making things worse for the character. I once took a writing workshop and there was a segment lead by an agent in which he kept telling us to write down ideas on how to make things worse for you character. Now make it worse. Now make it even worse. Cassella does this and just keeps it coming. Don’t think things could get worse? Oh, but they do. It’s done very subtly though; there’s no fast, abrupt spiral down into doomdom, but more like an “Oh, by the way, guess what?” The turning of events draws you in and makes it all the more difficult to put the book down.
As I said, her description is fantastic. It’s a perfect example of how to do it and the kind I envy oh-so-much. The last time I read description this good was in a writing book on how to write more descriptively. It’s really first-rate. But at the same time, after a while it did start to grate. I don’t care that there’s a massive elm cutting into the sun outside the barbeque place, please keep moving with the story. Kind of like how I went nuts while reading Jane Eyre – good story, but I don’t need a whole page telling me the sky is blue. Not that Cassella devotes entire pages to description, but we get nice-sized chunks here and there and after 200 of so pages, I think it’s okay to tone it down just a bit. (Though I still envy her skill).
The main plotline is good and what I was most interested in; Marie’s struggle with the malpractice suit and dealing with the lawyers and trying to figure out how it would all resolve itself. The subplots were slightly less engaging, though I did like her relationship with Joe and seeing her interact with her nieces (it reminded me of my sister and how things might be in the future). However I felt the subplot with the father was a bit contrived. Especially when you find out what causes the awkwardness between the two—that part just felt random and out of place. I’m not sure how it really assists the rest of the story in any way other than serving to make things worse for Marie. There are a few ideas I have, but they seem rather weak and when you read it, the part doesn’t have enough impact to make any solid connections.
While the story still flows along nicely and you get sucked into the character’s world, I admit I did find myself wanting to pull out my hair sometimes, mostly because of my main issue mentioned at the start of this review (I tried to quell that part of my brain but couldn’t quite pull it off). I know a character is going to be freaked, upset, and feeling guilty and scrambled when confronted with this sort of medical situation, but I couldn’t understand why Marie wouldn’t let go. Aside from the fact that there wouldn’t be a full book if she did, instead she wallowed a lot in her angst (irritating) and even at one point started saying, “I killed her! I killed her mother too because of it!” and literally sat there in my chair saying, “Oh my GOD! NO! NO YOU DID NOT!” It drove me insane and for a moment I had to stop reading. I can’t take it when characters go totally emo because it’s been done and it’s annoying.
Ok, aside from all that, I know I’ve smacked the book around, but it really is good. The whole anesthesia thing was so different as well as how it ended (congrats on that), I was satisfied and pleased after reading it. The moments I did weird out didn’t last for too terribly long and some of it does stem from my writer disposition. Still, always important to remember – Cassella is published, I’m not. Granted, I’m not finished, but it is easy to see why an agent/editor snapped this manuscript up. I plan on recommending it if it doesn’t get an ample amount of fanfare in the store.
NT
Recommended:
Yes
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