Medicine Men

March 31, 1997
Several years ago, Adams wrote a magazine piece describing her bout with brain cancer. Published as nonfiction, it was "corrected" in a later issue as fiction. Whatever the provenance of this oddly dyspeptic novel, it covers much of the same territory. When young widow Molly Bonner complains of headaches and fatigue, her symptoms are dismissed by several doctors, and the rare, golf ball-sized malignant tumor in her sinuses is discovered belatedly. In addition to the phalanx of cold, grossly insensitive and obtuse physicians with whom she comes in contact, Molly is also plagued by Dr. Mark Jacobs, a widower who wants to marry her (but whom she dislikes intensely). He bullies his way into taking charge of her care. Add to the mix Dr. Sandy Richardson, the epitome of the arrogant, egotistical, womanizing heart surgeon, who is having an affair with Molly's friend Felicia, and the roster of "medicine men" is overwhelmingly negative. That Adams is able to exert her familiar charm, however, even with so downbeat a subject, is to her credit. For Molly, despite her unrelenting bias, is an appealing character, with a sense of humor and an essential joie d'esprit that eventually reasserts itself. Moreover, Adams (A Southern Exposure) beguiles, as usual, in intertwining the lives of all the supporting characters in quite logical ways, and in arranging for nature to punish the chief villain in an ironically appropriate manner. Her greatest strength is the direct summation of character through the small details that only a socially astute writer with a discerning eye would notice. But this blanket indictment of the medical profession is surely not entirely fair, and while it may be cathartic for some, others may find it a bit too bitter to swallow.

March 15, 1997
In Adams's breezily written tenth novel, Molly Bonner is having some trouble: her marriage to a stiff, alcoholic New England lawyer has failed; her second husband has just died, leaving her filthy rich with insurance money but terribly guilty because they were about to separate anyway; and the nose bleeds she's been having turn out to result from a golf ball-sized tumor demanding immediate surgery. What's worse, Molly has too many rapacious, self-absorbed "medicine men" in her life, from Dave Jacobs, the domineering creep with whom her friend Felicia has set her up, to Felicia's own married paramour, the oh-so-smug Dr. Raleigh Sanderson. What could have been a nice comedy of manners fall terribly, terribly flat. Even those with grave doubts about doctors will be offended by their depiction here as hopelessly shallow and sleazy, and some readers may find Molly a little shallow herself. With all the slick mating and remating going on, very little time is spent on the consequences for Molly of a possibly fatal disease. Buy where Adams is popular.--Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal

February 15, 1997
In Adams' skilled hands, this "medical" novel transcends any of the genre's stock characters and hackneyed situations to become a trenchant psychological exploration of physical and emotional pain and recovery. It limns a particularly devastating time in the life of San Franciscan Molly Bonner. Molly's second husband died not too long ago, leaving behind an insurance policy that made her wealthy--a new, strange state for her. But even stranger is what she is soon handed: a diagnosis of a brain tumor. Molly insists she "really [doesn't] understand how doctors' minds work"; but while she neither likes nor comprehends doctors, she can't avoid their close company now, their often difficult genius, and their sometimes brusque bedside manner. Reluctant entrant into their world, she, by necessity, must surrender to it before she can embark on a slow climb to health. Adams has brought forth a wonderfully human character in Molly; the reader learns from her experiences--a true test of first-rate fiction. ((Reviewed February 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)