While I enjoyed the story, this book was a disappointment compared to the first two novels. While given historical fiction that piqued interest on two celebrities, this narrative was just a story--and a predictable story too. I was interested in the characters but could see the plot twists coming a long way off. Not Gordon's greatest accomplishment.

Still Very good book but it did not stand up to the first two of trilogy. I am not sure if it was because it was present day not historical but I did not feel invested in characters other than the "heroine" as I did in previous books. I thought it did show all sides of abortion whether you support abortion or not. I am looking forward his other books especially "The Winemaker".

So many trilogies run out of steam. True here, alas. I liked the movie of the first volume, The Physician, better than any of the books. And this last story had real problems. Is there a doctor in the world who would collude with a 17 year old to get her an abortion, not telling the girl's father, who happens to be her boyfriend? Major breach of trust and ethics. Again, what woman with a successful medical practice is going to be thrilled to find herself pregnant and alone at age 45?

I read this book because I very much enjoyed the first two books in the series.
It was heavy-handed in its treatment of babies, everyone in the book (almost) is pregnant, or wants to be pregnant. It seems more a political book than trying to tell a story; insurance, woman's right to choose, and Drs. Who are better than in real life.
I did like the descriptions of women, all of them had some extra weight on them.
I do plan to read other books by Noah Gordon. I don't know what happened with this book, but it was, indeed, as though it was written by someone other than the same author of The Physician and Shaman.

Given that I just finished Shaman (the third in this trilogy), I thought I’d go ahead and polish off the series while the story was fresh in my mind. Each of the three books in The Cole Trilogy (The Physician, Shaman, and Matters of Choice) can be read as stand alone novels, but reading them in order provides additional context and back story which adds to the flavor and general appeal of the story as a whole.

Of the three, I think this book (Matters of Choice) is probably my least favorite. I say that because it’s quite a bit shorter and less involved than the other two. The characters were still well developed, and it wasn’t necessarily boring or poorly written, but compared to its counterparts, it seems that some steam was lost on the part of the author.

Also, part of what I liked so much about The Physician and Shaman was the historical fiction component. Matters of Choice takes place in the 1990′s which makes sense in the sequence and timing of these three books, but is less entertaining to me as a matter of personal preference. I’d much rather read about an old-timey doctor discovering the magic of ether whilst fine tuning the the conduction of a healthy amputation than about a Clinton-era doctor struggling with HMO politics and anti-abortion terrorists.

Overall, this book was generally entertaining, a relatively quick read, and definitely not the worst book I’ve ever read. A pretty glowing endorsement, am I right?

Noah Gordon "Savi keliai"

Aš nesu didelė knygų serijų gerbėja, bet turiu savo mėgstamas knygų serijas: Hario Poterio knygos, Saulėlydžio saga :) ne išimtis ir šio autoriaus Koulų šeimos saga.

Trys istorijos prasidėjusios XI a. Anglijoje, nusikėlusios į XIX a. Pilietinio karo Ameriką ir pasiekusios šias dienas.
Su neaprašomu malonumu skaičiau pirmąją trilogijos dalį - "Gydytojas. Avicenos mokinys", antroji - "Šamanas" man taip pat labai patiko, o dabar noriu pasidalinti mintimis apie šią knygą.

Girdėjau nuomonių, kad ji pati silniausia ir neįdomiausia. O čia jau kaip pažiūrėsi. Taip, nuotykių ir kitų kultūrų šioje knygoje nėra, bet kiek joje telpa šių dienų skaudulių.

Noah Gordon pasakodamas daktarės Robertos Dž. Koul arba tiesiog Erdžės istoriją nevengia skaudžių ir labai aktualių temų: moterų lygybė profesinėje srityje, moters teisė į savo kūną ir netgi abortų klausimas. Galimybė gauti tinkamą medicininę pagalbą, kad ir ką nuspręs pati moteris. Skaitydama šią knygą, supratau, kad toks dalykas, kaip sveikatos draudimas ne visiems yra prieinamas dalykas.

Ir kartu tai didžiulė vienos brandžios, protingos, talentingos ir empatiškos moters odė meilei, šeimai, savo pašaukimui, kuris atsiskleidžia ir pražysta tada, kai mažiausiai tikiesi ir pačioje keisčiausioje vietoje.

Mane sužavėjo būtent tai, kaip lengvai aš perskaičiau šią knygą :) su dideliu malonumu ir norėjosi dar ir dar :) gailai, kad Koulų šeimos saga pasibaige... bus sunku surasti naują trilogiją :)

Rekomenduoju visiems, kam patiko šio autoriaus knygos. Taip pat tiems, kurie tiesiog nori gero laiko su knyga :) Kam patinka geros, įtraukiančios istorijos, būtinai perskaitykite:) Dar viena įdomi detalė - autorius apie daktarų Koulų šeimą rašė ir kūrė 13 savo gyvenimo metų.

Įdomu, kiek daktarų skaitė šią trilogiją ? Ar patiko? :)

Gražaus vakaro su knyga :)

Not as good as the first two books in this trilogy, but still a decent read. Perhaps the fact that it takes place in the present day might account for my not enjoying it as much, since reading about times past adds to my enjoyment. At any rate, I will read more Noah Gordon for sure.

If you enjoyed Noah Gordon's "The Physician" and even "Shaman," don't read this final book in the trilogy! In "Matters of Choice" Gordon lost his way and produced what could only be described as a second rate novel, possibly written to appeal mostly to women. It lacks style, story and interest. It is predictable and pedantic. Sorry I read it.

This was totally different than Noah Gordon's first two in the series. That, I'm afraid, made it hard to get into, as I loved the history in the two earlier books. I also felt that this book focused too much on politics of the day, abortion clinics, health care problems in modern times. I suppose it was just too real to life for me to really enjoy it. Thus, the 3 stars. And I almost didn't finish it, so I guess I liked it enough to find out what happened.

What a disappointment! A terrible ending to a trilogy (the first two books were wonderful). I know he was trying to make a statement about abortion and Pro-Choice (and I am Pro-Choice) but this book makes a strong statement against abortion. I don't think that was his intention, but in any case, I disliked this book. Too bad, because the HeartRocks were cute.

Con esta obra, la estirpe del médico judío ya empieza a oler... Un librillo sin interés sobre una doctora rural en Estados Unidos en la actualidad. Si no se hubiera presentado como la tercera parte de El médico, nunca habría vendido ni la décima parte. Para olvidar.

Worth reading if you have started the series. But, it does not live up to my expectations after the first two books. For those reviewers who found the book liberally biased and the main character to be far too liberal, I wonder at their finding it so or not expecting it to be so. After all, the first two books featured main characters who were quite liberal when viewed from the point of time the books were set.