The Doctor's Wife

by Luis Jaramillo

In stylish, intimate, and devastating short flashes, "The Doctor's Wife "tells the story of three generations of a family in the Pacific Northwest.

Winner of the Dzanc Short Story Contest, Luis Jaramillo's "The Doctor's Wife "pushes the limits of what a short story collection can be. In stylish, intimate, and devastating short flashes, Jaramillo chronicles the small domestic moments, tragic losses, and cultural upheavals faced by three generations of a family in the Pacific Northwest, creating a moving portrait of an American family and the remarkable woman at its center.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Romance, Book Club, Enemies To Lovers, Ebooks, Contemporary

170 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2012

About the author

Luis Jaramillo is the author of The Witches of El Paso. He is also the author of the award-winning short story collection The Doctor’s Wife. His writing has appeared in Literary Hub, BOMB Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. His honors include fellowships from Aspen Words, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and the New York Institute for the Humanities. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at The New School. He received an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and an MFA in creative writing from The New School.

Reviews

[Robb Todd]

Warm and tender. Well-written. But it doesn't take many chances or challenge, and it reaches for the easiest emotions. The title is terrible. I saw six books with this title just trying to find it on Goodreads. Any title that uses the formula [ OCCUPATION ]'s [ FAMILY RELATION ] is bad. It's been done to death and I don't know why people haven't buried it. I'd also argue that there is a narrative arc that makes this not a short stories collection, and more of a novel(la).

[Lyn (Readinghearts) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy when I happen across a book that surprises me, for whatever reason. The Doctor's Wife by Luis Jaramillo is just such a book. To call it a collection of short stories is misleading in a couple of ways. First of all, I would class the book as more of a collection of vignettes, as none of them are longer than 4 pages. Secondly, the genre "short stories" brings to my mind a collection of tales that give separate brief glimpses. In this case, you have a book of stories, told from varying perspectives, by three generations of the author's family. Each story is an interesting tid-bit all it's own, put them all together and you have a picture of a typical family living in the Pacific Northwest during the 60s and 70s. The book as a whole has a wonderfully homey feel to it, especially when the various storytellers start correcting each others tales. I felt like I was sitting in the living room of the house on Lake Steven, listening to Jaramillo and his relatives tell the family stories. It was a wonderful experience. If the book had any downfalls, it was that it was so short. I ended up wishing I could have spent more time with Luis and his grandmother, mother, and aunt.

[Pamela]

I love writing that says as much in the silences as in the sentences, as the writing in this novel does. It's made up of perhaps a hundred extremely short sentences covering at least a half century. The Doctor's Wife begins in the late 1950s with the titular character about to have her fourth child, and follows the fate of that child and her other children, her husband, her mother, and eventually, her grandchildren. It's really a novel about how families work and how time pushes even the most solidly outlined personalities toward change. There is a strong sense of the Pacific Northwest and of a certain mid-century family style that will disappear with the disruptions of the 1960s. The Doctor's Wife reminded me very strongly of Evan Connell's superb twinset, Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge, but Jaramillo has a slightly fonder and warmer tone than Connell does.

[Jane Ciabattari · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Doctor's Wife' reminded me of Evan Connell's iconic 'Mrs. Bridge." I included it as one of 5 best short story collections of the year in my NPR.org year-end list:

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/20/1655809...

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful family story. Even though I knew her as my 2nd Grandmother growing up, this is still a readable, likable and incredibly touching story for anyone to read. Thank you Luis!

[Linda Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, especially if you are interested in some Lake Stevens history.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very captivating book full of authenticating details that Jaramillo models after one side of his actual family. It uses time in an effective manner that leads the story through decades and reminds the reader of the characters’ pasts. I love the way the first part flows. The major event at the core of this story is written in both clinical and emotional terms without ever tipping too far into one area. It speaks subtly about politics and change in the US. Overall, a brilliant book. I recommend it.

[Kate Kerns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful short stories about one family over a few decades, anchored by the family matriarch. Some are funny, some sharp, some tragic, others joyful. One story slides into another, until they all add up to an exploration of which stories families chose to tell and why—and what that does to your worldview over time. (The Pacific Northwest references were a bonus.) I probably would have liked "The Doctor's Wife" no matter what, but after a year more or less separated from my giant storytelling family due to the pandemic, it particularly resonated with me.

[Gilbz Sans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5 stars

It's like a hybrid between short stories and a full-length novel.
Full of tenderness that is either heartwarming or heart wrenching.
You witness the life of a family and over time, you feel a little sad that the characters you first met have started growing old and this story does well in showing the flow in the passage of time.

[isabel herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical and dreamy. I also spent a life in the PNW.

"But money isn't God. Even God isn't God as far as the Doctor's Wife is concerned."
"She is interested in living a productive life."
"The older we get the more like ourselves we become."
"Life. It's all dumb luck."

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of vignettes that tell the story of the Doctor, the Doctor's Wife, and their family. Sort of a book of short stories, but sort of a novel.

A strength of the book is how invested I became in the story based on vignettes. The characters seemed so real, so developed. I felt that I spent real time with this family.

I found the time span of the story powerful. I don't know how to say this without it seeming naive and trivial, but it makes you think about your grandmother or grandfather as young people, as young parents. It makes you think of generations as superimposed instead of linear.

Part one of the book is in third person. The first story of the second part is in first person. I expected part two to continue in first person, but it doesn't. First person is gradually used more often, but third-person narratives remain. I think it's ok here for my expectation not to be met. In some places the shift was clunky. In some places the inconsistencies within a story were confusing (a single character being named in first and third person). Maybe it could have been implemented better? Overall, I liked the mix and what it had to say about memory.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was entirely unexpected and amazing. As the jacket says--Jaramillo pushes the limits of what a short-story collection can be. In this case, it can be an incredibly moving and wonderful novel. It is a collection of short stories (some incredibly short including one a mere 18 words long)that come together to create a complex and cohesive whole.

I'm a big fan of short stories during the holidays. I rarely have the time to read a full novel at that time of year, so I picked up this gem from my library. This was entirely different than anything I have ever encountered.

Each story is a snippet of life--sometimes LIFE and sometimes life--for a family in the Pacific Northwest after World War II. The Doctor's Wife is the central character and this collection is her story, but it is also the story of life and family and what makes that unique. The writing is crisp, moving and beautifully compact. Using very few words, Jaramillo conveys an enormous amount of emotion and the complexity of family life. By then end of the collection, I felt I knew and loved this wonderful clan.

If you are looking for a fast, moving, and beautiful read pick-up this book today!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaramillo's story unfolds by way of a set of impressions shared from the points of view of several characters from three generations. In the later portions of this slim volume (about 156 pages), identifying the point of view requires that the reader recall not only the characters' familial relationships, but also their reactions to and involvement in past events. The whole that emerges from the impressions prompts questions about time, family and relationships, and storytelling.

Although I might have devoured this book in one day, I think I enjoyed it more by reading it in smaller bites. Approach it as you might a book of poems.

[Nancy Abrams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lyrical book can be read in one sitting, but take your time and enjoy the writing, which is graceful and often surprising. The Doctor's Wife tells one family's story with an economy of words but a wealth of feeling. Luis Jaramillo can present a whole character with deceptively simple sentences. Here's his description of the doctor's neighbor. "She's a blowsy sort of woman, scattered. Her husband is a real bastard." The doctor's daughter doesn't just eat carrots. "Chrissy's goal is to turn orange."

Jaramillo knows how to use language, how to hold back so that his writing shimmers in its singularity. This lovely book leaves you wanting more.

[Starry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet, gentle book is in no hurry to get anywhere. But part of its delightfulness -- each little image of the doctor's wife and her family is something to be savored. You end up feeling satisfied and almost nostalgic for someone else's past.

I'm not sure whether to call this a book of short stories or a novel -- each chapter could stand alone, but put together they form a chronological story of a family.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming story of a family told through glimpses and snippets. I can see why this author won a short story award. I could relate to the 1950's through current day family context in our local area, it takes place in Everett. Although sparse for style, I could just about picture the woods around the house, the lake, the children and Gretel the dog that almost died but lived to 24. Definitely worth my time and enjoyable as a refreshing change from what I normally read.

[Siobhan Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet novel that opens up into memoir (or does it? The reader can decide). It made me want to write down all the stories my family tell, to track down my parents, my aunts and uncles, and jot down their memories. I know that Jaramillo is skilled and talented, but his prose feel effortless; he makes the past shimmer. He creates such beauty in simple moments, and lets the reader believe that the small moments of her own life might be beautiful too.

[Kaitlyn Neighbors · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not sure what I thought about this book. I picked it up on my local Buy Nothing because it's set in my town, the town I grew up in, my dad and grandparents grew up in. I thought I might relate to the storyteller In this way as a 3rd generation Lake Stevens resident, but I didn't really. I loved when the storyteller mentioned roads I know or stores I've heard about, but the writing was a bit bland to me.

[Jan Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An out of the ordinary short story collection, each piece a very small bite of the life of the Doctor's Wife told from the viewpoints of various family members. Spanning the lives of her children in the 60's through the years of their children returning to the beautiful lakeside home, so much is told in such spare bits. Short and pleasant read.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of very short stories (ranging from just a couple of sentences to a couple of pages) about a "typical" American family. It begins in the late 1950s and goes through to today. It is the kind of writing that conveys as much by what it doesn't say as what it does. The last line of the last story sums it all up. I liked this book very much.

[Erin Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful short stories woven together...little snapshots of a family over a few decades. I love being able to dip my toe in on short tube rides or car trips and stayed up late finishing it, with a smile.

[Joel Asa Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent read. Part short story collection, part novel and part memoir, it's deceptively simple and you may find yourself tearing through it. But if you take your time you are liable to find some really lovely nuances of behaviour and relationships.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in very concise vignettes that leave a lot to the imagination, this book (novel? book of stories? memoir that includes "memories" before the author was born?) is a charming portrait of three generations of a family.

[Christopher Russell LP · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book unfolds like a dream or a ballet. The fragment revealing the whole through affect that does not know time, the space between the stories just as choreographed as the space the stories take up. Incredible.

[Natasha Hagen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If short stories are your thing, this is a great book for you. It tells the story of three generations of families, living together and growing up together.

It was easy to read and can be read in one sitting.

[Roxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaramillo displays an impressive and refreshing amount of restraint. Perhaps closer to three stars, but I must have breezed through it for a reason. And it gutted me at some points with so few words. I like that.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the style, in which information and hints coalesce across the brief chapters.

[Fran Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. I liked this book.

[Sheri Alcala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was different and unexpected. Although it was made up of several short stories it still formed a novel. I really felt like I got to know the characters. Quick read. Really enjoyable.

[David Edeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Jaramillo captures the paradox of life perfectly. Full of pleasure and family, but with a nagging foreshadow of sickness and death that must accompany it. A lovely short read.