The Doctor's House

by Ann Beattie

An impeccable ear for language, an eye for the smallest shifts in the cultural landscape, and a preternatural understanding of motivation and behavior—Ann Beattie's renowned storytelling abilities are on dazzling display in The Doctor’s House .

The story opens on Nina, who should have better things to do than to track her brother Andrew's sexual escapades. Since her husband's tragic death, she has become solitary and defensive—and as compulsive about her brother as he is about sex.

When the first movement ends, the melody is taken up by their mother. New shadows and new light fall on Nina's account as painful secrets of life in the house of their father, the doctor's house, emerge. In the dramatic third movement, Andrew gives us his perspective, and as Beattie takes us into his mind, there is the suggestion that Nina is less innocent and less detached than she maintains.

Through subtle shifts, The Doctor's House chronicles the fictions three people fabricate in order to interpret, to justify, or simply to survive their lives. "Few novelists are more adept at creating fictional atmospheres that eerily simulate the texture of everyday life" ( The Washington Post).

Genres: Fiction, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Ann Beattie (born September 8, 1947) is an American short story writer and novelist. She has received an award for excellence from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and a PEN/Bernard Malamud Award for excellence in the short story form. Her work has been compared to that of Alice Adams, J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, and John Updike. She holds an undergraduate degree from American University and a masters degree from the University of Connecticut.

Reviews

[payam Mohammadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

در قسمت کامنت‌های گودریدز برای این کتاب نوشته بودند که سانسور زیاد داره. با این پیش زمینه همزمان با خوندن این کتاب نسخه انگلیسی رو هم نگاه می کردم و با اطمینان می تونم بگم که نهایتا نیم صفحه سانسور داره و نمی دونم که دوستان از کجا فهمیده بودند که این کتاب دچار سانسور زیادی شده!!!
لازمه این نکته رو هم اضافه کنم که ترجمه تقریبا بی‌نقص و تقریبا دقیق بود
این اولین کتابی بود که از این مترجم خوندم و اگه ترجمه‌های قبلیش اینطور بوده باشه حقیقتا باید بهشون خسته نباشید گفت.
درباره کتاب می‌خوام مطلبی بنویسم و سعی می کنم اسپویل نکنم
این کتاب زندگی خانوده‌ای رو از دید دختر خانواده(نینا)، مادر و پسر خانواده(اندرو) روایت می‌کنه
و بالطبع اتفاقات مشترکی هستش که از دید این سه نفر و با روایت خودشون نقل میشه که در نگاه اول رمان رو جذاب می کنه وقتی بخوایی بدونی یک اتفاق از نظر چند بیننده و راوی چقدر می تونه فرق داشته باشه
نکته منفی که در این نوع روایت هستش اینه که زیاد به شخصیت راوی ها و سرنوشت شون نمی پردازه و صرفا به اتفاقات مشترک و روایتشان از دید این راوی ها می پردازه
به شخصه زندگی نینا خیلی برام گیراتر بود و اگه راوی کل داستان نینا می بود خیلی بهتر می بود.
در کل رمان خوبی هستش و ارزش یک بار خوندن رو داره

[امیر · Rating 4 out of 5]

به پیشنهاد پرسنل باغ کتابخریدمش بدونه هیچ پیش زمینه ای. راضی بودم ازش درمجموع کتاب خوبی بود با صحبتای عمیق ذهنی.
سبک نویسنده روان و محکم بود که بیشتر مردونه میکرد متن را.

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one reminds me somewhat of The Corrections in that different sections provide the unvarnished outlooks of different people in a family. The main difference is that Beattie’s characters are in worse shape, psychologically, than my memory of Franzen's.

The narrative begins with Nina, a freelance copyeditor who has mostly withdrawn from life following the untimely death of her young husband. She worries to the point of obsession over her womanizing brother Andrew, with whom she retains an unusually close relationship due to the fact that they'd needed each other to survive the hostile family situation of their childhood. There's a comparatively short middle section devoted to their mother, which brings to mind the Molly Bloom soliloquy in Ulysses. Andrew then closes out the story by revealing that his myriad social encounters are far less titillating than others might imagine.

I haven't decided whether my preference for the Nina section is due to the fact that I recognize something of myself in her. Also, I appreciate her observations, such as, "Making friends with your girlfriends is a bit like befriending a snowman when the sun is peeking through the clouds." The mother is authentic in that she reminds me of certain older women I've known, but she's so unappealing that I might have been predisposed to also dislike Andrew by the time the focus got to him.

Regardless of whether any of these characters are likeable, they are all helplessly stuck in the past. Andrew's practice of reconnecting with girls he'd known in high school is probably symbolic of what his sister and mother are doing as well. The sadistic father/husband referred to in the title pretty much wrecked all their lives. (We never get his point of view, but that's just as well.) On the other hand, from what we can see, characters outside the family are hardly paragons of normalcy either. They may be competent at what they do professionally, but (with the exception of Nina's dead husband) I think it's safe to say that everyone in this book is seriously screwed up.

I should mention in closing that I used to know Ann Beattie. She taught a writing course I was in back in 1976, and we stayed in touch for a few years thereafter. I used to read all her books as they came out, and saw a progression in them toward what I'll call greater maturity, for lack of a better word. This is the first title of hers I've read in more than a decade. In terms of providing motivation and character development, it could hardly be better. A lot of people writing today could benefit from building those strengths. On the other hand, I wish it had been possible to find a more redemptive angle in presenting this situation.

[ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither the tone nor story possessed a lot of ups or downs, making it in and of itself feel very reliable. Plain. Matter of Fact. I appreciate the different perspectives, for being in Nina's head the entire time would have been a bit of a bore. I wish I could have cut scenes involving the doctor in half, if not out entirely. The absence of specifics wouldn't have diminished the trauma and numbness that was later conveyed in adulthood.

This was very morose, melancholy, and every character was helplessly stuck in the past. Although I didn't particularly enjoy reading this book, there was certainly something to be said about it. An interesting read that left me feeling both weighted and absently light at the same time.

"We both loved Mac for his practicality. We loved him because we saw that he was naive, to think there was always a way for people to get help."

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty damn fantastic. The first third would almost make a great novella in itself, though the second two parts are definitely needed. Three separate characters (daughter, mother, son) discussing the same basic set of circumstances (namely the two children's upbringing, retrospectively) in first person. THIS is what first person was meant for, and I wish more (mostly young/contemporary/hip) writers would realize this, is to allow a character to speak about him/herself and others with an unwarranted authority, which the reader can quickly or else gradually discern is unwarranted. We first realize that Nina isn't really/exactly what she says she is, and her mother's section corroborates this. (Third person wouldn't allow this discrepancy between narrator reader.) The second / mother's section is probably the weakest, maybe because she's a less interesting character, or maybe because it seems somewhat as if Beattie is doing some work to refute what we "think we know" about Nina. It's the shortest section, though, and it's still great, and when things switch to brother Andrew's perspective, we're back to a fascinating, touching, and insightful character's POV (also possessive of a somewhat skewed self-image). Beattie really knows how to paint a portrait of a household. If anything's wrong with the book it's that the father (the titular doctor) is somewhat of a monster, though I can't fully say he wasn't believable. Not subtle, though. We don't get his POV, and that's probably a good thing, as giving us that would have been too easy, but as a result he comes off as the definite Bad Guy, or cause of all things bad. Sort of. Anyway, I will absolutely read this again, as soon as I've read a bunch more Beattie.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another recommended author from the list. I'd heard Beattie's name before but had never read anything. She's good, and it's always so satisfying to find new women authors to read; it bothers me that there aren't many women singers that I really like, and I'm so glad that isn't the case with books.

The Doctor's House has a Rashomon-type structure: we get the POV of the sister, the mother, and the brother, and through reading the different sections we see the lies and delusions of each character. Of course, the actual truth is something impossible to know completely, but it's safe to say that their family is quite a bit more dysfunctional than most. It's a book about crippling fear and disappointment, and the way those feelings destroy lives. Well done.

[Faranak Manavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان‌هایی که با موضوعیت ثابت از نقطه نظر چند شخص مختلف تعریف می‌شوند همیشه برای شخص من جذابیت داشته‌اند و خانه‌ی پزشک یکی از همین داستان‌هاست که زندگی یک خانواده را از منظر سه نفر از اعضای خانواده تعریف میکند.

یکی از نکاتی که در خواندن این کتاب باید به آن توجه کرد حجم بالای موارد سانسوری است، که مترجم در رد کردن خیلی از این نکات از فیلتر ارشاد موفق بوده است.
ولی در کل نسخه اصلی کتاب قطعا پیشنهاد بهتری است چون واضحا تعدادی از نکات مهم داستان در میان همین سانسورها گم شده است.

[Deepest Darkest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me ache. The entire text was littered with recurring relationships that should have abandoned by the protagonists long ago. One needs a past to form self-identity, and it takes a level of delusion to strip away its shame.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ann Beattie is an enormously talented writer.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way Ann Beattie writes, especially her short stories, but this novel felt like it had too many loose ends and periphery characters. Would have liked a section told from the perspective of "The Doctor" on his deathbed to find out if he'd have felt any remorse at the end or if he was a completely despicable character incapable of redemption. The bits about Andrew reuniting with his high school love interests seemed tangential and distracting. Was drawn in by Nina's story but, for me, the other two sections were less compelling.

[Natania · Rating 3 out of 5]

What risks this novel takes! Though I gave it only three stars, I find it remarkable. Little is dramatized, everything is narrated, and the three narrators are fairly ordinary people who are articulate but in no way literary. In other words, the sentences and words don't give aesthetic pleasure, nor do the characters excite sympathy. But the book is resonating and resonating in the aftermath of the not-so-pleasurable reading experience, because it is so well constructed, so canny, so psychologically complex and insightful, and so subtle in its condemnations of family life. Worth reading.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book 280 pages, it took me forever to plunder my way through this one. The writing was good, the story was horrific. None of the characters were likable, their stories were uninteresting, and I didn't care about any of them. I, do, however, feel Nina's story should have been last, not first. Although nothing happened to any of them worth discussing, so I guess the point is moot. As was this book.

[ح جیمی · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان درباره ی یک خانواده ی پر تنش و آثار این تنش ها بر روی فرزندان است. گویا سه راوی خواهر، برادر و مادر در یک جلسه ی روانکاوی به شرح زندگی خود پرداخته اند
.
موضوع جالبی بود.توجه به جزئیات و توصیف دقیق اونها قابل ستایش بود اما به نظرم ترجمه بعضی جاها روان نبود. در ضمن به نظر می رسه کتاب از سانسور زیادی برخوردار شده.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t get into this. It looked to be a grim story told from the perspective of three family members whose narratives contradict and inform each other, which is a cool writing device, this one just wasn’t clicking for me.

From Giovanni’s Secret to The Doctor’s House by way of a possessive title.

[ColumbusReads · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

dreadful

[Ani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful , I wasn’t able to stay focused.

[Michelle Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had tons of potential....got a POV from three main characters and then.....poof it ended. Meh!

[Foad · Rating 2 out of 5]

مثه سگ سانسور شده! مثه سگ! اگه میخواید بخونید نسخه ی اصلیشو بخونین. حس میکنم اگه توی تایم مناسبی از زندگیم بخونمش بیشتر دوسش خواهم داشت. مثلا حوالی چهل سالگی

[Ali Farhadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting novel about one time and in three aspects.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been shopping for Anne Beattie works. I came across this GR book title that I’d forgot altogether. My what terrible reviews, maybe i missed this, i looked at the folded jacket description and it hinted at the subject matter. Ann Beattie’s DNA was in this novel with vivid details and character development.

I remember some sections of the book vividly as a Post-911 much grittier than normal Beattie read. This is very bleak, depressing or deep in part, but also hard to put down. I also remember a big chunk of the concept was around writing the same experience from three different people and looping the story together, a common writing exercise.

In a few days I forged through the novel as usual enjoying the quirky Beattie characters wanting to get to the ending. And the ending hit hard and you get to draw your own conclusion on the events and characters. Admittedly this is not the ending i wanted as a reader, but i experienced a full reader closure, which is rare, i could deconstruct the ending and the main charcters back to the beginning pages of the novel.

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A three-part perspective book that shows us the very different takes on occurrences within a dysfunctional doctor's family. First we see things through the eyes of Nina, the widowed daughter. The last section gives us Andrew, the single son's point of view. Most interesting for me was the middle section - seen through the mother/wife's eyes.

A slow read at times, but generally good. Structurally, I would have put the mom's section last, as it tied things together - merging the past and present. I understand the point the author was trying to get across by not including a section for the Doctor's view, but I think the story suffered for its absence.

[Raymond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Ann Beattie piece that I have read, and I feel that I should have picked up one of her other works instead. Much of the book was a series of flashbacks to the characters' earlier times, with much of it seaming like stream of consciousness. As I was reading it, I did not really connect with either of the three characters and felt that each of their parts simply ended randomly. To be honest, I wanted to stop reading it, but I try to always trudge through in case of some wonderful finale. Sadly, this one didn't have one.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has been told before. Tyrannical father, distant mother, grown-up children dealing with the consequences of this upbringing. The mother gets a chance to defend herself. Her relationship with her mother was also difficult. The father has no say and so his immediate dismissal of his son has no background. If the father were fleshed out the author may have had something to say but as told this was pretty ordinary. I used to really like this author but one of us has changed

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. Whatever shocking things the characters were supposed to be revealing turned out to be anti-climaxes.

Also, there was an incident in which one character learns a past partner may have AIDS, and instead of just getting tested, they find the past partner to see if that person has AIDS. When the book was written, in the late 90's or early 00's, the author should have known that is not a very certain method.

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressing is an understatement. This book consists of three sections, each narrated by a different character from this very dysfunctional family. There is no purpose to any section, they ramble from one topic to the next and each ends randomly. I was left wondering what happened? What was I supposed to get from the story?

[Ty Powers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably should have read some of Beattie's short stories first. I found the story disappointing; oddly, it was difficult to empathize with any of the characters. I found myself wishing for character development along the lines of Anne Tyler.

[Patricia Joynton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina and Andrew grow up in the dysfunctional "Doc's House." Alcoholic mother overbearing, abusive father Andrew, all grown up, looks back, making appts with all the girls be knew. Sex-addict Nina isolates herself and takes care of her brother.

[SraPanadera · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were interesting enough and the writing is fantastic, but other than that there a multiple perspectives to every past, I failed to find any point whatsoever for reading this book. It draws you in and then, when you finish, makes you realize you just utterly wasted your evening.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B Very interesting and engaging, but the changing of POV was not my fave thing

[lbh. · Rating 2 out of 5]

i think my ann beattie kick is officially over. i was looking for another _chilly scenes of winter_, but: sigh. no such.