Ronald Dwinnells’ book is a tale of two people, Jack Maizel and Mildred Dixon. They are very different and most unlikely to encounter each other in everyday life, so when they come together in the book when Mildred enters the hospital where Jack is training, their having to deal with each other is at the core of the novel.
Jack is a disillusioned medical student. He has the ability but he lacks the drive, feeling that his choice of profession is one that his parents desire and so, his heart just isn’t in it. As a result, he is surly and dispirited and this comes across in his bedside manner, despite the cheerful and positive guidance of fellow medical student, Ahgri who tries his best to encourage Jack but with little headway. It doesn’t help that Jack has a disregard for authority either.
When Jack meets Mildred, he encounters someone who is not prepared to deal with his lack of compassion and despite her own difficulties, contrives to teach him a lesson and sets him on a quest. In this, it is a redemption story, where Jack resists the positive influences in his life until he is given an epiphany and shown that things could be very different for him if he only gave himself and others a chance.
Mildred is older and has lived a solo life, not wholly through choice. We learn about her loss in flashbacks, the war depriving her of that which she loved. Mildred is strong in the face of this and has strength of spirit; however, there is the idea that part of her is missing, a part that she would love to regain once more.
Dwinnells’ story develops well throughout. The dialogue between Mildred and Jack is one of the strengths of the book, showing the progression of their relationship as Jack softens and realises that the world is not against him and becomes vulnerable before Mildred, despite his initial resistance.
The quest that Jack takes on leads him to a different view, taking him out of his, in many ways, privileged life to offer perspective and the chance to mature. Dwinnells shows that despite his bluff and rude exterior, Jack, with the right guidance and input, will thrive.
The book’s ending is satisfying, albeit prompting mixed emotions but is ultimately optimistic, for Jack and choices he may make.
Scuffed Granny 