The Spirit of Want" by William H. Coles: Make Decisions Based on Wants

Humans are creatures with many layers of complexity. William H. Coles paints, in 'The Spirit of Want,” a vivid picture of how complex humans can be. Lucy MacMiel has no real love for Luke Osborne and none for her family either. She initially does not want her baby, Jennifer, and she goes a step further to abandon Jennifer and travel across the world to be with Hower Bain, the man who wrecked her career and whose unchecked wantonness cost her dearly. Luke is a surgeon and works in the same institute as Lucy’s father. He is faced with the option of “looking the other way” when things begin to go wrong or confront his father-in-law and do what is right.

The Spirit of Want is written in the third person but with different points of view. It has a steady pace and is very engrossing. It is a story of love, lust, deceit, desire, ethics, loss and disappointment. I find every aspect of the book interesting and likable. What I like most about the book are the characters; they reflect reality. The characters show how we, humans, make decisions based on wants and the urge to satisfy them irrespective of what we really need. The irony that runs through the book is something we experience in everyday life. Lucy does not love Luke even though he would do anything for her. She loathes A.J., who she sees as her adopted father, but with whom she has a lot in common. The only man she loves keeps going after every female with every given opportunity and taking a sledgehammer to her heart even when her health was failing and she needed him the most.

Lucy’s marriage to Luke happened as a byproduct of the problem she was facing. Luke was aware of her original intention but on his part, he was in love with her. Luke is the steady, understanding rock most of the characters could lean on when they needed support. Despite the heartbreak Lucy puts him through, he still helps her out several times. Lucy the main female protagonist is a woman with a forceful personality, steaming with bare passion but with hardly any love till she meets Bain. She would tolerate him in ways only Luke could tolerate her. She has a tough exterior that hides her inner insecurities, one of which is her origins. “She just didn’t believe selflessness existed in the human spirit…every human was about self.”

A.J., the father of Lucy and Elizabeth, is the character whose role portrays the misuse and abuse of power, position, and even family for financial gain. Elizabeth is saddled with the constant feeling of being second-best. She is more content with life despite the fact that she envies Lucy. She likes the simple things of life and like Luke, she has a big heart, even bigger to the point she is ready to go to any length to help Lucy. Her character is summed up in the words of her psychiatrist: “You are a good person, Elizabeth. Among the best. You are kind and selfless in ways few humans experience.”

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because it is a great story and also because it has only very minimal errors that do not affect the message and beauty of the story. I recommend the book to everyone who likes a good story. There is no gross erotic content however there is mild profanity which is kept at a minimum.