Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Law of Similars, by Chris Bohjalian


Chris Bohjalian has quickly become one of my favorite authors, ever since L introduced me to his writing. The Law of Similars is one of his older novels (published in 1999) and doesn't possess the surprise ending all of his newer novels are known for, but I still enjoyed it quite a lot and learned a great deal about alternative medicine while I was at it. 

Carissa Lake is a homeopath, healing her patients under the belief that "like cures like." One of her patients, Leland, is a lawyer who can't kick a cold, and while he heals under Carissa's care, he also falls in love with her. Another of her patients, Richard, is an asthmatic with allergies, but his story ends rather differently as he suddenly has a severe allergic reaction and falls into a coma. 

Things get tangled fairly quickly when Carissa is blamed for Richard's sudden downfall, putting Leland in a precarious (and unethical) position as his law firm handles the case while he tries to cover up his relationship with the homeopath. 

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