The Finneal Solution (by Alan M Bold)

(Amazon UK link)

This is a bit of an unusual review, in that it’s a brand new book, only published a few days ago, but I have been reading it - or bits of it - for several years. That’s because it was written by my father, Alan M Bold. We helped him to self-publish his autobiography, ‘Scenes from the life of a lucky man’ a couple of years ago, and have just done the same for ‘The Finneal Solution’.

This is not the kind of book I would normally read. It’s a kind of medical thriller set perhaps a decade or so in the future, based in the UK. The idea is that, after the reign of the current monarch, the country decides to have an elected president rather than a royal figurehead as head of state. And the elected president is a businessman who has not previously been in politics.

That might sound like something that already happened in another, rather larger country which never had a monarch anywhere… but this president, Sir Alexander Pritchard, is a respected academic. He is very intelligent and outspoken, and everyone believes him to be ‘a man of his word’. Not everyone likes him, and some of his proposed laws are draconian. However, he insists that he respects the opinions of the people. So every new law, major or minor, is put to the public vote. Not in a time-consuming paper referendum each time, but with simple (monitored, and apparently fool-proof) clicks of mobile phones.

The main character of the book, who narrates most of the story, is a young and idealistic doctor called Maurice Barkham. He is in his thirties, already respected in his field. We first meet him on a plane, irritated because his boss has called him back from a proposed holiday on essential business. He has an enjoyable mild flirtation with one of the cabin crew, in which we learn something of his personality and background, and then he’s on his way to see the ‘Prof’ to find out what’s going on…

I knew the plot when I read the book through again last week, prior to publication. I was proof-reading, but also checking for inconsistencies and continuity errors, so I had to read it for the story as well as for the grammar and punctuation. And despite knowing what was coming, I found it gripping. The writing is good, the main characters believable and likeable. Maurice Barkham has his flaws - he likes to drink rather more than is healthy, for instance, and he’s quite impatient. But his empathy for the disadvantaged shines through; he’s a dedicated and caring doctor who would love to heal everyone.

The President wants Maurice to do something he’s not comfortable about. But he agrees, since refusal would lead to negative consequences. So he chooses what he doesn’t want for the sake of a greater good, but already the President’s glitter is starting to fade; he’s clearly not just outspoken but quite manipulative too.

It’s not a long book but there’s plenty of action, including a couple of quite shocking scenes, narrated in the third person, which I found quite disturbing the first time I read them. Yet they’re necessary for the storyline, as an extra viewpoint. These scenes mean that this would be rated ‘15’ at least if it were a film, possibly even 18 (depending on how it was done). There’s also a low-key romance, and a couple of ‘adult’ scenes, but they don’t have any gratuitous detail.

Perhaps I’m biased but I liked the book very much. Some of the medical jargon went a little over my head; but as my father was a consultant doctor himself before retiring, I'm sure the medical aspects are realistic. There are rather more descriptive passages than I would choose, too - mostly about what people are wearing, or what they are eating and drinking at the time - but I gather that's not uncommon in this genre.

Much more importantly, though, 'The Finneal Solution' contains much that is thought-provoking. Can ‘democracy’ ever be truly democratic? How far might a president or other leader go in trying to persuade people to follow their beliefs and ideas? How do we balance the economic good of society with the need to support and help those who need the most health care and other support….? These questions aren’t answered; but they are hightly relevant to today’s society, currently in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.

Due to postal restrictions the paperback edition of the book can be some weeks in delivery from Amazon, but there’s also a Kindle edition, which was free for the first week week and now available inexpensively.

Definitely recommended, if you want something a little different.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews