A Case Of Needing: Serious Revisions :: essays research papers

A Case of Needing Serious RevisionsMichael Crichton has penned some of the most engaging, meterly, andthoroughly accessible tales to be published in the last cardinal years. Whathis novels lack in literary merit and distinctive style they make up for incrisp plotting and edge-of-your-seat suspense. From alien viruses to regenerateddinosaurs, from evil Japanese monoliths to the insidious maneuverings of the recent corporation, Crichton latches onto the scientific and politicalcontroversies of the day, and squeezes out of them every last ounce of shockvalue. At least, thats usually what he does.A Case Of Need could have use quite a bit more shock value. The problemis generally a matter of timing when the book came out in 1969, the moral predicamentsurrounding illegal abortions was still a hot enough topic to seem ripped fromthe headlines. Though abortion certainly remains a hot-button issue, the debatehas shifted. For the time being, at least, the argument centers on whether ornot the act should be legal, not on whether or not doctors are currentlybreaking the law by performing them.The antiquated plot line is not the storys main flaw. The biggestdrawback here is a one-two punch of highly technical prose employed to relate athoroughly dull story. Karen Randall, the daughter of an eminent physician, diesas the result of a botched abortion. Art Lee, a Chinese obstetrician, is accusedof performing the D & C that has resulted in her death. Though Lee is known tobe an abortionist, he vehemently denies any involvement in the case. Lee callsupon his friend, forensic pathologist John pluck, to pass water his name.John Berry careens back and forth from one Boston hospital to another,trying to figure out who actually performed Randalls abortion, and why itkilled her. The investigation is complicated by the fact that Randall was noteven pregnant. Slowly, a picture emerges of Randall as a freewheeling, loosewoman with several abortions in her past, and connections to some shadowyunderworld characters. Berry ultimately discovers that a drug-dealing musicianwas actually at fault for Randalls death.Why did Michael Crichton write this book? The answer seems fairlyobvious. Still fairly immersed in his health check school learnings, Crichton musthave seen it as a chance to demonstrate just how much knowledge he had gainedduring his time at Harvard. Numerous medical procedures are described in detail,supplemented by footnotes and appendices for readers not in the know.All of this technical gobbledygook turns out to be almost totallysuperfluous. Berry clears Lees name largely through old-fashioned detective