Bitter Medicine [Import] [Paperback]

Sara Paretsky (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Paperback (April 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340935154
• ISBN-13: 978-0340935156
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.8 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Sara Paretsky is the award-winning creator of the V I Warshawski detective novels. When Sara introduced V I in Indemnity Only in 1982, she revolutionized the mystery novel. By creating a female investigator who uses her wits as well a her fists, Sara challenged a genre in which women were traditionally either vamps or victims.

V I is the quintessential urban woman. She grew up in the shadow of the old steel mills on Chicago's Southeast side and knows her way around every alley in town. She's a street fighter, a singer, a bit of a clothes horse, and a woman of great intensity and passion.

So how much like V I is her creator? They certainly come from very different places. Sara grew up in rural Kansas where she attended a two-room school. She continues to believe the high point of her life came at the age of twelve when she was picked to play third base for the Kaw Valley District 95 baseball team.

Bleeding Kansas, Sara's 14th novel, is set in the part of the Kaw River Valley where Sara grew up.

Sara first came to Chicago in 1966 to do community service work in the same neighborhood where Martin Luther King was organizing. It was a time of fierce passions in the city and in the country as people fought over racial justice, the rights and wrongs of the war in Vietnam, and women's rights. Sara has always felt that that summer changed her life forever, and when she finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas, she came back to make Chicago her home. Some of the history of that summer is recounted in her essay collection, Writing in an Age of Silence.

Like V I, Sara likes to sing, in an amateur way, has a hopeless passion for the Cubs, loves Italian shoes'and is obsessed by the search for the perfect cappuccino, so much so that she even went to cappuccino school.

In other academic ventures, Sara received a PhD in American History and an MBA from the University of Chicago. In 1976, she married physics professor Courtenay Wright. The two live in the city of Chicago with their wonder dog Callie. Their lives are made brighter by their adored granddaughter, Maia.

Sara shares V I's passion for social justice. She founded Sisters in Crime in 1986 to support women readers and writers in the mystery world. To give back to the community, Paretsky established the Sara and Two C-Dogs Foundation, which primarily supports girls and women in the arts, letters, and sciences. She has endowed several scholarships at the University of Kansas, and has mentored students in Chicago's inner city schools. She serves on the advisory boards of Literature for All of Us, a literacy group for teen moms, and Thresholds, which serves Chicago's mentally-ill homeless.

Sara has received numerous awards, including the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime achievement from the British Crime Writers Association, the Gold Dagger for best novel for her book Blacklist, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from several different universities. Sara's books have been translated into almost thirty languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Reissue, June 7, 1999

By 

N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bitter Medicine (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book back in 1988 when it was first published. Having forgotten this, I purchased this newly reissued edition. I really wish publishers would make it clear right up front (on the cover) that these books have been previously published. This is a good story, but not worth reading a second time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Partially spoiled by later books in the series, January 27, 2011

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bitter Medicine: A V.I. Warshawski Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

It's not all that big a deal, but there is one element in this book that will alert those who have read later books that something's going to happen to one specific important character.As noted by another reviewer, Sara Paretsky does use this book to strongly express her pro-choice views. I don't mean to be critical by pointing this out, but strong anti-abortionists will likely be made angry by this book.That said, this is one of the weaker books in the series. If you are a fan of V. I. Warshawski, then by all means read this one. But if you're not a strong fan, or haven't yet read any in the series, I suggest starting with one of her other books such as the first, INDEMNITY ONLY.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, March 4, 2005

By 

ruth (anna, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bitter Medicine (Mass Market Paperback)

While it is clear that Paretsky used the story to pontificate around the abortion issue, the story was not (in my opinion) held hostage by her views. Of course, she must have known that those who hold opposing views might be somewhat derailed by her machinations. Apparently she felt it was a risk worth taking. For my part, the story was entertaining and amusing. There were sufficeint plot twists and turns, a romantic interlude, loveable yet annoying characters... all the stuff that makes us enjoy V.I. This is what I call hot-fudge-sundae fiction. I read it for its entertainment value--not intellectual nutrition. YUM!