This story covers the period from 1957 to 1985, and primarily from the perspective of a woman who wants to have it all - marriage, family, career - at a time when that idea was alien and uncomfortable to many. She enters a pharmaceutical firm on the bottom rung of the sales force, but has her sights set on the top, and at no point could the reader doubt she'll achieve her objective.It's readable, good entertainment, but very long and in a tiny font. Hailey covered all the topics: love, sex, adultery, corruption, blackmail, phenomenal success. I suppose he intended this as a cautionary tale of behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the industry, the lengths to which ambitious scientists and executives might go to circumvent protective agencies. But almost 30 years after its publication, the message doesn't carry quite the same punch.Celia Jordan's character is occasionally irritating - doesn't she ever make a false move? Or, if she does, are there never any consequences? Her trajectory is, essentially, flawless. The dialogue trends toward goofy at times, and parts of the book are hokey, unbelievable. The righteous are rewarded, the evildoers are punished - those of us who live in the real world know that this is not always the case.It's OK reading, but don't feel you've missed anything if you take a pass on this one.
A fairly deep peek, for a layman, into the inner workings of the pharmaceutical industry of that era. This is the trademark of Hailey which I've enjoyed to the hilt. Books on some of the most important industrial pillars of the post WW2 era. Hailey always introduces the characters properly and indepth, which is more than what I can say about other authors I've read. It makes the characters well rounded and gives the reader the complete picture.This is also a book that projects the rise of the fairer gender into the upper echelons of the ruthless & competetive corporate world.The book gets a bit rushed towards the end when all things are gravitating towards somewhat of a disaster for the protagonist (Celia Jordan). I like the ending (as has been seen in other books of Hailey) where although one gets a feeling of things dangling without a finish, one is made to realise that the accomplishments described till the end of the book of the protagonist (and probably by extension that of the industry itself) is what the book is all about. Not to be the least, Haileys english is always immaculate and some of the words used I've never noticed in other books I've read.
Do You like book Strong Medicine (2001)?
As with any other book by Hailey, you're left with the feeling that your knowledge of a particular institution or organization has been substantially increased. The story maintains a solid pace and that too comes as no surprise.However, there is an element of artificiality in the way the characters have been presented. They are too perfectly chiseled and their imperfections if any seem to be contrived. Consequently, every action of theirs can be predicted with ease, this causes the book to lose a bit of its edge.To sum up - a page turner and worth a read. But, you wont find yourself recollecting much from this book, apart from the general storyline.
—Ashwin
Liked the strong character of Celia. How she climbs up in a male dominated industry. Good insight to the pharma industry. Never knew what all goes in there, though, it presents a very early industry scene, but in my opinion quite many things are still applicable, reason being, today's man is even more corrupt compared to so long back. There are more Lords now. So even now, before taking a medicine, I'll definitely think twice. Liked the book very much, mostly because of Celia and as a knowledge enhancer.
—Amrita Midha
I read this only because one of my yoga teachers had cited from this novel- that if you fall sick and take medicine you will get well in a week and if you don't, you will get well in 7 days. Not my usual reading preference. I read this to understand what it had to say about the pharmaceutical industry. Some interesting insights. But this book was written in the 1980s and a lot of what it said about the big pharmas are things we are more aware of now. But to give it credit, as a novel and eventually a movie, it educated the masses about the less favourable aspects of the industry and FDA. There isn't much art to this novel. Nothing striked me vividly or emotionally. The writing is too long-winded for my liking and the characters and language sometimes make me cringe as they are so cliche. The characters are so 2-D. There is just nothing that captures my imagination as a novel.
—Monica
