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This book strips away a lot of the glamour from the medical profession. Many people view being a doctor as a series of glorious triumphs, saving one life after another, and earning the respect and adulation of those around you, along with making a great deal of money. Television shows like Grey’s Anatomy and ER depict the medical profession as mostly beautiful people having romantic relationships with each other. Murray’s depiction of the daily grind of being a doctor is about as far away from the shiny Hollywood depiction as you can get.
The title of the book comes from a couple of short anecdotes in the book that illustrate just how gross working as a doctor can be. “The Apron” refers to the bellies of morbidly obese patients, which hang down over their waists. Often individuals with large quantities of stomach fat find it impossible to wash underneath their tummies and must therefore go to a hospital to be properly cleaned. I will not list the disgusting substances that can be found under “the apron” because I do not want to put anybody off reading this unique memoir. As for “Napoleon’s Hat,” I will not explain the details of that bizarre story for the same reason, except to say that once someone leans about people’s eyebrow-raising habits, one will never forget this anecdote, no matter how hard one tries.
A few portions of the book could use some polishing, and perhaps a little more information is needed to really understand why Murray made the career choices that he did, but all things considered, this is a very entertaining read, and Murray paints a particularly intriguing picture of himself. While it makes for a good book, The Apron and Napoleon’s Hat also has the potential to make for a very entertaining one-man show, as a skilled character actor could have a field day with a monologue about the humor of life in the medical profession.
I give this book three out of four stars.
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