4 out of 4 stars
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The author t of Days of the Giants is RJ Petrella , a physician, research scientist and writer in Boston. He practices emergency medicine. He carries out research in computational biophysics. He has written a number of scientific articles and op-eds, This is his first novel.
A father tells the story of his son from the beyond. The story begins with a young resident being brutally attacked one night outside a cafe. This is a significant part of the story which will play a big role in the son’s life. The setting is the early 1990's.
Slater Barnes starts studying to become a doctor, even though he has mixed feelings about doctors and the medical practice. He starts his internship at City Hospital in Boston, a very demanding teaching hospital. Slater has a drinking problem and discovered he had an aneurysm in his brain, which was inoperable. He chose not to share any of this information with his family or friends. He gets his drinking under control until a tragedy in his life causes him to briefly relapse. During all this the conflict between the Boston hospitals intensifies and forces him to make some hard decisions and to stand up for what is right.
A part in the book where Slater talks about his dad and his dad said to him “we understand who we are a lot better if we understand who we are not” really stuck with me and moved me. Days of the Giants is a very deep and touching book. The love that a son and father have for each other can even overcome death. I also like how Slater overcame his drinking problem. I admire his strength and courage to overcome difficult times and situations. There wasn’t anything I did not like about this book.
The author made the book interesting by adding different scenarios of emergency scenes in a hospital and how interns and hospital staff handle such situations. It was very detailed and informative. The author has great writing skills and I like that he has knowledge of medicine. Days of the Giants captured me right from the beginning until the end. I greatly enjoyed reading it.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The few errors in the book did not hinder the flow and enjoyment of reading the book. This book is a very nice read for anyone from a young adult. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy medical dramas and thrillers. The book has a hint of politics in it. There are some violent scenes.
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Days of the Giants
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