4 out of 4 stars
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A work of fiction, Days of the Giants by R. J. Petrella, documents the trials and triumphs of a young medical intern as he navigates family, love, and professional challenges during his internship at Boston City Hospital. It is here that he encounters corruption and greed among the city and hospital executives who ultimately plan to sell off Boston City Hospital to the highest bidder for personal gains. The narrative leads us from the first pages to an assassination. Bribery, connivance, crime, and potential for gross mismanagement of government funds, follow in quick succession.
The intern, Slater Barnes, tells the story himself. In addition, his father is also a co-protagonist even though he is dead at the time the story is told. This dynamic adds unearthly flavor to the story and makes it look like there is an angel up above, telling aspects of Slater’s story from a very loving and wise perspective. Slater starts off his medical career by asking if the practice of medicine is still a noble, self-effacing profession, or if people opt to be doctors for the financial gains alone. This question permeates the entire novel, pitching the altruist Boston City Hospital against the more mercantile Academy Hospital. The struggle to maintain the openness and welcoming nature of Boston City Hospital during the proposed take over by Academy Hospital leads Slater and his colleagues to briefly abandon medicine, love ties and personal comfort to take on militant, political roles. There is selflessness in medicine after all.
What I enjoyed most was the fact that the characters were believable. Slater has his flaws: his alcoholism, his shaky love life, and a scary medical condition, all keep his character from being idolized.
The main setting for this story is the wards, corridors, and offices of a general hospital and the reader is plunged into real descriptions of medical conditions and procedures. I was apprehensive of reading through medical procedures and conditions but it was not a gory, distasteful or off-putting experience at all. One aspect that threw me, however, was the hierarchical levels in the hospital. Just as it was difficult for the Commissioner to grasp, so it was for me the reader. I was somewhat confused who was intern, student, resident, house officer, or 'assigning'. This was difficult to comprehend despite the best intentions of the author.
This book will appeal to readers who are interested in medical dramas, and in crime stories.
The pace at which the story unfolds is quite engaging and the plot is hair-raising, right till the final arrest. There were no grammatical errors that I observed. I will rate it 4 out of 4 stars for it is beautifully written.
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Days of the Giants
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