4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
R.J. Petrella through Days of The Giants lets the readers see the cogs in a machine that is the world of public and private hospitals. The theme of the book is that, if the administration of an institution has too much power, excessive bureaucracy and corruption ensue. Although the author claims that the book is a work of fiction, I'd suspect the theme isn't too far from the truth. There was a Boston City Hospital, and it merged with another private hospital. The author himself also worked as a physician in Boston.
The main protagonist of the story is Slater Barnes who, despite his problems, has succeeded in becoming an internist/physician in Boston City Hospital, or City for short. Through the lens of Slater and his deceased father, we can see the day-to-day activities inside the public hospital. The next-door competitor, Academy Hospital, while having a close affiliation with City, has priorities different from those of City. It's easy to describe the two hospitals as incompatible. The stark contrast makes the idealistic Slater nauseate when he witnesses the inner workings of Academy, which prides itself on its gaudy facade. Despite such differences, the top administration of the two institutions conspires to facilitate a merger. The merger essentially dissolves the City's identity and takes away the hospital's autonomy. The integration negatively affects everyone at City, including the patients. Slater and his colleagues and friends then go on to fight against the takeover.
The dual narrative voices, one of Slater and the other of his deceased father, are immensely engaging. For one thing, they show two complementary perspectives of Slater. In particular, the father's narrative provides the background and reasoning for Slater's actions, sometimes even unbeknown to Slater. Moreover, the father's narrative allows the readers to take a peek at other characters and events around Slater. This insight provides us with hints surrounding the crimes as well as a deeper understanding of the relationship between Slater and the other characters. As a result, the book achieves a healthy balance between story development and character development.
Petrella also does an outstanding job of transcribing the chaotic scenes of City's accident floor. It feels as though I'm working side-by-side Slater. We're trying to detect the fatal health issues of the patient lying in front of us and fervently discussing with the medical team the best treatment to prevent the countdown clock of their life from running exponentially faster. This portrayal of City allows me to see the polarizing images of the two hospitals, and so propels me to sympathize with the protagonists even more.
The few typos in the book are insignificant in comparison with the vivid images and the gripping storyline. For the above reasons, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I'd recommend Days of the Giants to anyone interested in a mix of drama, crime, mystery, politics, action, romance, as well as to anyone who is going into a medical career.
******
Days of the Giants
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
