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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
My first medical thriller!
I really enjoyed the main character! Jack of all trades and revieling more and more of himself as we go along. Really interesting.
I was a little worried the cast would be too big for this to be listened on audio but the narrator did a great job.
The progression of the investigation and sleuthing was very structured and clear, I appreciate that very much. I kinda hoped we would be taken to the courtroom, the author new how to persuade my thinking and expect a certain outcome.
And true to the genre the big revelation happens and all is made clear. With a huge side of drama. Great fun!
I also appreciate the author's chosen subject matter - abortion - as the main issue.
I really enjoyed the main character! Jack of all trades and revieling more and more of himself as we go along. Really interesting.
I was a little worried the cast would be too big for this to be listened on audio but the narrator did a great job.
The progression of the investigation and sleuthing was very structured and clear, I appreciate that very much. I kinda hoped we would be taken to the courtroom, the author new how to persuade my thinking and expect a certain outcome.
And true to the genre the big revelation happens and all is made clear. With a huge side of drama. Great fun!
I also appreciate the author's chosen subject matter - abortion - as the main issue.
Unrealistic plot....too much medical jargon made it read like a nonfiction book
trashy, fun, early med school-era crichton showing off his medical knowledge and exploring abortion issues through a salacious medial/crime tale set in '60s boston. unlikeable main character, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
This book was downright amazing! The depiction of a real life doctor is the most accurate thing given the fact that the author himself is one. I learned a lot of medical terminologies and facts from this book plus everything was perfectly planned, I didn’t see the ending nor the spine of the case right away since its done very subtly! There was a lot to unpack bout the ending cos it happened so damn fast but it all made sense you’d literally say “OHHH” and proceeds on puzzling every piece. The book itself is also controversial. It tackles Abortion. I personally think abortion should be legal and accessible to everyone, if that were the case then nobody should’ve been accused here but hey, who knows what caused her death
There are two prominent creases in the spine of this book because for the most part, I read it in three long sittings. That seems to happen a lot with Crichton & me; two is a coincidence, three is a pattern, and this is his third work that I have read.
I'm still surprised it was one of the first things he ever wrote, and I had to keep reminding myself that this was written by a med student, and in 1968 to boot. Then he uses the word "Negro" consistently to describe one of the two black characters (neither of whom are very flatteringly portrayed, Dr. Crichton) and I would suddenly remember.
I have to say that I did not know that this was going to be about abortion when I picked it up. Then the title and date published both *clicked* when they started talking about the procedure and doctors who performed them safely. And then suddenly when the conflict enters: girl dies from botched D&C, I'm like "oh, duh." I guess I originally thought it was going to be an old person being euthanized during surgery or something, and it turned out to be at the patient's request in the end.
The Catch-22 is that there is no way the doc they arrested is guilty, but they can't prove that without admitting to the fact that he does safe, inexpensive abortions all the time. He wouldn't have done the procedure on someone four months along, he never charges more than the lab fees, etc. (And only performs them on a case-by-case basis for girls who would otherwise leave his office and wander down a back alley anyway. I actually really admired this doc.)
It was very interesting to read this, a 1968 novel by a male medical student at Harvard, as a fairly feminist college girl in 2014. I have never known a time without Roe v. Wade, but this was written five years before the case hit the Supreme Court. It comes off as "progressive for its time," instead of just "dated," and argues the same stats that have been around for the past forty years- keep it safe and rare. Much like a fox caught in a trap will consider chewing of its own leg, a girl in trouble will just find an alternate option (knitting needles are mentioned) and could very well die. The appendices were short, relevant, and very interesting. There is also a quick publisher's note that they removed the description of how LSD is synthesized (darn!).
I also really appreciated that it was written in first-person, and there was actual ~character development.~ It is striking that this is supposedly Crichton’s first published work (under a pseudonym) (I don't really count the John Lange novels, do you?) when I actually think it is written much better than Jurassic Park and The Lost World (1990 and 1995, respectively). As much as I adore dinosaurs, those last two would just name an adult male with a generic name (read: middle-aged and white!), and I kept picturing the same bland guy over and over again unless he had a last name like “Wu.” Or, if I happened to know that the guy was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the film adaptation. Maybe the first-person narration in A Case of Need added to this- it was a person’s narration, not an omniscient perspective that selectively told us the other characters’ thoughts.
Stephen King is quoted on the back as "I love anything Michael Crichton writes, but his early medical thrillers have been favorites of mine." However, I couldn't dig up any other "medical" thrillers outside of Andromeda Strain, which I GUESS counts. More mysteries please! More medicine and bio, less technical shtuff! I'm reading Andromeda Strain soon, I think. Next, "Next."
I'm still surprised it was one of the first things he ever wrote, and I had to keep reminding myself that this was written by a med student, and in 1968 to boot. Then he uses the word "Negro" consistently to describe one of the two black characters (neither of whom are very flatteringly portrayed, Dr. Crichton) and I would suddenly remember.
I have to say that I did not know that this was going to be about abortion when I picked it up. Then the title and date published both *clicked* when they started talking about the procedure and doctors who performed them safely. And then suddenly when the conflict enters: girl dies from botched D&C, I'm like "oh, duh." I guess I originally thought it was going to be an old person being euthanized during surgery or something, and it turned out to be at the patient's request in the end.
The Catch-22 is that there is no way the doc they arrested is guilty, but they can't prove that without admitting to the fact that he does safe, inexpensive abortions all the time. He wouldn't have done the procedure on someone four months along, he never charges more than the lab fees, etc. (And only performs them on a case-by-case basis for girls who would otherwise leave his office and wander down a back alley anyway. I actually really admired this doc.)
It was very interesting to read this, a 1968 novel by a male medical student at Harvard, as a fairly feminist college girl in 2014. I have never known a time without Roe v. Wade, but this was written five years before the case hit the Supreme Court. It comes off as "progressive for its time," instead of just "dated," and argues the same stats that have been around for the past forty years- keep it safe and rare. Much like a fox caught in a trap will consider chewing of its own leg, a girl in trouble will just find an alternate option (knitting needles are mentioned) and could very well die. The appendices were short, relevant, and very interesting. There is also a quick publisher's note that they removed the description of how LSD is synthesized (darn!).
I also really appreciated that it was written in first-person, and there was actual ~character development.~ It is striking that this is supposedly Crichton’s first published work (under a pseudonym) (I don't really count the John Lange novels, do you?) when I actually think it is written much better than Jurassic Park and The Lost World (1990 and 1995, respectively). As much as I adore dinosaurs, those last two would just name an adult male with a generic name (read: middle-aged and white!), and I kept picturing the same bland guy over and over again unless he had a last name like “Wu.” Or, if I happened to know that the guy was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the film adaptation. Maybe the first-person narration in A Case of Need added to this- it was a person’s narration, not an omniscient perspective that selectively told us the other characters’ thoughts.
Stephen King is quoted on the back as "I love anything Michael Crichton writes, but his early medical thrillers have been favorites of mine." However, I couldn't dig up any other "medical" thrillers outside of Andromeda Strain, which I GUESS counts. More mysteries please! More medicine and bio, less technical shtuff! I'm reading Andromeda Strain soon, I think. Next, "Next."
Not a bad mystery. Not my usual go to read but it was free and I like the author. There were just enough plot twists to keep me guessing despite the overall slow pace of the novel.
This is quite an intelligent discourse on abortion, and worth reading whichever side of the issue you're one.
This is just a thinly veiled treatise on the ethics of abortion. Written before Roe v Wade and it did not age well. Crichton/Hudson still uses the word "Negro" and there is not a single female doctor. I was hoping for a book more like Verghrse's Cutting for Stone or Patel's The Night Theater - beautiful fiction that just happens to be in a medical setting. This whole book seemed to be written for the express purpose of showing that the author is a fancy doctor, and he knows fancy things and fancy people. Congrats.
The way he talks about the "clientele" at the hospitals is appalling. The hospital that serves lower income areas is nicknamed "Shit" something or other. All the doctors are white, rich, and expect people to bend over backwards for them. The few characters of color are corpses who died in terrible ways and make brief appearances on the autopsy table. One is a prostitute who was shot, left in the gutter, and was bitten by rats while she lay there. Totally not relevant to the plot. Just there to add some ambiance of black violence. Her death isn't investigated at all. She's just briefly mentioned as backdrop and then the characters go back to investigating the death of the Respectable White Woman.
Also, in what universe do doctors place IVs on patients in the middle of the night in the ED? That's a nurses job. I would love it if my resident came to place and replace IVs on my combative patient that keeps pulling them out. I think the only thing I actually saw a nurse *do* in this book is place shock blocks under someone's feet. I know it was written in a different time, but those OG nurses knew a lot, and they certainly did more than place blocks under people's feet. Like I said the book didn't age well. And it was seemingly written by a douche.
DND at 30%
Spoilers:
By 20% we already know that the patient died from anaphylaxis, not blood loss. The remaining mystery is who the doctor was and whether or not the patient was actually pregnant. But I found myself not caring.
.
The way he talks about the "clientele" at the hospitals is appalling. The hospital that serves lower income areas is nicknamed "Shit" something or other. All the doctors are white, rich, and expect people to bend over backwards for them. The few characters of color are corpses who died in terrible ways and make brief appearances on the autopsy table. One is a prostitute who was shot, left in the gutter, and was bitten by rats while she lay there. Totally not relevant to the plot. Just there to add some ambiance of black violence. Her death isn't investigated at all. She's just briefly mentioned as backdrop and then the characters go back to investigating the death of the Respectable White Woman.
Also, in what universe do doctors place IVs on patients in the middle of the night in the ED? That's a nurses job. I would love it if my resident came to place and replace IVs on my combative patient that keeps pulling them out. I think the only thing I actually saw a nurse *do* in this book is place shock blocks under someone's feet. I know it was written in a different time, but those OG nurses knew a lot, and they certainly did more than place blocks under people's feet. Like I said the book didn't age well. And it was seemingly written by a douche.
DND at 30%
Spoilers:
By 20% we already know that the patient died from anaphylaxis, not blood loss. The remaining mystery is who the doctor was and whether or not the patient was actually pregnant. But I found myself not caring.
.
I didn't enjoy this as much I've liked Crichton's more recent works. It's a bit jumpy in several places and tough to follow. Overall, it's an engaging story and a solid plot. Heavy on the medical terminology, although it's mostly well explained in footnotes and/or appendices. If you've got some time to slog through it, it's a worthwhile read.
It's been about 13-14 years since I read it, but I remember that it was awesome! Great mystery, highly recommend it.