You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This book is essentially a mashup of the television shows House and The Sopranos. It was entertaining. I read it for the Books and Bars book club in the Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). I don't often read for pleasure. If you are a fan of thrillers that involve doctors or organized crime, you will probably like this one even more than I did.
I had a hard time picturing what was going on exactly in a few of the chapters. Descriptions were more challenging when a fair amount of action was taking place.
I had a hard time picturing what was going on exactly in a few of the chapters. Descriptions were more challenging when a fair amount of action was taking place.
What a ride! Impossible to put down, shocking, funny, and smart. Can't wait to read more.
Fine for a vacation read. Reminded me of the way Christopher Moore writes.
Decent book. It was a quick read for me. I admit the story grabbed me from the beginning and kept me interested. I didn't care for all the footnotes, it was a bit distracting at times.
adventurous
medium-paced
Weirdly sexual and brash at times
Absolutely had a blast with this! A wonderful gonzo thrill ride best described as "what if Jack Reacher was possessed by the ghost of Hunter S Thompson and wound up in the Mafia instead of the US Army, and then went to medical school." This has been on my TBR list for fifteen years, and I'm not sure why it took so long to get to it, but I'm mad at myself that I waited so long to read it. Fun, fun, fun. This book also has one of the best opening sentences I've ever read in my life and it takes off from there like a bottle rocket. I am immediately reading the second book now!
On the surface, the premise for this novel seems absolutely ludicrous — a mafia hitman turns his back on his violent ways, enters the witness protection program, spends seven years in medical school, and becomes a doctor. You know what, though? It totally works!
From a pure entertainment standpoint, you really can't do much better than Josh Bazell's Beat The Reaper. It's like reading a movie** — and one for which you pay for the whole seat, but only need the eddddgggeeee. Bazell writes with such flair and humor, but also intelligence and credibility (he actually IS a doctor), that you have no trouble sinking into this story.
Our protagonist is Dr. Peter Brown (f/k/a, Pietro Brnwa, Bearclaw), who is slugging through a shift at Manhattan Catholic hospital, popping pills to stay alert and expounding on the utter ridiculousness of hospital politics. His past and present worlds collide when a patient recognizes him as the former assassin and threatens to inform his mafia colleagues of his whereabouts. Since he'd thrown the son of his former boss out a fifth-story window, that would be real bad. Through dueling past-and-present story lines, Bazell speeds us through Brnwa's hitman days and hurdles us to a conclusion that is almost as ludicrous as the premise of the story itself. But guess what? Somehow, it works too! I put down the book when I finished and just shook my head. Did that really just happen?
One of the really fun parts about this novel is its footnotes. Most people, I'd guess, are annoyed by footnotes, but you won't be here. There's not that many of them, and they're consistently hilarious (i.e., "Scrub suits are reversible, with pockets on both sides, in case you need to run anesthesia or whatever but are too tired to put your pants on correctly.") They're Bazell's (actually, Brown's, since it's first person narrative) way of talking directly to the reader, usually revealing some little-known fact that may have gotten in the way of the fast-paced narrative flow.
Beat The Reaper was a sleeper hit last year — it found its way onto several Best of 2009 lists, including Time and Amazon's Best Mystery & Thriller. If you're looking for a real fast, diversionary read, this book is just the thing.
From a pure entertainment standpoint, you really can't do much better than Josh Bazell's Beat The Reaper. It's like reading a movie** — and one for which you pay for the whole seat, but only need the eddddgggeeee. Bazell writes with such flair and humor, but also intelligence and credibility (he actually IS a doctor), that you have no trouble sinking into this story.
Our protagonist is Dr. Peter Brown (f/k/a, Pietro Brnwa, Bearclaw), who is slugging through a shift at Manhattan Catholic hospital, popping pills to stay alert and expounding on the utter ridiculousness of hospital politics. His past and present worlds collide when a patient recognizes him as the former assassin and threatens to inform his mafia colleagues of his whereabouts. Since he'd thrown the son of his former boss out a fifth-story window, that would be real bad. Through dueling past-and-present story lines, Bazell speeds us through Brnwa's hitman days and hurdles us to a conclusion that is almost as ludicrous as the premise of the story itself. But guess what? Somehow, it works too! I put down the book when I finished and just shook my head. Did that really just happen?
One of the really fun parts about this novel is its footnotes. Most people, I'd guess, are annoyed by footnotes, but you won't be here. There's not that many of them, and they're consistently hilarious (i.e., "Scrub suits are reversible, with pockets on both sides, in case you need to run anesthesia or whatever but are too tired to put your pants on correctly.") They're Bazell's (actually, Brown's, since it's first person narrative) way of talking directly to the reader, usually revealing some little-known fact that may have gotten in the way of the fast-paced narrative flow.
Beat The Reaper was a sleeper hit last year — it found its way onto several Best of 2009 lists, including Time and Amazon's Best Mystery & Thriller. If you're looking for a real fast, diversionary read, this book is just the thing.
