Sanjay Gupta, MD has jumped into the fiction arena with his latest book, Monday Mornings. Based on real experiences, (Yes - some guy really did operate of the wrong side of a man's brain) the stories seem at times fantastical but maintain their hint of truth.
Told by the perspective of the different doctors and nurses who work in the hospital, the switch of the narrator keeps the pace moving. However, the climax of the book becomes unrealistic with all the awful things happening at once. This is the mistake of a first time author and even though Gupta, or at least his editor, should have known better, I can forgive him because I was ready for the novel to wrap up - which seems to be the same feeling Gupta had when writing it. His character development is hit or miss but again, I can forgive him because when he did a good job, I really enjoyed the character.
The title of the book, Monday Mornings, comes from a practice at some hospitals where doctors must stand before their peers and be responsible for their mistakes. Take a minute to think about that. These doctors have to put aside the fact that they are highly specialized and qualified members of the medical community and admit that their mess up killed someone. Woah. Humility. Of course, as the book shows, everyone deals with this "in your face mistake analysis" differently.
The whole message of the book is clearly stated over and over and over again: Doctors are human and make mistakes too. I did enjoy seeing the doctors point of view, specifically the humanity they felt when dealing with tragedy at their own hands. The book did a really good job of driving this theme home. It just happened to drive it home repeatedly, almost loosing its effectiveness.
DANIELLE'S VIEW: This book is like a season of ER or Grey's Anatomy in novel form. If you love a good medical drama it's worth your time. Otherwise, it's ok. A good book to read in the waiting room of your doctor's office - something to kill time while you hope your doctor, unlike some of the ones in the book, doesn't make a mistake that kills you!
