This novel provides a harrowing look into the lives of paramedics working in Harlem. Burke writes brutally and honestly; readers will find themselves cringing and nauseous more than once as the author provides the gory details of the job. ( )

A former paramedic in Harlem, Burke isn't the strongest writer, academically speaking. But he writes with an incredibly strong voice, stronger than many novelists who are technically better writers. Though categorized as a novel, Burke writes so graphically, drawing (I assume) from his own experiences, that I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction. An outstanding book. ( )

A slim, minimalist little bite of a novel about paramedics in Harlem in the mid-nineties. The author draws on his own life experience in a book filled with scatter shot impressions - much the way you might imagine a day as a paramedic might be.

The characters & the sense of place are clear & drawn with depth despite the relative brevity of the book. These people are real & you care about them & about what happens to them, around them, because of them. This book reminds me a bit of Bringing Out the Dead, both the book (by Joe Connelly) & the movie (Martin Scorcese), which I also really enjoyed.

This is a book that offers no answers & many questions, but one that mostly takes you for an ambulance ride through parts of a city that have been left behind. Beautiful, insightful, unforgettable - I really loved this book. ( )

It's engrossing and easy reading, but seems almost like the screenplay for TV series. It all seems a bit too familiar. The most interesting aspect is the psychological transformation of the narrator has he becomes overwhelmed by the flawed humanity of the people he tries to help. ( )

Shannon Burke once worked as a paramedic above 125th street in Harlem – it is this resume item that allows him to write this with such visceral, resonant reality. Watching Ollie’s 11-month descent from med school-bound rookie to world-weary, shattered battlefield medic is swift & shocking, but seeing him decide whether to pull himself up off the street is even more arresting and profound. A surprisingly moving novel about the people who save our lives every day & are too often overlooked. ( )