AWESOME! Vulgar, violent, unpredictable, and wholly entertaining. ( )

I saw this book in the bookstore at the weekend with a blue cover, and again in yellow. My copy’s red. Very odd. And it’s a very odd book, besides being thoroughly entertaining, intriguing and absorbing.

The story’s set in a Manhattan hospital, where a doctor tries to “beat the reaper” in the medical sense, whilst also trying to escape his own personal reaping. His past—well, you’d have to read the story… The tale is told in first person present tense, which works perfectly. It feels like listening to a very strange, possibly deranged, but superbly intelligent person telling his life, and it draws you in completely. I learned the oddest of medical facts from the footnotes, including why bone grafts come from the leg. And the story took me from the world of Polish Jews to the Italian Mafia, to murder, mayhem and hospital.

There are scenes that are definitely not for the squeamish, told with a deft hand that lets this slightly squeamish reader safely off the hook—a very deft hand. And the whole is a curiously satisfying madcap adventure with just enough seriousness to haunt you when it’s done. Highly recommended. Outrageous fun. ( )

I have really mixed feelings about this book. While hysterically funny and peppered with information about the way doctors, hospitals, and medical students behave, the strong language and sexual content were off-putting. But if you don’t mind that, this is dark, smart, escapist fiction bordering on the bizarre. The action is concentrated in a single day, when our narrator, a former mob hit man who has gone into the witness protection program and is now a doctor, finds his cover suddenly blown. Flashbacks tell a tale of violence, love, and revenge. The author is completing his MD in San Francisco, so the medical insights/opinions are either somewhat credible or totally sarcastic, but always funny. ( )

High concept! Our narrator is a former Mafia hitman, now in witness protection as a doctor in training, who begins his day by demonstrating to a mugger exactly why he picked the wrong guy in scrubs to assault, confiscating the guy’s gun (this becomes important later, as you might imagine), dallying with a cute drug rep, and lecturing on all aspects of the hospital experience in a world-weary tone. We slowly learn more of his backstory—the tragedy that impelled him into the Mob, and the reasons he got out (too heavy on evil to be called tragic, at least for him). When the wrong patient recognizes him, he needs to rely on his medical and his criminal expertise to survive. Contains a scene so gory that it makes me nauseated just recalling it; exploitatively compelling. Is this why people like Chuck Palahniuk? I enjoyed it, but I feel a little dirty admitting that. ( )

Peter Brown is an intern at one of the worst hospitals in New York pretending to be something better than it actually is. He fits right in - after all, he's in the Federal Witness Protection Program hiding from his life as a former mafia hitman. Not that he meant to start out that way...he fully intended on solving the murder of his grandparents; he just got a bit sidetracked.

Bazell manages a quick-paced thriller with medical mysteries, insight into witness protection and a good dash of humor. Even the chapter break-art is part of his on-going humor - death goes from carrying a sickle to riding a John Deere when his character has a rant about getting upset over 2,000-year-old traditions. Beyond the humor, Bazell manages to pack a tight novel. Plot points are introduced all along the way and brought full-circle in the story - he doesn't sucker punch the reader with magical facts or miracle characters that come out of nowhere. This attention to detail made the more fantastic elements in the story flow beautifully.

If you're looking for a book to read over a weekend or on vacation, this is a definite must-have. I look forward to seeing more from Mr. Bazell. ( )