The Catch 22 book for med students. Written in the '70s, he says his mission was to change the inhumanity and cynicism he experienced as a med student, and decided the only way was to write a satiric novel. My daughter (now a doctor) loved it because it was (still) so true to life - for me it was profoundly depressing for this very reason. ( )

On first picking up the book & reading the Introduction I thought I'd have a lot of trouble reading this, and that I wasn't going to enjoy it at all. However, I found it very easy to read once I got started, although initially I thought it quite disgusting, a bit too ribald and bitter. After a while I found I was beginning to feel compassion for the interns despite their cynical treatment of the gomers. Ultimately, the 'terns bitterness is unsurprising and I can see that suicide might be quite prevalent for those unable to cope.

Definitely well worth reading. I'd like to read it again some day as it's worth a second viewing, I think. I'd probably get a laugh out of it the 2nd time even though I'm not a part of that medical fraternity. ( )

einfach nur ekelhaft (geschrieben und zu lesen!), zynisch bis zum Erbrechen ( )

Reading House of God used to be a rite of passage for medical students and residents in days gone by. I wonder, is it still serving that function? Black humor about hospitals and doctors. Oh yes, and the patients, too. Despite the outrageousness of the book, there are kernels of truth behind many episodes. There is some wisdom within as well, such as, "The longer you stay, the longer you stay." Some great words of advice that go beyond responding to an arrest - "Always walk into the room." Yes, it is not a flattering view of medicine, but for those who have experienced medical training, it reflects the dark humor that is often necessary to deal with it all. If you are in medicine, I recommend reading it despite its less than flattering view of our profession. ( )

A great book. So original. Might be made into a great movie. It probably already has been. This book helped me get started collecting books by doctors. ( )