Mount Misery

by Samuel Shem

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Description

An expose on psychiatry featuring Roy Bash, a doctor-in-training in a hospital. He discovers his confreres are less interested in curing patients than in profiting from drug companies and insurance schemes, often doctoring diagnoses for that purpose. By the author of House of God.

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Member Reviews

2 reviews
Abandoned this on my first attempt and finally picked this up again after close to 20 years (gosh!). Not sure why I couldn't finish it then, as I found it quite readable. Dr Roy Basch is a first-year resident at Mount Misery. As he rotates through the different disciplines, getting mired in the technicalities of psychiatry and mental health, he loses touch with his patients and became depressed himself. Only by remembering that he just needs to be human and to connect with them, did he regain himself and his love. The story is good and Shem can write. It could be trimmed though as Basch's experiences in the different disciplines became something like a movie on repeat.
½
Painful and frightening to read. Even though I had to work at reading this, I did learn something. I suppose I am glad that I read it, but I will likely never read it again. I doubt I will keep this book.

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Berkhuizen, Lieke (Translator)

Classifications

Genres
General Fiction, Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PS3569 .H39374 .M68Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1961-
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Statistics

Members
297
Popularity
107,525
Reviews
2
Rating
½ (3.50)
Languages
6 — Czech, Dutch, English, German, Lithuanian, Spanish
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
18
ASINs
3