humor – Dr JoAnn LoSavio

Playing Doctor: Part 3, Chief Resident Tumbling Towards Medical Practice by John Lawrence

Lawrence gives us a hilarious memoir, one that rips the bandaid off the mystery of the medical profession (am I punny, or what?) Playing the Doctor Part 3 highlights how human our medical professionals are. Their trials and insecurities are no more tragic or exotic than our own (non-medical professional here). Lawrence’s prose and smooth sense of phrase is a large part of its success; brevity and levity are promised and delivered.

I won this book on Goodreads giveaways, which is why I don’t have Part 1 and 2; but, I did consider buying Parts 1 and 2 before reading this one. I didn’t, but Lawrence’s humor and wit made me think about it. As a reader of only one part of this series, I can say that readers will find it possible to dip into it without needing the previous parts; Part three stood on its own. That said, there are references to events from Parts 1 and 2, which may have added to the joy of reading this memoir.

The ability of Part 3 to function well as a standalone is, unfortunately, also one of the books detractions. There is no overarching single narrative or story arc, but rather a series of chapters which could be discrete works on their own (except for the references to past events). The result is that Playing Doctor reads more like the Diary of a Doctor, rather than as a novel. Readers might find they could put down the book and not return to it, as there’s no inherent incentive to “know what happens next.” This is, sadly, what happened with my reading of it; I think I finally completed it reading it on the third attempt, with several months lapse in between.

Overall, however, it is an entertaining read, one which is likely to make you smile and grimace simultaneously.

Killers of A Certain Age: A Novel
by Deanna Raybourn

Oh, this was such a fun book to read! This novel plays out like a film. It’s got the panache of Ocean’s Eleven, the humor of Mr and Mrs Smith, and oozes a middle-aged version of the familiar camaraderie of The Golden Girls. It’s perfect.

The story traces the lives of a clannish posse of retirement-aged Charlie’s Angels, assassins who work for a clandestine international organization intended to keep the world’s evil at bay through extralegal and morally questionable means (murder). These women have devoted their lives – professional and personal – to this cause and vocation. They’re ready to throw in the proverbial towel, trade in the excitement and the deception for some much deserved rest and relaxation when they realize they’re the targets of assassination themselves.

Now they’ve got to figure out who, why, and what the hell.

And that’s the rest of the novel. It’s humorous and mysterious. It’s stylish and spy-savvy. It’s Jane Bond, darling. This reader was driven by the desire to find out who had set them up and why. There was no doubt they’d succeed, but the thrill was in reading how these feminine Chuck Norrises were going to get it done.

Like a film, this novel moves swiftly, propelled by witty prose and cutting dialogue between its the sharp-edged characters. The women in this story are nuanced, fleshy, sinful and deliciously flawed, but the reader should not necessarily expect depth; simply put, this novel isn’t about depth as much as it is a much needed op-ed on the awful way in which women are made invisible on account of their age in our patriarchal society. The onset of menopause — no, even just the briefest mention of hot flashes –and women middle-aged (and older) are suddenly recast in a dimmer light. Where once they were all-powerful Women, they suddenly are under-estimated, dismissed, erased. This novel does not seek to redress the issue, but does highlight it. As I said, an excellent comment on what is an on-going problem in our youth obsessed society. It weaves in a feminist commentary in parts, but this is not a serious work of feminist disruption.

This is a fun, entertaining read. And one I recommend.