The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital
by Samuel Shem
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The House of God: The Classic Novel of Life and Death in an American Hospital.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 659)
Read in October, 2005
recommends it for:
anyone, but esp. med students, people interested in how hospitals work
Spoiler alert (esp. 3rd paragraph) Also, this book has some very *explicit* parts.
This novel follows an intern, Roy G. Basch, for his internship year at a prestigious hospital nicknamed the “House of God.” Roy must deal with sickness of the elderly, the death of the young, the competition of his peers, the lack of an outside life, and the tension with his superiors. Roy discovers providing medical care is nothing like what he was taught in medical school. Each of these stresses makes...more
This novel follows an intern, Roy G. Basch, for his internship year at a prestigious hospital nicknamed the “House of God.” Roy must deal with sickness of the elderly, the death of the young, the competition of his peers, the lack of an outside life, and the tension with his superiors. Roy discovers providing medical care is nothing like what he was taught in medical school. Each of these stresses makes...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2001
recommends it for:
ANYONE going into medicine in any capacity...and anyone attached to said people
I read this in college, then again my first year of medical school, then again my last year of medical school, then again during my internship, and I'm reading it once more now as a senior resident. Along with the television show Scrubs, it's the most accurate portrayal of American medicine that I'm familiar with. I gave it to my father and he called me saying that he wanted to go medical school. I gave it to my mother and she called me crying, asking if my job really is as bad as Shem makes ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Nobody
Wildly Overrated Cesspool of a Book
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, but I have many friends who are, and I've heard all about their internships and residencies. None of them purposely killed patients, cheated on husbands/wives/girlfriends/boyfriends, or did the other disgusting things that the author would like us to believe are commonplace.
It's frankly hard to find anything positive about this book. The writing is adolescent and poor, filled with bathroom humor and gratuitous sex. Virtual...more
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, but I have many friends who are, and I've heard all about their internships and residencies. None of them purposely killed patients, cheated on husbands/wives/girlfriends/boyfriends, or did the other disgusting things that the author would like us to believe are commonplace.
It's frankly hard to find anything positive about this book. The writing is adolescent and poor, filled with bathroom humor and gratuitous sex. Virtual...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in February, 2008
I reread this book many times, when I feel depressed with healthcare system. The main hero Roy G. Basch, was young intern in prestigious hospital nicknamed "House of God" He was fresh and green from the Med school and his first encounter with the reality of the hospital was harsher then he expected. The incurable elders, whom nobody wants. The death of the youngs was described in very natural way. Roy also faced the power hungry collegues and their battles for the position, the so call...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book paints such an caustic view of life as an intern, it's almost addictive. Like an episode of Jerry Springer, you sit, entranced by the character's downward spiral, unable to stop him, but knowing full well he is headed for a hard landing.
The character starts off a somewhat wide-eyed and innocent intern on his first day, a bit sarcastic, but otherwise a good person with a great girlfriend and normal and rational thoughts. As the book goes on, Shem paints such a detailed and realist...more
The character starts off a somewhat wide-eyed and innocent intern on his first day, a bit sarcastic, but otherwise a good person with a great girlfriend and normal and rational thoughts. As the book goes on, Shem paints such a detailed and realist...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I was recommended this book by my first attending of my 3rd year in medical school. He told me though that I should wait until the end of the year before reading it.
I've read about 150 pages now. It tells the story of a group of new interns who essentially go through a period of disillusionment and suffering and are rebuilt into jaded, cynical, lazy, manipulative, sex-addicted doctors. The interesting part so far is that they are actually more capable of treating patients with this mindset t...more
I've read about 150 pages now. It tells the story of a group of new interns who essentially go through a period of disillusionment and suffering and are rebuilt into jaded, cynical, lazy, manipulative, sex-addicted doctors. The interesting part so far is that they are actually more capable of treating patients with this mindset t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
med students/residents/docs, anyone who likes "scrubs"
A few people had suggested this book to me, and I'm glad I read it when I did, meaning before graduating med school but after a year of clinical experience. While at once cynical and comical, certain things ring true, and I am once again glad that I am not going into internal medicine as a specialty. For anyone outside of the medical field who reads this, please don't judge us! I feel like it can provide some insight into what we go through during our training, so if you want to understand us...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2003
This book is a must read for any physician in training. It is not always pleasant and forces everyone (I think) to take a hard look in the mirror about the realities of who you must become to survive medical training. Things are better now I think (compared to the 70s when it was written), but there are definitely things that have not changed at all. My husband and I were both baffled though about how we did not see this much "action" ;) during our residency---that part must have ch...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
I felt I should read this book, described as the "Catch-22 of medicine" before graduating from med school. It was scary how accurate most of it is, right down to the 'Laws' of the House of God quoted throughout. Remember, Age + BUN = Lasix dose. But well written and a good read, although I don't know how funny it will be to those outside the medical profession (probably still so to spouses).
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
people in medicine
I read this bood 3 months into my internship, at which point I was at the bottom of the depression curve and found it at turns to be funny, comforting, enlightening, and disgusting. It was a good time for me to see those experiences from another point of view. I don't think I would get the same experience out of the book if I read it now, but it offered a good basis for survival and a warning to not let medicine take over your life.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This book was compared to Catch-22. It was in no way anywhere near the caliber of writing as Catch-22, and people don't constantly have sex in the callroom. It was poorly written and rather inaccurate. Maybe residents were that incompetent in 70s, I don't know. But accuracy aside, I had trouble turning the pages due to the lack of eloquence in Samuel Shem's satire. He had several clever sections, which is why I said it was okay.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
House of God ist ein Buch von Samuel Shem (ein Pseudonym des Professors für Psychiatrie Stephen Bergman), welches im Original 1978 veröffentlicht wurde. Durch seine sehr zynische Darstellung der Ausbildung junger Ärzte in Krankenhäusern bewirkte das Buch eine beachtliche Veränderung der öffentlichen Meinung und war somit einer der Gründe für die Reformierung der medizinischen Ausbildung in den USA in den achtziger Jahren.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
don't be put off by the sex scenes - it was written in the 70s, after all. these scenes, plus the rest of the book, capture the desperation to hold on to whatever sliver of humanity one can find during the dehumanization of medical training.
the sad part is that so much of the medicine described in this book is still true.
the good part is that the book is so funny you'll spontaneously lose bladder control.
the sad part is that so much of the medicine described in this book is still true.
the good part is that the book is so funny you'll spontaneously lose bladder control.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
I dont know how I missed this book earlier. It is the tale of an intern's first year in The House of God, a teaching hospital. I'm not sure someone who hasnt experienced internship in a teaching hospital would appreciate this book. You would probably be horrified or suspect it to be completely untrue but unfortunately there is so much truth in it that it is scarey. Brought back many memories good and bad.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Hectaizani by:
Bookmarks Magazine
Finally gave up on this book after about 200 pages. It was recommended to me as one of the best novelizations of life as an intern at a busy hospital. If this is the best, then I'm scared to think about the worst. The writing style was less than captivating, the protagonist was more interested in his sexual exploits than his patients, and I couldn't garner any sympathy for any of the characters.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
This is a book every medical student is supposed to read before starting their intern year, and I had never read it (slacker!). The middle was slow and the sex stuff was a surprise, but all in all was a good depiction of actual modern medicine. Not a book to read if you want to retain a glorified image of your doctor. Thank goodness things have changed a bit for the better in the past 30 years!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
Doc's and other health care profs
This book describes the funny realities of working in a hospital (I know, I'm a Nurse in a training Hospital) and the life's of interns but also touches on the "becoming human" side of doctors (and Nurses, for that mater) in training. It's a bit dated but still relevant. I would suggest it to any one who works in health care (or wants to) and all so to frequent users of the medical system.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2001
It is one of my favorites.
Very dark humor, though. But what do you expect if a clinic and a young doctor is involved. Anyway, this book made me laugh out loud while sitting in the subway so people were giving me really strange looks. But i could not help it.
You could qualify this book as the prequel of a lot of doctor tv shows that are on now. Like "Scrubs", just slightly darker...
Very dark humor, though. But what do you expect if a clinic and a young doctor is involved. Anyway, this book made me laugh out loud while sitting in the subway so people were giving me really strange looks. But i could not help it.
You could qualify this book as the prequel of a lot of doctor tv shows that are on now. Like "Scrubs", just slightly darker...
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Absolutely superb in it's caustic depiction of being an intern in the House of God hospital. My wife is going to medical school and all the students were prompted to read this book.
It's hilarious! Writing is perfect. Enjoying the hell out of this book. A must read for anyone and everyone going into the medical profession and even if you're not, it's still a wonderful read.
It's hilarious! Writing is perfect. Enjoying the hell out of this book. A must read for anyone and everyone going into the medical profession and even if you're not, it's still a wonderful read.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
people who enjoy watching Scrubs
I don't know if this book is esoteric. I know I enjoyed it immensely because the barbaric image of medical internship that it portrays is not far from the truth. If you enjoy dark humor, and are not afraid to discover what REALLY happens in a teaching hospital, you may enjoy this book. Liberal dosing of sex and blood. The author is a good story teller, and the characters timeless.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
