What do you think?
Rate this book
Важкий понеділок
«Важкий понеділок» — безсумнівно, найкращий роман відомого американського нейрохірурга та журналіста, постійного медичного оглядача CNN Санджая Ґупти. Книжка стала супербестселером й отримала широке визнання в багатьох країнах. П'ятеро хірургів, кожен — яскрава, своєрідна та сильна особистість, ведуть повсякденну боротьбу зі смертю в одній із найбільших лікарень США. А о шостій ранку в понеділок настає «час Х» — це час загальнолікарняної конференції, на якій аналізуються неминучі помилки і промахи лікарів, бо вони, як кожен із нас,— просто люди з усіма їх слабкостями, амбіціями, заплутаними почуттями і проблемами. За романом «Важкий понеділок» у 2013 році в США був знятий однойменний драматичний серіал, продюсером і сценаристом якого виступив лауреат одинадцяти премій «Еммі» Девід Е. Келлі, творець серіалів «Надія Чикаго», «Юристи Бостона» та «Еллі Макбіл».
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
172 people are currently reading
2220 people want to read
About the author
Sanjay Gupta
124 books395 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database
Sanjay Gupta is an American physician and a contributing CNN chief health correspondent based in Atlanta, Georgia. An assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he is also a frequent guest on the news program Anderson Cooper 360°. "Charity Hospital" won a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast. From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. Gupta currently publishes a column in TIME magazine. He is also host of House Call with Dr Sanjay Gupta. His book Chasing Life was a New York Times and National bestseller. As of January 2009, he has been offered the position of Surgeon General of the United States in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama; the final vetting is currently under way.
Sanjay Gupta is an American physician and a contributing CNN chief health correspondent based in Atlanta, Georgia. An assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he is also a frequent guest on the news program Anderson Cooper 360°. "Charity Hospital" won a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast. From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. Gupta currently publishes a column in TIME magazine. He is also host of House Call with Dr Sanjay Gupta. His book Chasing Life was a New York Times and National bestseller. As of January 2009, he has been offered the position of Surgeon General of the United States in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama; the final vetting is currently under way.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 645 reviews
Read
June 8, 2012I'm only two chapters in, but this book contains one of the funniest bad sentences I've ever come across so I want to memorialize it in case I don't finish (which is likely):
"He passed...the group of obstetricians trying to coax a young fetus to stay in its mother's womb..."
Are the older fetuses easier to persuade?
"He passed...the group of obstetricians trying to coax a young fetus to stay in its mother's womb..."
Are the older fetuses easier to persuade?
June 5, 2020
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would after owning a copy for quite some time. We know Dr. Gupta from his television commentaries, but he is really a practicing neurosurgeon and also a very good writer. He wrote this with empathy and caring for both the doctors and patients, and with humor too. I would read him again.
January 1, 2013
Set in the state of Michigan, Monday Mornings follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at the Morbidity and Mortality conferences held on Monday mornings. It is Monday mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn – through their mistakes. It is Monday mornings when, if they're lucky, they have a chance at redemption.
I decided to finally read this novel after learning it is going to be turned into a TV series which will be similar to ER. I was a huge fan of ER (and most of the other medical dramas) and after I read that in a magazine I couldn't wait to read this book!
I really enjoyed this novel. It is actually very similar to ER. At times during reading this book, I did feel like I was reading an ER script just with different characters! The plot was interesting, gripping, well-developed and well-written. The medical lingo was easy to understand. After years of watching ER, Grey's Anatomy and other medical TV programmes I actually understood a lot of it and the dictionary on my Kindle explained any medical terms I didn't know.
The characters were interesting, vivid and well-developed. My only gripe about this novel was that I would have liked to learn more about what happened to the characters at the end of the novel.
After finishing this novel, I'm now looking forward to watching the TV show!
Four stars!
I decided to finally read this novel after learning it is going to be turned into a TV series which will be similar to ER. I was a huge fan of ER (and most of the other medical dramas) and after I read that in a magazine I couldn't wait to read this book!
I really enjoyed this novel. It is actually very similar to ER. At times during reading this book, I did feel like I was reading an ER script just with different characters! The plot was interesting, gripping, well-developed and well-written. The medical lingo was easy to understand. After years of watching ER, Grey's Anatomy and other medical TV programmes I actually understood a lot of it and the dictionary on my Kindle explained any medical terms I didn't know.
The characters were interesting, vivid and well-developed. My only gripe about this novel was that I would have liked to learn more about what happened to the characters at the end of the novel.
After finishing this novel, I'm now looking forward to watching the TV show!
Four stars!
May 7, 2012
I really wanted to like this book because I really like Sanjay Gupta. I read this just after reading "When the Air Hits Your Brain" which was excellent so the comparison may be hindering my review here. But, this book badly needed a good editor first of all. There were many typos throughout and contradictions from one paragraph to the next. A tumor was benign in one sentence and cancerous in the next.
The characters were not really likable or memorable. I read this book a week ago and can't really seem to remember them at all. I'm not an expert but .... the nurses don't want to take care of a gang banger who shot his grandmother? Most RN's I know view the patient as just that - their patient that they need to care for. If you don't take care of gang bangers in an inner city hospital you better look for another job. The Director of Nursing had to come and "talk" to the ICU nurses so that they would care for the patient? And the ER doctor got a transplant patient admitted upstairs without the neurologist seeing the patient? ER doctors don't usually have admitting privileges (their malpractice companies frown on that) and the patient would have had to have admitting orders. There are so many medical mistakes in this book that I can only think he did not write this book. He obviously wrote the descriptions on neuro-surgery, but the medical mistakes just don't make sense coming from a doctor. I know, I know, this is a book of fiction, but good fiction writers do research so as to be accurate. The voice of this book doesn't sound like the voice of Sanjay Guptah. Seriously disappointed. Can't forgive portraying the nurses as unprofessional.
The characters were not really likable or memorable. I read this book a week ago and can't really seem to remember them at all. I'm not an expert but .... the nurses don't want to take care of a gang banger who shot his grandmother? Most RN's I know view the patient as just that - their patient that they need to care for. If you don't take care of gang bangers in an inner city hospital you better look for another job. The Director of Nursing had to come and "talk" to the ICU nurses so that they would care for the patient? And the ER doctor got a transplant patient admitted upstairs without the neurologist seeing the patient? ER doctors don't usually have admitting privileges (their malpractice companies frown on that) and the patient would have had to have admitting orders. There are so many medical mistakes in this book that I can only think he did not write this book. He obviously wrote the descriptions on neuro-surgery, but the medical mistakes just don't make sense coming from a doctor. I know, I know, this is a book of fiction, but good fiction writers do research so as to be accurate. The voice of this book doesn't sound like the voice of Sanjay Guptah. Seriously disappointed. Can't forgive portraying the nurses as unprofessional.
July 1, 2012
Save yourself 300 pages and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy instead. Gupta's characters are flat and the plot lacks cohesion and direction. The writing isn't that good, either. And to add insult to injury, the medicine in this book, as well as the drama of the hospital setting feels disingenuous. It feels like Gupta was working so hard to create characters with high drama and emotional affect that he forgot a hospital has plenty of that already, and he needn't add wonton affairs (at least 6 characters at any given time), disrespectful portrayals of nurses and hospital staff (surgeons are the only characters he respects), and stereotyped images of poor and minority characters.
April 14, 2012
Ensemble cast book about surgeons at a mythical hospital outside Ann Arbor. Gupta went to school at U of M,(oddly we were in the same dorm at the same time and I'm pretty sure we had a class together)thus I presume he invented Chelsea General to avoid any possible legal issues with setting the book at University of Michigan Medical Centers. The inner lives of a variety of Docs, mainly surgeons, are explored as they struggle with multiple challenges. I wanted to like this book more than I did. Yes, famous surgeons can make mistakes that cost lives, and this is an incredible burden. Actually, everyone in health care carries this burden, including nurses, technicians and therapists of multiple stripes, and most of us aren't swimming in money. At one point in the book, a surgeon who has become emotionally paralyzed by a fatal mistake hops a flight to Miami to stay in a luxury hotel, then flies to Colorado to see his sister for a cup of tea to talk about it. I recognize that it takes incredible drive, intelligence and stamina to survive and thrive in high-powered academic medicine. I couldn't get through the years of coursework followed by marathon shifts of internships and residencies, then continued expectations of research, publications and teaching while trying to care for patients in practice. Much of the public thinks that Doctors are Gods, and Gupta shows us that they are deeply flawed gods. But he by no means undermines the idea that they are gods. Some of his characters show righteous anger at the injustices of the system. Tina, one of the doctors who's story we follow, becomes angry and complains to her boss when a resident is tossed for an error no more egregious than others committed by surgeons in the course of the book. But the resident is booted anyway. I'm not clear what point Gupta is making. He doesn't take the obvious opportunity to attack the System. The System has been very very good to Dr. Gupta, and indeed he praises its internal discipline. He appears blind to how the system itself causes errors by expecting men and women to be as Gods; hubris anyone? Most of his major characters achieve some sort of resolution by the end of the book, but I am left wanting. Gupta's characters seem blissfully unaware of their supporting cast of nurses and other healthcare providers. One nurse achieves the status of character, but only due to her relationship with a surgeon. A great deal of medical terminology is tossed about within the book. I understand it, but I would think many of his readers outside of the health professions would not. Im not certain if all the technical language is there for atmosphere or to remind people that medicine is a world apart or what. As a nurse, I did appreciate the authenticity. He did give an inside look at medicine, but I was left unsatisfied ultimately, unclear exactly what Gupta's point really was.
October 29, 2014
The pager vibrates... "311 6" the key that unlocks the world of Chelsea General. 311 is the room number at 6am on Monday mornings that the team of doctors meet, to right their wrongs, and learn from their mistakes.
Many different characters fill this book, each with their own personalities and flaws, interconnecting together, leaving the reader with snippets of the people behind the scenes in crisis, putting together the broken pieces of their patients.
Cannot believe the ending! Can't say any more without giving anything away, just wasn't expecting so many things to happen all at once.
Many different characters fill this book, each with their own personalities and flaws, interconnecting together, leaving the reader with snippets of the people behind the scenes in crisis, putting together the broken pieces of their patients.
Cannot believe the ending! Can't say any more without giving anything away, just wasn't expecting so many things to happen all at once.
January 10, 2016
I couldn't write a better description of this novel, so I copied this paragraph from the cover:
Monday Mornings, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at M & M. It is on Monday mornings that reflection and introspection occurs, usually in private. It is Monday Mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn - through their mistakes. It is Monday Mornings when, if you're lucky, you have a chance at redemption.
First off, I have to say that I have always loved medicine and the human body.
Sanjay Gupta writes such a vivid, intense, realistic account of the emergencies and operations, that I swear I was in the room the whole time.
I was about half way through the story when I read that this was FICTION. I was literally shocked and a little embarrassed at not knowing this before I started the story. Anyways, I quickly recovered and sped through the pages as fast as they could say, "code blue."
I rarely give 5 stars to fiction novels, but I was very happily bumbling around after those Dr's like a newborn puppy.
Monday Mornings, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at M & M. It is on Monday mornings that reflection and introspection occurs, usually in private. It is Monday Mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn - through their mistakes. It is Monday Mornings when, if you're lucky, you have a chance at redemption.
First off, I have to say that I have always loved medicine and the human body.
Sanjay Gupta writes such a vivid, intense, realistic account of the emergencies and operations, that I swear I was in the room the whole time.
I was about half way through the story when I read that this was FICTION. I was literally shocked and a little embarrassed at not knowing this before I started the story. Anyways, I quickly recovered and sped through the pages as fast as they could say, "code blue."
I rarely give 5 stars to fiction novels, but I was very happily bumbling around after those Dr's like a newborn puppy.
March 29, 2012
3.5 This book paints a very human face on the surgeons of the prestigious teaching hospital, Chelsea General. Interesting reading on the case histories of patients presented as well as the lives of these doctors. The book follows them through illnesses, regrets, affairs, mistakes, many which are exposed and answered for during the notorious and highly stressful Monday mornings. Interesting reading about the inner workings of this hospital and some of the moments were humorous as well.
Read
May 7, 2012As I am a surgical trainee, the characters feel very familiar from a personality standpoint. However, some of the situations in the book smacks of a ghost writer. Example #1 - I have never heard of any teaching hospital in America where there are no residents at M&M. In fact, to be a certified residency, all hospital sites from the community affiliate to the University flagship hospital must have a regularly scheduled surgical M&M conference which residents are required to attend.
Example #2 - There seems to be a lot of this Grey's Anatomy style blending of specialties and surgical subspecialties where they have one attending doing head trauma one minute and then ex-laping a patient the next day.
Example #3 - Having done several months of Trauma at the busiest trauma center in the midwest, I have never seen a group of health care works have to be convinced to treat a patient because of their personal beliefs about that patient. The scene with the neo-Nazi kid and the nurses who had to be cajoled into treating him is completely unrealistic and insulting to RNs.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if this scene was actually written by Sanjay Gupta. Its not like he hasn't been known to pretend not to know basic facts about medicine in America to make a buck. Or maybe that whole Michael Moore interview was just a fluke.
Example #2 - There seems to be a lot of this Grey's Anatomy style blending of specialties and surgical subspecialties where they have one attending doing head trauma one minute and then ex-laping a patient the next day.
Example #3 - Having done several months of Trauma at the busiest trauma center in the midwest, I have never seen a group of health care works have to be convinced to treat a patient because of their personal beliefs about that patient. The scene with the neo-Nazi kid and the nurses who had to be cajoled into treating him is completely unrealistic and insulting to RNs.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if this scene was actually written by Sanjay Gupta. Its not like he hasn't been known to pretend not to know basic facts about medicine in America to make a buck. Or maybe that whole Michael Moore interview was just a fluke.
March 25, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It followed 5 doctors, their medical lives, their personal lives and their fear of medical mistakes. "Monday morning" refers to a text message and meeting exclusively for Drs - with one of them being chastized for a recent medical mistake - possibly a life threatening mistake. If this is not a current medical practice, it should be. I rated this book 4 stars.
June 8, 2020
Отже, маємо академічну клініку, де лікують різне, куди привозять ургентні випадки парамедики, де лікарі-ординатори і напрацьовують практику, і вчаться, а досвідчені «дорослі» лікарі мають шанс написати наукові статті. У центрі уваги автора зразу декілька різних лікарів-нейрохірургів і терапевт приймального відділення, який має унікальний талант за виглядом непритомного пацієнта миттєво визначати, якого саме спеціаліста викликати у прийомний покій. І тут жодної магії – просто він уважний до деталей. Буквально с перших сторінок читач має змогу сказати «вау!» тому, як швидко Великий Ґато визначив, що молода жінка на ношах – не самогубець, як вже вирішили парамедики, адже вона в’їхала на своїй «Тойоті» просто у стовп і жодних слідів гальмування не знайдено, а потребує термінової операції на мозку. Бо насправді вона не планувала заподіяти собі смерті, а просто знепритомніла за кермом, адже в неї лопнула аневризма у мозку.
Решта героїв в автора також вийшли всі різні, із своїми примхами та мріями, історіями та потребами, і єдине, що їх об’єднує – це щодення напружена праця буквально у центрі людсткості – у мозку пацієнтів, яким потрібно то пухлини вирізати так, аби не завдати шкоди, то судини відремонтувати у тонких місцях, то зняти тиск, аби повернути людині її саму. Автор й сам – відомий американський нейрохірург, тож точно знає, про що пише.
А ще у книзі є дві різні клініки – академічна, де головні події й проходять, і муніципальна, куди одна з лікарок тікає у напружених душевних пошуках власного призначення. І якщо у академічній клініці серед проблем, що дошкулять лікарям, це: як не пустити агентів з продажу медичного обладнання у операційну, якщо правилами клініки це дозволяється, чи пройде цей протокол та ці ліки у страховій пацієнта та чи здатний буде госпітальний юрист відгавкатися від адвоката пацієнтки, яка незадоволена операцією, то у фрі-клінік рівень проблем зовсім інший. Наприклад, як і чим лікувати пацієнта, в якого зуби згнилі під корені, а прийшов він взагалі просто зашити порване вухо. Або як вижити після того, як тебе до півсмерті побив битою незадоволений клієнт.
З того, що мене здивувало. Всі лікарі-нейрохурірги мають окрім медичної ще якусь освіту – літературну, спортивну, менеджерську. Часто у лікарі вони прийшли після того, як в них не вийшло стати продавцем побутової техніки, або після спортивної кар’єри, аби паралельно із отриманням ступеню доктора англійської літератури. Лікарка, яка подалася у фрі-клінік для бідних, зарплатню там не отримувала – просто працювала, бо їй було по приколу рятувати тих нещасних О_о.
З того, що здивувало взагалі геть. Як тільки адвокати не досить вдало прооперованої пацієнтки почали перемагати юриста кліники, клініка розірвала контракт із лікарем, яка ту операцію провела. Директор клініки, який мав кілька десятків років вдалих операцій, заслуги, репутацію і взагалі в нас би це був якійсь типу Тодуров, був миттю із скандалом звільнений, як тільки помилився під час операції: йому на монітор вивели перевернуте зображення ураженого внутрішньої гематомою мозку, він не перевірив, який це бік, і зняв не ту частину черепу. Поки приладнали її на місце і знімали правильну, пройшов час (20 хвилин), які виявилися для пацієнта роковими – він не вийшов з коми. А, пацієнтом був якійсь ноунейм мексиканський заробітчанин без документів, який нелегально працював у США і навернувся із драбини, що й дало йому ту злощасну гематому. Пощастило йому потрапити у цю академічну клініку тільки тому, що його привезла сама винаймачка, бо їй стало соромно, що вона узяла на тимчасову роботу нелегала.
Взагалі, це було надзвичайно цікавезне чтиво. Помічаю за собою, що мені подобаються книги від справжніх лікарів: книги Генри Марша, книга Амосова з тієї ж серії. Ставлю 10 з 10, на полицях залишаю, чекаю, що у коменти мені накидають рекомендацій на щось приблизно таке ж за тематикою.
Дякую Фабула за класний переклад і за якісне видання.
Решта героїв в автора також вийшли всі різні, із своїми примхами та мріями, історіями та потребами, і єдине, що їх об’єднує – це щодення напружена праця буквально у центрі людсткості – у мозку пацієнтів, яким потрібно то пухлини вирізати так, аби не завдати шкоди, то судини відремонтувати у тонких місцях, то зняти тиск, аби повернути людині її саму. Автор й сам – відомий американський нейрохірург, тож точно знає, про що пише.
А ще у книзі є дві різні клініки – академічна, де головні події й проходять, і муніципальна, куди одна з лікарок тікає у напружених душевних пошуках власного призначення. І якщо у академічній клініці серед проблем, що дошкулять лікарям, це: як не пустити агентів з продажу медичного обладнання у операційну, якщо правилами клініки це дозволяється, чи пройде цей протокол та ці ліки у страховій пацієнта та чи здатний буде госпітальний юрист відгавкатися від адвоката пацієнтки, яка незадоволена операцією, то у фрі-клінік рівень проблем зовсім інший. Наприклад, як і чим лікувати пацієнта, в якого зуби згнилі під корені, а прийшов він взагалі просто зашити порване вухо. Або як вижити після того, як тебе до півсмерті побив битою незадоволений клієнт.
З того, що мене здивувало. Всі лікарі-нейрохурірги мають окрім медичної ще якусь освіту – літературну, спортивну, менеджерську. Часто у лікарі вони прийшли після того, як в них не вийшло стати продавцем побутової техніки, або після спортивної кар’єри, аби паралельно із отриманням ступеню доктора англійської літератури. Лікарка, яка подалася у фрі-клінік для бідних, зарплатню там не отримувала – просто працювала, бо їй було по приколу рятувати тих нещасних О_о.
З того, що здивувало взагалі геть. Як тільки адвокати не досить вдало прооперованої пацієнтки почали перемагати юриста кліники, клініка розірвала контракт із лікарем, яка ту операцію провела. Директор клініки, який мав кілька десятків років вдалих операцій, заслуги, репутацію і взагалі в нас би це був якійсь типу Тодуров, був миттю із скандалом звільнений, як тільки помилився під час операції: йому на монітор вивели перевернуте зображення ураженого внутрішньої гематомою мозку, він не перевірив, який це бік, і зняв не ту частину черепу. Поки приладнали її на місце і знімали правильну, пройшов час (20 хвилин), які виявилися для пацієнта роковими – він не вийшов з коми. А, пацієнтом був якійсь ноунейм мексиканський заробітчанин без документів, який нелегально працював у США і навернувся із драбини, що й дало йому ту злощасну гематому. Пощастило йому потрапити у цю академічну клініку тільки тому, що його привезла сама винаймачка, бо їй стало соромно, що вона узяла на тимчасову роботу нелегала.
Взагалі, це було надзвичайно цікавезне чтиво. Помічаю за собою, що мені подобаються книги від справжніх лікарів: книги Генри Марша, книга Амосова з тієї ж серії. Ставлю 10 з 10, на полицях залишаю, чекаю, що у коменти мені накидають рекомендацій на щось приблизно таке ж за тематикою.
Дякую Фабула за класний переклад і за якісне видання.
May 12, 2012
Overall, I enjoyed "Monday Mornings." It provided an entertaining refresher on some medical conditions that I learned about in nursing school but had sort of forgotten about. It also dealt honestly and fairly with a very real issue...the fact that all medical providers-even excellent ones-make mistake sometimes. On the down side, the last third of the novel was very melodramatic-too many main characters having tragedy befall them all around the same time. It felt forced. Also, some of the main characters were not particularly well-developed and tended to be sort of one dimensional. Lastly, I wish there would have been a little more focus on the nurses. There was only one character in "Monday Mornings" who was a nurse and while thankfully she was portrayed as an intelligent person she had a comparatively very minor role. Additionally, I wasn't too happy with the way the other nurses in the book were portrayed (gawking at the handsome surgeon and giggling like little schoolgirls about how good looking he was, etc.).
January 7, 2023
Не можу сказати, що це щось супервидатне. Якісно написана книжка для тих, хто любить романи про лікарів і лікарні. Багато медичних деталей.
November 9, 2016
From CNN's own renowned medical reporter, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I expected so much more. With the amount of knowledge of medicine he has, I expected a more decent writing style, which this book didn't represent any of it. I didn't like the beginning chapters of the book, because of the constant use of foul language. This book is about a group of neurosurgeons and how they come about to deal with life while doctoring. Stress is very emphasized without question, the language was too strong, even though each one was surrounded by his patients. Each doctor is shown to have committed a malpractice lawsuit, that puts him/her on the spot in the Monday Mornings Room 311 at 6:00 am. I didn't appreciate the book until the ending chapters and Dr. Park's chapters as well.
The medical facts were good and I learned a lot from them, but I don't think being a doctor requires a foul mouth to deal with all the stress, even though each one had troubles at home. Being a doctor is a responsibility, which requires patience and strength in character to endure to study all the cases presented to properly act upon them.
Although the book could have been a better one in multiple ways, I believe and understand that not everyone is born with an innate talent to write.
The medical facts were good and I learned a lot from them, but I don't think being a doctor requires a foul mouth to deal with all the stress, even though each one had troubles at home. Being a doctor is a responsibility, which requires patience and strength in character to endure to study all the cases presented to properly act upon them.
Although the book could have been a better one in multiple ways, I believe and understand that not everyone is born with an innate talent to write.
September 4, 2012
This book was not worth my time. It's a potentially interesting subject handled with the aplomb of a freshman creative writing student.
The characters are cardboard cutouts of real people. While each main character has his or her own story arc, these arcs don't intersect in any meaningful way, which left me feeling pretty unsatisfied. And none of the characters is sufficiently well-rounded enough to be satisfying in their own right.
While the book claims to be about Morbidity and Mortality meetings, and these meetings pop up often enough, the scenes are anticlimactic and are not really a strong focal point for the book. The meetings seem to have no significance in the story, except the scenes in which they actually take place. Then every one goes on about their business.
Bummer b/c I thought it sounded interesting.
The characters are cardboard cutouts of real people. While each main character has his or her own story arc, these arcs don't intersect in any meaningful way, which left me feeling pretty unsatisfied. And none of the characters is sufficiently well-rounded enough to be satisfying in their own right.
While the book claims to be about Morbidity and Mortality meetings, and these meetings pop up often enough, the scenes are anticlimactic and are not really a strong focal point for the book. The meetings seem to have no significance in the story, except the scenes in which they actually take place. Then every one goes on about their business.
Bummer b/c I thought it sounded interesting.
July 12, 2012
Ugh, Dr. Gupta needs to have his own M&M meeting to explain this book. A practicing neurosurgeon should not have so many mistakes in a book, even if it is a novel. He doesn't even know ACLS protocol (you can't shock a patient in asystole). Someone who doesn't know much about the medical field might enjoy this book, but I kinda doubt it. He presents too many characters and doesn't delve too deeply into any of their lives. He does try to, but he repeats a lot of each physician's story EVERY time he writes about that particular character. Not a memorable book at all. He even rips off "007-a license to kill" straight from an early season of Grey's Anatomy. Dr. Gupta, don't quit your multiple day jobs.
April 15, 2012
Grand Central Publishing | March 6, 2012 | Hardcover |ISBN 978-0-446-58385-5
Story Description:
Every time surgeons operate, they're betting their skills are better than the brain tumor, the faulty heart valve, the fractured femur. Sometimes, they're wrong. At Chelsea General, surgeons answer for bad outcomes at the Morbidity and Mortality conference, known as M & M. This extraordinary peek behind the curtain into what is considered the most secretive meeting in all of medicine is the back drop for the entire book.
Monday Mornings, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at M & M. It is on Monday mornings that reflection and introspection occurs, usually in private. It is Monday Mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn - through their mistakes. It is Monday Mornings when, if you're lucky, you have a chance at redemption.
My Review:
MONDAY MORNINGS reads like a drama, an adventure, a suspense, a bit of romance all rolled into one. This fast paced novel keeps you turning page after page.
Five surgeons from the fictional Chelsea General Hospital take on various patients with various complaints and health conditions. Some are extremely serious, some not so serious.
We all seem to forget that doctors and surgeons are humans like us, and humans make mistakes and doctors are no exception. Each Monday morning the doctors hold an M & M meeting, Mortality and Morbidity where someone is called up on the carpet in front of their peers and must admit their mistakes. These are closed meetings with no CEO’s, no lawyers, and no other administrators present. These meetings are strictly for the doctors only to hash out what went wrong and how they can prevent certain mistakes and disasters from ever happening again.
One particular doctor was responsible for killing a young boy and as anyone who has a conscience would, drove this poor man into a serious state of fear and doubt over his ability to continue as a surgeon. The meetings are a way for these doctors to learn through their mistakes.
Although written as fiction, this novel reads like real life and I’m pretty certain what is written in this novel is not too far from the truth of what really does go on. I can see now why doctors must purchase large and exorbitant amounts of malpractice insurance.
As Samuel Shem, MD said of Monday Mornings, the novel is “filled with memorable characters and searing moments, written with a surgeon’s deftness and a healer’s heart”.
Dr. Gupta has done an excellent job and gets two thumbs up from me and I’ll be recommending it to my friends for sure. Very well done!
Story Description:
Every time surgeons operate, they're betting their skills are better than the brain tumor, the faulty heart valve, the fractured femur. Sometimes, they're wrong. At Chelsea General, surgeons answer for bad outcomes at the Morbidity and Mortality conference, known as M & M. This extraordinary peek behind the curtain into what is considered the most secretive meeting in all of medicine is the back drop for the entire book.
Monday Mornings, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, follows the lives of five surgeons at Chelsea General as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings, often in front of their peers at M & M. It is on Monday mornings that reflection and introspection occurs, usually in private. It is Monday Mornings that provides a unique look at the real method in which surgeons learn - through their mistakes. It is Monday Mornings when, if you're lucky, you have a chance at redemption.
My Review:
MONDAY MORNINGS reads like a drama, an adventure, a suspense, a bit of romance all rolled into one. This fast paced novel keeps you turning page after page.
Five surgeons from the fictional Chelsea General Hospital take on various patients with various complaints and health conditions. Some are extremely serious, some not so serious.
We all seem to forget that doctors and surgeons are humans like us, and humans make mistakes and doctors are no exception. Each Monday morning the doctors hold an M & M meeting, Mortality and Morbidity where someone is called up on the carpet in front of their peers and must admit their mistakes. These are closed meetings with no CEO’s, no lawyers, and no other administrators present. These meetings are strictly for the doctors only to hash out what went wrong and how they can prevent certain mistakes and disasters from ever happening again.
One particular doctor was responsible for killing a young boy and as anyone who has a conscience would, drove this poor man into a serious state of fear and doubt over his ability to continue as a surgeon. The meetings are a way for these doctors to learn through their mistakes.
Although written as fiction, this novel reads like real life and I’m pretty certain what is written in this novel is not too far from the truth of what really does go on. I can see now why doctors must purchase large and exorbitant amounts of malpractice insurance.
As Samuel Shem, MD said of Monday Mornings, the novel is “filled with memorable characters and searing moments, written with a surgeon’s deftness and a healer’s heart”.
Dr. Gupta has done an excellent job and gets two thumbs up from me and I’ll be recommending it to my friends for sure. Very well done!
May 23, 2013
In this novel by neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we get a behind the scenes peek into the high stakes profession of neurosurgery. Sometimes, things go wrong, and they have to answer for those mistakes at Morbidity and Mortality conferences, held on Monday mornings, with the chief of surgery and their colleagues. The purpose of these meetings is to make them better surgeons, and prevent those mistakes from happening again.
Dr. Tyler Wilson suffers a serious crisis of confidence after losing a child during an operation. His fellow colleagues include George Villanueva, an NFL football player turned ER doctor; Tina Ridgeway, a meticulous neurosurgeon whose home life is a mess, Sydney Saxena, a driven surgeon who has dreams of taking over for the current chief of surgery, Dr. Harding Hooten, when he retires, and Dr. Sung Park, a Korean neurosurgeon who finds himself facing his own mortality when he learns he has a brain tumor.
This is the book that the TNT TV series Monday Mornings was based on. There are a lot of parallels between the TV show and the book, but the book delves much more into their personal lives and back stories, so we really get to see what makes them "tick". There are events in the book that were not featured in the TV series, so if you watched the TV series first, it's not going to spoil any surprises in the book for you. I enjoyed the TV series, and was disappointed to learn that TNT won't be renewing it for a second season, but the book is even better. Still, there were some stories in the book that never made it into the series that would have been interesting to see played out on television, if they had at least been given another chance.
I also liked that this story was set in the South East region of Michigan. I'm a Michigan girl, born here and lived her all my life, but I haven't come across a lot of fiction that is set in my home state, so I thought the fact that this book was set here was pretty cool.
Dr. Tyler Wilson suffers a serious crisis of confidence after losing a child during an operation. His fellow colleagues include George Villanueva, an NFL football player turned ER doctor; Tina Ridgeway, a meticulous neurosurgeon whose home life is a mess, Sydney Saxena, a driven surgeon who has dreams of taking over for the current chief of surgery, Dr. Harding Hooten, when he retires, and Dr. Sung Park, a Korean neurosurgeon who finds himself facing his own mortality when he learns he has a brain tumor.
This is the book that the TNT TV series Monday Mornings was based on. There are a lot of parallels between the TV show and the book, but the book delves much more into their personal lives and back stories, so we really get to see what makes them "tick". There are events in the book that were not featured in the TV series, so if you watched the TV series first, it's not going to spoil any surprises in the book for you. I enjoyed the TV series, and was disappointed to learn that TNT won't be renewing it for a second season, but the book is even better. Still, there were some stories in the book that never made it into the series that would have been interesting to see played out on television, if they had at least been given another chance.
I also liked that this story was set in the South East region of Michigan. I'm a Michigan girl, born here and lived her all my life, but I haven't come across a lot of fiction that is set in my home state, so I thought the fact that this book was set here was pretty cool.
March 27, 2012
I am a fan of Dr. Gupta and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this book.
I have worked in the medical field for many years and "mistakes" are nothing new to me. There has never been a better time for patients to be educated and empowered.
This work of fiction revolves around several doctors who when necessary are paged for the dreaded "mistake" meeting. I thought each of the five main characters were believable and passionate in their own way to their profession of neurosurgery. Keeping that in mind, great doctors can make mistakes. And in this book they do. The best part is that as these ego filled humans, they do have to be accountable for their actions.
When the chief of surgery holds the Morbidity and Mortality meeting, they are suppose to be a learning experience for everyone. An opportunity to learn and move forward. What really happens is that the seasoned surgeon who made the mistake is more of a sacrifical lamb offered in exchange for advancing the practice of medicine. As chief of surgery, Dr. Harding L. Hooten says "Everything we do here should be focused on healing". While perfection is the desired end result, nobody can always be perfect.
This book read like a fast-paced adventure story filled with moments of compassion, hope, defeat, excitement and fascination.
Five deserving gold stars!
I have worked in the medical field for many years and "mistakes" are nothing new to me. There has never been a better time for patients to be educated and empowered.
This work of fiction revolves around several doctors who when necessary are paged for the dreaded "mistake" meeting. I thought each of the five main characters were believable and passionate in their own way to their profession of neurosurgery. Keeping that in mind, great doctors can make mistakes. And in this book they do. The best part is that as these ego filled humans, they do have to be accountable for their actions.
When the chief of surgery holds the Morbidity and Mortality meeting, they are suppose to be a learning experience for everyone. An opportunity to learn and move forward. What really happens is that the seasoned surgeon who made the mistake is more of a sacrifical lamb offered in exchange for advancing the practice of medicine. As chief of surgery, Dr. Harding L. Hooten says "Everything we do here should be focused on healing". While perfection is the desired end result, nobody can always be perfect.
This book read like a fast-paced adventure story filled with moments of compassion, hope, defeat, excitement and fascination.
Five deserving gold stars!
March 19, 2012
Sadly, Dr. Gupta understands a great deal about medicine but not so much about authentic dialogue or the creation of characters a reader can relate to as being "real people" to which he is able to form attahcments or generate other emotions, be they positive or negative. I was very disappointed that this novel read like a backdated rerun of "ER", right down to the identifiable personalities. Ty is the George Clooneyesque good looking playboy who has a crisis when a young patient dies in his care,; a father-figure, all knowing head of hospital; and several women characters that are all flat, one-dimensional parodies with storylines that are so trite the readers wants to roll his eyes.
February 27, 2013
I had high hopes for this due to the subject matter, but the story is badly written, badly edited, or both. We go from looking at a woman's office, then focusing in on her family photos, then focusing on one particular photo of a group of people. The people are looking at a book... oh wait, no they aren't. The antecedent of "they", it turns out, is the woman and her co-worker, not the people in the picture.
Was going to push myself to finish, but the characterization of the Korean surgeon followed by the highlight of another character's incredible beauty... eh, no thanks. I may give one of the author's non-fiction works a try.
Was going to push myself to finish, but the characterization of the Korean surgeon followed by the highlight of another character's incredible beauty... eh, no thanks. I may give one of the author's non-fiction works a try.
March 22, 2012
This book kept me up all night wanting to read more. It was truely fascinating and gave me such a more appreciation for doctors and surgeon's. These professionals deal with making a decision in a split second in the matter of life ir death and sometimes its the wrong call or other factors can go terribly wrong and its out of our hands and up to god. I would love to see this book become a television series.
May 5, 2017
This was horrible.
The narrator was horrible. All his men sounded like "bros" (unless they had a generic "Asian" accent) and all the women sounded like breathy seductresses (including the one with a generic "Southern" accent). He made every sentence sound like "Pigs in Space"-level melodrama.
Maybe, though I doubt it, with better writing, I could have looked past the narrator. After all, this book is set in Ann Arbor, and I live in Ann Arbor. This book is set at a fictionalized University of Michigan Hospital, and I work half a mile from there (not to mention have been there to visit various friends). Plus, I love medical writing.
Sadly, this was as dry and unimaginative as could be. I didn't keep a list, but it's the kind of book where every description was cliched and every character stereotyped. I couldn't get past Chapter 5.
I've already given more time to it than I should have, so I'll stop here.
The narrator was horrible. All his men sounded like "bros" (unless they had a generic "Asian" accent) and all the women sounded like breathy seductresses (including the one with a generic "Southern" accent). He made every sentence sound like "Pigs in Space"-level melodrama.
Maybe, though I doubt it, with better writing, I could have looked past the narrator. After all, this book is set in Ann Arbor, and I live in Ann Arbor. This book is set at a fictionalized University of Michigan Hospital, and I work half a mile from there (not to mention have been there to visit various friends). Plus, I love medical writing.
Sadly, this was as dry and unimaginative as could be. I didn't keep a list, but it's the kind of book where every description was cliched and every character stereotyped. I couldn't get past Chapter 5.
I've already given more time to it than I should have, so I'll stop here.
November 17, 2020
This was a very quick read and an enjoyable one. The Gupta whom we see on tv shines through in his writing, as an empathic, detailed, and analytic physician. In this novel, he follows a handful of neurosurgeons at the fictitious Chelsea General Hospital in Michigan as they face challenges, frustrations, and failures and wrestle with their own personal backgrounds and current relationships. Gupta is adept at describing the doctors and showing how their dreams, self-images, and frailties collide against one another.
The novel was copyrighted 8 years ago, so I assume that at least some of the medical procedural details are dated. However, the story line holds its own and makes for a very compelling read.
The novel was copyrighted 8 years ago, so I assume that at least some of the medical procedural details are dated. However, the story line holds its own and makes for a very compelling read.
May 31, 2018
Interesting to read about the struggles that the medical profession face.
August 8, 2023
Too many things going on, average storylines
November 5, 2023
Enjoyed as an audiobook, Dr. Gupta takes on a a fictional day in the life of doctors in a teaching hospital, from the bustling ER through the OR (operating room). As in reality, not every patient survives and, sometimes, doctors make mistakes. And yes, doctors are critiqued on their decisions and in their patient care. Hence the Monday morning M&M (morbidity and mortality) meeting.
April 18, 2025
This book read like a bad episode of Greys anatomy. It brought in a random amalgamation of characters that were always supposed to be unrealistically amazing and beautiful and brilliant etc etc etc. I hate surgeons even more now reading this lol. Just loaded with more inflated stories about the who as of surgery life 🤦🏻♀️
July 5, 2024
Listened to this as an audiobook which helped to stay with it, a companion to my walks, as it is more like a string of somewhat interesting vignettes of doctors and their backstories than a plot based novel. It was like watching a so-so medical drama as a distraction while doing something else. The author is likely better suited to medical non-fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 645 reviews