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Summary: compassion has no country
Review: Abraham Verghese is that rare person who can let praise and criticism into his thoughts, but not let it stop him from going where he means to go. This beautiful book relates his experience as an "outsider" doctor (ethnically Indian, raised in Ethiopia) in a small city in Tennessee, dealing with the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. He's brave enough to admit that he's uncomfortable setting foot in a gay bar to talk about AIDS prevention and brave enough to do it anyway. He's brave to admit that many medical professionals consider his specialty (infectious diseases) a second-class citizen to specialties involving invasive procedures. He's also brave enough to admit that he's a little bit jealous of the surgeons whose work is emotionally simpler and way more lucrative than his own. There are no real happy endings in this book. There are noble, even happy, moments. Verghese is not afraid to say that people with AIDS (like anyone else) are often not heroic. Some of them are selfish. Some of them smell awful. But some of them use their illness to find appreciation of life and to cross social boundaries and befriend people they never thought they'd like. I've always loved the writing of doctor/poet/author William Carlos Williams, who vividly captured the beauty and despair he found in the poor people he served in Paterson, New Jersey. Verghese writes more personally, less poetically than Williams. Reading his book, though, I think of the greeting that many a yoga student uses: "Namaste." ("I bow to the divine in you.") Verghese writes of the divine he sees in the angry, the sick, the old, and the young. He helps you to see it, too.
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Summary: My Own Country by Abraham Vergehese
Review: THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. I HAVE READ IT TWICE AND STARTED ON THE THIRD TIME. I HAD IT SPECIAL ORDER FROM A LOCAL BOOK STORE AFTER I SAW THE AUTHOR ON A TALK SHOW OUT OF NASHVILLE, TN. I THINK HE NEEDS TO WRITE MORE HAVE NOT READ HIS OTHER BOOK AS YET.
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Summary: A Look at AIDS, small towns, and an Indian doctor in America
Review: The author manages to weave the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, life in a small southern town, the struggle of a foreign doctor to succeed in America, and his marriage into one book. Perhaps this is it's only fault. The most compelling plot line places Dr. Verghese on the front lines of a "strange," killer disease that has made it's way to a conservative small town. His dedication to the unlikely AIDS patients, and how this impacts his life, makes you wish your job held more meaning. You root for the doctor and his patients, and your heart is warmed by the acceptance he receives from town residents who you'd expect might react differently. Since the book's publication, Dr. Verghese has been interviewed on prime-time television news shows regarding foreign doctors and their struggles in America. This story is told on the edges of the book, but you can see the beginning of his crusade in the book.
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Summary: a stunning book
Review: This book is absolutely stunning. Verghese's writing style is so unusual as he writes with humor, compassion, and keeps you fully informed as a outsider to his patients treatment, and their disease. During the begining stages of our dealings with the AIDS virus we were so quick to judge the population that received AIDS rather than treating it as a disease that impacts not only the patient but their family. Verghese is able to reflect a wholistic picture of the patient, and their family. He was a person that was interested in the patient, the disease, and learning about the gay culture. He did so in way that was free of prejudice, and it was a true learning experience. I highly recommend this book for those that wish to read a good book as well as those that are interested in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
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Summary: Could not put this one down!
Review: Take a look around your medical community through someone elses eyes. The eyes of an foreign physician who treats untouchable Aids patients. I didn't want to put this book down. Very well written. It will broaden your mind if you let it.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I am not particularly interested in medicine, AIDS, or American immigration, but I am interested in people, and Dr. Verghese vividly depicts the lives of many people: himself, an immigrant Indian doctor, with no real country of his own, fighting for the respect he deserves; the people suffering in the early years of AIDS; and the community's reaction to them. Dr. Verghese is a gifted writer, including enough medical details to feel that you are really learning something, yet focusing on personal change to keep you interested in the story. I never considered myself a nonfiction reader, but well written books like this (and the Tennis Partner) encourage me to search for more. I am always recommending this book to others.
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Summary: Truly exquisite book
Review: I am a resident of Johnson City, TN, and I think Dr. Verghese's observations about our town are astonishingly insightful. I don't find the book at all condescending; rather, I feel grateful to Dr. Verghese, first for his having adopted Johnson City as his "own country," and especially for his loving, warts- and-all portrayal of our region.
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Summary: Brilliant and touching book
Review: I could not put this book down. In its thoughtful and beautifully written approach it successfully captures both the joy and the deep sadness that a sensitive and caring physician has the privelege to share with his patients. As the story unfolds, the reader is transported to a small community where courageous people struggle and often succeed in finding dignity and meaning in their lives. AIDS is the metaphor that allows Dr. Verghese and his community to help the reader catch a brief but important insights into many of the issues of our times. The book explores the impact of AIDS and how ordinary people in our communities often quietly lead extraordinary and heroic lives. Absolutely beautiful book--have to read it to believe it!
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Summary: a lousy, self-referential book
Review: What a lousy book! Verghese seems far more enamored with himself and his pen than the people he is supposed to treat. Yeccchh!
Rating:
Summary: top-notch
Review: Verghese blends a sensitive first-hand account of AIDS victims in rural Tennessee with a very open and endearing memoir of his own "outsider" status in America and the pressures he faces as he juggles his job and his marriage. As a result we get a compelling portrait of parallel developments of the man and the epidemic. Not to mention his writing is brilliant.
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