Rating: 
Summary: What a book... so sad it ended
Review: You know those books that you get really sad once you get to the end? This is one of those. Noah Gordon will take you to London's century 11, to the life of Robert J. Cole, a boy who was made an orphan at the age of 9. Barber, a surgeon-barber, very common on those days as a alternative of doctor to poor people, taught him the art of malabarism, food, women and of course the simplest form of cure, traveling all around England.
Rob, not satisfied with the poor knowledge that he had on curing people and eager to learn more, decides to travel to the Orient to study on one of the best medicine schools in that time.
The book is a mixture of love, happiness, sadness, adventure, fiction, history, religion... I just couldn't stop reading!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story
Review: Noah Gordon takes the reader back to the 11th. century and recounts the story of Rob Cole who, as a young boy, sees the life slip away from both his parents. As a result he and his younger siblings are separated and he has to take care of himself at a very early age. He is apprenticed to a barber, who in those days served as a combination entertainer/barber/surgeon. Barber's knowledge is scant but he shares it with the young boy. Rob discovers that he has an uncanny gift to take a patient's hand and discern if he is to live or die. This gift burns within him and motivates him to become a real physician. He hears that the best place to learn the practice of medicine is in Persia, but religious differences and sheer distance make it seem like an impossible dream to study there. Through a variety of circumstances, he is able to travel to Persia and petition to become a student. Gordon's tale continues through Rob's life and gives a fascinating background into the religious and political life of the times as well as the infant science of medicine. This is a wonderful book and is certainly recommended reading.
Rating: 
Summary: The Physician - ReRead Several Times
Review: As a fiction reader who has only a few authors I am able to reread, this book has high marks from me. My spouse groans and asks me how many times I am going to read it whenever I pull it out.
The book is about Rob J. Cole who in the 11th century is willing to be executed, or excommunicated to become a physician. He travels for several years from England just to reach a school to learn to become a doctor. The reason he does this is because there is no school for physicians in England, and he hears good things about the leader of this school.
The characters are tremendous and they draw you in to their lives. They are very real friends to you.
When Rob J is scared, you fear for him despite how much is left of the book. When any character you loved comes to harm you are cut to the quick.
This book is a must RE read over and over and I highly recommend it to all who are interested in reading about medicine.
Rating:
Summary: Travel Back In Time
Review: London,10th century. The nine year old christian Rob loses his parents and travels as a apprentice with a kind of doctor and artist through England. When the doctor died he starts a dangerous journey to Persia. As jew he tries to get into the university for medicine to realize his dream of becoming a physician. His life is full of dangerous adventures while living with a false identity. I laughed and cried with Rob while he tries to deal with his hard and partly very disturbing life. The book is very thrilling and extraodinary. The author Noah Gordon writes Rob's story very vividly. While reading the book I travelled back in time and found myself in a places full of poverty, danger and adventures.
It is a fantastic book which is absolutely worth being read. I could not stop reading until I unfortunately reached the last page. All in all: You need to buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping story, but with major factual/historic mistakes
Review: I agree with most of the other readers that this book makes very unique and interesting reading. Like the others, I couldn't put it down until my eyes were tired - night after night. However, it is a shame that despite so much research on Judaism and 11th century Christianity, Gordon seems to have done so little of the same on Islam and Persian history. This inspite of a major part of the story being set in Persia. Simple facts such as execution methods and other Islamic commandments have been either exaggerated or described falsely. And some of the historic events of the day have been stated incorrectly. For example, it was the Afghan King Mahmood, who invaded Isfahan, not his son Masood. Also, it would be impossible - in any period of history - for a King to have access to other people's wife (or wives for that matter) at will in a Muslim country. Yet Gordon claims precisely that. These are probably factors recognised better today than in the 1970's when the book was written. Which means that another revision may soon be due - with a few factual corrections.
Rating:
Summary: How far would you go in pursuit of knowledge?
Review: For a novel entitled 'The Physician', I thought there would be a great deal more interaction with patients, discussion of diseases, treatments for injuries and generally dealing with being a healer. That is not to say that the book doesn't contain these elements, but I did expect and would have enjoyed more. However, Rob's goal to be a physician serves as a mechanism to walk the reader through different facets of the fascinating world of the early 1000's. The novel covers approximately 20 years of Rob's life from the age of 9 until he is about 30. The story opens in London, when Rob is a child. He is quickly orphaned and fortunately becomes the apprentice of a barber surgeon and travels around England entertaining crowds, treating minor ailments, selling a physick that is mostly alcohol and realizing that there is a great deal more to be learned about healing. After about 10 years, Rob decides that even though he makes a good living as a traveling barber surgeon, he doesn't want to continue with his occupation until he knows as much as he possibly can to help those that seek his healing talents. Rob chooses to embark on an ambitious trek to Persia to study at the greatest medical school of the time. He spends many months getting there and once he arrives, Persia serves as the setting for most of the remainder of the book. He cannot study at the medical school as a Christian, so he masquerades as a Jew and there is a bit of introduction to the 3 major religions, but more in terms of geography and how it affects a persons place in society rather than focusing on the actual beliefs. I found the book slow at some points, but it was so full of history brought to life that I was happy to continue reading. The book is long, but I didn't want it to end because I hoped there would be more of Rob's life back in England and Scotland and more about the application of the skills and knowledge he spent years obtaining. But there is very little of this in the last chapters of the novel. Still, this book brought me to such a different time and place with Rob Cole and I will definitely pick up 'The Shaman'.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable classic
Review: Everyone who has read many books uses to recall a selected group of them that he will never forget, I think that The Physician is one of these classic charming books candidate to those selected unforgettable Not a novel, but a linear tale, the Physician covers the life story of an English orphan during the 11th century who gets carried to an eastern civilization, the Persians, defying all the perils of the unknown to learn the trade of becoming a physician after he discovers he is gifted to perform this profession healing the poor in his native England Superstition vs science, divinity vs rationalism, myths vs facts, the clash of religions, the advent of medicine, the Middle Age taboos, all these topics are being touched upon in particular and related Love, lust, passion, mystery, riddles are also elements that provide colour and entertainment to the tale.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: Terrific read; couldn't put it down. Fascinating background and characters you cared about. The ending was a little depressing however; hated to see him stuck in the wilds of Scotland instead of establishing a teaching hospital. Well, different times.
Rating:
Summary: One of My All-Time Favorites
Review: I loved this book. After starting with "The Shaman" (another must-read), this book exceeded my expectations. I love the time period and the travel. This book ranks #2 on my all time list, next to "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.
Rating:
Summary: What a journey - I was right there with Rob
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I love timepieces and this book did not disappoint. Once you start reading this book you are going on a journey, a journey of emotions, cultures, religions and countries. The beginning of the book is a little hard to read since it is very sad, but you will feel attached to this boy starting at page one. You are going to find yourself right there with Rob, I could actually see the countries and cities and smell the air while I was reading this book. Give it a try; I'm sure you will love it as much as I did.
|
