Rating: 
Summary: House of GOd is good
Review: We read this book for a second year medical school elective seminar, along with several other med student/intern type books. As a second year student, i found some of the books stressful but house of god, entertaining! with all of its hellishness, the author at least had some humor and coping skills that were interesting and entertaining. the sex, a little over the top, but then again he is a man...
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I found the book ponderous and dull. The author's observations about the medical profession became progressively less interesting as he repeated them again and again. Despite Updike's praise, the flights of lyrical fancy were embarassing. The sex seemed tacked on and the humor fell flat for me (particularly the irritating dialogue between the docs and the cops). The book's main value may be to dispel readers' illusions about the medical field, as well as illusions about the pre-managed care era with its incentives for overutilization of tests, etc. Yes, the author intended to illustrate the monotony of a young physician's life, but when someone can do this AND write an interesting book, I'll give it some more stars.
Rating: 
Summary: funny
Review: Great book. Keeps you coming back. I have rec. it to several young doctors. A must read book if you're in the medical field.
Rating:
Summary: House of Reality
Review: It's interesting to hear non-medical opinions on HOG. This book is actually not that humorous. I can see how it "seems" to be; with all the dark morbid humor and the LAWS. A colleage told me not to read this book until i had finished my 3rd year of MD-school. Why? Until you put yourself on the ward, this book doesn't mean much to you. I didn't believe him and read it at the end of my 2nd year. I read it again at the end of my 3rd year. It was like i was reading a different novel. There is no way to clearly describe the sensation of having 7 admissions on call...all gomers....trying desperatly to BUFF and TURF them. This book is a must read for the doctor to be. The nonmedical world has to realise that what seems as perverse dark sick humor (gomers, turfing, not doing anything, the only good admission is a dead admission) is merely an attempt to survive the onslaught of internship. Balance fatigue with limited knowledge and throw in some unparralled responsibility and you get a taste of what it's like. House of God does just that. Oh.. and never ever.... go to a teaching hospital in July. :)
Rating:
Summary: Does Shem get his own joke?
Review: I read this book 18 years ago when I was a young intern. In the first half the author brilliantly captures the physical side of human medicine where people are hard work and the body is a messy machine badly in need of repair. I still use many quotes from the book, such as, "Show me a [blank] who only triples my work and I will kiss [his/her] feet." The darkness of the humor helped me realize joy in my work as I never felt as bad on a day in my internship as the principal character seemed to feel constantly. Where the book failed me is half-way through where I realized that the character/author doesn't perhaps get his own joke. Humans are dirty, messy, and often demented as patients; and doctors are often misguided, clueless, and overwhelmed. And this is who we are! I love this fact of our closeness to the base, rather than the idea of man as a clean-bodied, god-fearing species, held apart from all others. A psychiatrist! Who wants to be that, when we can be so happy as inmates of the asylum?
Rating:
Summary: Humor?
Review: So many reviewers saw this book as humorous. I cried through the whole thing, and was left with a pretty nasty feelin after that. but not because it's a bad book. It is well written, although the characters are not very broad and there is a serious problem of the writer's ego mixing with his character's. But the excellent writing wasn't the point of the book for me. Anyone with an inherent fear of doctors , should read this book to see that he was right.
Rating:
Summary: Its a joke people
Review: I've read this book 4-5 times and I think it is one of the funniest books every written. After reading some of these reviews I'm amazed at how many people just don't "get it". I'm afraid most people in this country who grew up with bad sit-coms (anyone under 50) doesn't get a joke if it doesn't come with a punchline and a laugh track. I'm a big fan of Howard Stern and I think the humor in this book is a lot like Howard, its operating at a level that most people don't get. The reality and jokes are so intertwined that you have to think about where reality stops and the joke starts. Unfortunately you need both intelligence and a sense of humor to appreciate this book and that combination is in short supply.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Very interesting book on the live of medical interns, I cannot put this book down once I started to read it. I highly recommend this book to anybody who has a interest in being a doctor. Don't use this book as a reference about the live of interns but as a humorous reading about this honorable profession.
Rating:
Summary: You either love or you hate it
Review: The first time I read this book was in 1981, before starting medical school. I thought it witty but so cynical that I did not like it. I read it again before starting residency. I now recognized a few of the characters. Through residency there were frequent allusions to "buff and turf", "orthopedic height" and what could be reached with a large gauge needle. Although HOG was not a survival manual it did give me a sense of deja vu at times. I read it a third time after residency. My only complaint is that it completely left out an important element of the intern experience; the drug reps.
Rating:
Summary: A good bit of sarcasm and reality
Review: House of God is a nicely written book - it is a quick read thanks to its fluency. Events happen so fast in the life of the portrayed intern that they simply fly by, which Shem carries across to the reader by not clearly distinguishing them by paragraphs or chapters. This might perhaps not be suitable to all readers. The sarcasm and reality mix quite well and if you are not a doctor yourself, you think twice before entering a hospital next time. The only character I truly didn't enjoy was Berry, the girlfriend of the main protagonist, and her neverending Freudian anecdotes. But this might derive from the fact that I am coming from the psychological side of this profession, who outdated Freud some time ago. Who liked this book might also enjoy "The Year of the Intern" by Robin Cook, which is quite different from his nowadays trash novels.
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