The Good Doctor : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Worth The Time
Review: "The Good Doctor" is an amazing tale of friendship, self-discovery, and dealing with the everyday struggles of a downtrodden place. This book follows Frank Eloff, a dissatisfied man who is desperately searching for change, and Laurence Waters, a young idealistic man who believes he can single handily change the world. When these two Characters meet, things begin to change for both men. Galgut shows just how much each of the men have changed the other man. In describing this relationship, Galgut holds interest by the wonderful description of the barren earth surrounding them. Galgut keeps you guessing at every twist and turn, in this impossible relationship. If you are looking to find more information on South Africa, or you just love the tale of a star-crossed friendship, then this book is most certainly for you.

Rating:
Summary: Youthful Optimism vs Middle Aged Cynicism
Review: Galgut's novel evokes the stark landscape of rural post-apartheid South Africa. But do not let the daunting subject matter scare you away. This is a highly accessible novel written in simple, but eloquent prose. It's told from the point of view of middle-aged Frank Eloff who is an under-achieving doctor that has spent many years of his life at a remote hospital waiting to be promoted. He begins the tale when an enthusiastic young doctor named Laurence joins the hospital as part of a required year of training. The two are required to share a room. A uncomfortable friendship blossoms. Laurence is determined to use his time at the hospital to make some radical changes as part of the new South Africa he welcomes. Frank however isn't so certain that the old South Africa has entirely left. Through the novel they are confronted by unavoidable people and problems from the past which slow the progress Laurence so ardently desires.

It's a literary work that contemplates the dilemma of the new South Africa with the same brevity as Gordimer's None to Accompany Me and Coetzee's Disgrace. Apart from the political connotations, this novel is a powerful and haunting tale about friendship and a man coming to terms with his middle age. It echoes the disturbing quality of Ibsen's Ghosts through its repetition of sexual betrayal. Toward the end of Frank's narrative, his accounts become more hallucinatory and his honesty becomes uncertain. A tremendous guilt overshadows his narrative. There is a desire to shake the complacency of the environment, yet any attempt at progress instantly proves futile. This is a very melancholy novel, but one of captivating beauty and intriguing mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Good Doctor, Fair Book
Review: Set in post apartheid South Africa, this is the story of Frank, a doctor working in a hospital in a former Homeland. The hospital itself is a joke - a run-down institution that is barely functioning, it ships most of its patients to the modern hospital nearby. But this obviously suits Frank, as he has been there fore years, since his wife left him for his best friend. Into his monotone, bland existence comes Laurence. Fresh out of medical school, Laurence has chose to do his compulsory one year community service in the most deprived area he can, and is determined to make a difference. It is left to the reader to decide if this drive is purely altruistic or driven by some less benevolent instinct within Laurence. His deluded ambitions impact on Frank, both professionally and personally, coming to a climax that Frank is powerless to change, no matter what he tries to do.

This is a well written book yet it lacks tension and momentum. There are many situations that could have been powerful flashpoints, yet they all seem to sink in to the grey morass that Frank's life has become. The reader is introduced to characters from Frank's past, and he retells what was obviously a formative experience from his compulsory Army service; yet his motivation for staying in such a static situation for years never seems clear, nor do his motivations ring true. It is as though this story is still blurry around the edges, the author never quite able to pull it into focus.

Galgut is a talented writer - he avoids flourishes of prose lesser writers would have resorted to, and he often avoids the easy option, choosing to stay true to the tone of the book. But once I had finished this book, it was hard to decide how I made me feel, as though I had no reaction to it at all. And that, to this reader, is not the sign of a great book. It may be The Good Doctor, but it is only a Fair Book.