The Surgeon's Rhyme: A Memoir; Bryson City Seasons: More Tales of a Doctor's Practice in the Smoky Mountains

The Surgeon's Rhyme: A Memoir

Michael Barrie

The Book Guild,

£8.99,

pp 192

ISBN 1 85776 813 2

Rating:

Bryson City Seasons: More Tales of a Doctor's Practice in the Smoky Mountains

Walt Larimore

Zondervan,

£13.50/$18.99/$C29.99,

pp 320

ISBN 0 310 25287 3

www.zondervan.com

Rating:

Traumatic echoes of life as a junior doctor: the sickening stench of stale cigarettes and hospital starch strangled sleep. The doctors' on-call room, placed conveniently between the wards, was the daytime coffee room for nurses and auxiliaries. Clouds of smoke throughout the day lingered in the fabric of the bed. Any comment to the staff brought antagonism, so it was easier to say nothing. These were times forgotten, until Michael Barrie's The Surgeon's Rhyme brought flashbacks.

He tells his story beautifully with drama, dialogue, and scratch and …