Αχ Θε μου αυτός ο Κράιτον. Δεύτερο βιβλίο που διαβάζω κι έχω πάνω κάτω την ίδια άποψη με το Μετά. Τώρα είναι ακόμη χειρότερα τα πράγματα μιας και το βιβλίο το έγραψε τη δεκαετία του 1960, με ψευδώνυμο και μάλιστα όντας φοιτητής της Ιατρικής. Λοιπόν το βιβλίο γενικά είναι κάπως καλό. Η υπόθεση μπορεί να σε παρασύρει και να αναρωτιέσαι για το δολοφόνο. ΟΜΩΣ....Προχειρογραμμένο, χωρίς βάθος χαρακτήρων, χωρίς αναλύσεις, κινηματογραφικοί διάλογοι και ΠΟΛΥ ιατρική ορολογία, δηλαδή έλεος. Σε πολλά σημεία αναρωτιόμουν τι λένε και γιατί δεν το επεξηγεί. Σα να γράφω εγώ σε βιβλιοθηκονομική γλώσσα ("Ξεφύλλισα το βιβλίο αναζητώντας τον κολοφώνα αλλά τελικά η μόνη σοβαρή μνεία ευθύνης ήταν στο βερσό της σελίδας τίτλου", καταλάβατε τίποτα;). Ναι είσαι φοιτητής της ιατρικής, ναι ξέρεις πέντε πράγματα παραπάνω αλλά έλεος. Πλήθος διευκρινιστικών υποσημείωσεων και στο τέλος κάποια παραρτήματα όπου αναλύονται κάποια θέματα λίίγο παραπάνω. Σα να διάβαζα δοκίμιο ιατρικής με ειδίκευση στις αμβλώσεις δοσμένο με λογοτεχνική χροιά. Ειδικά στο κεφάλαιο όπου περιγράφει αναλυτικότατα τη νεκροτομή, τι βάζουν, τι βγάζουν, πώς το χαράζουν, πού τα πετάνε, για να μην αναφέρω τον αποκεφαλισμό των ποντικιών που τα περιμένουν πώς και πώς οι φοιτήτριες για να πειραματιστούν, ε, εκεί πια τα λόγια είναι περιττά. Όχι λοιπόν και πάλι όχι. Και πήρε και βραβείο ως καλύτερο θρίλερ τρομάρα τους. Ευτυχώς το παραδέχεται και ο συγγραφέας στο τέλος ότι ξαναβαλε το βιβλίο του όπως το ειχε παραδώσει τότε που ήταν είπαμε φοιτητής ιατρικής και έβγαζε συμπληρωματικό εισόδημα γράφοντας τέτοια βιβλία. Και ζητά συγνώμη για τα λάθη και τις αδυναμίες του. Και το χειρότερο είναι ότι θέλω να διαβάσω κι άλλο Κράιτον, δε γίνεται, κάπου κάνω λάθος, κοτζαμάν Τζουάσικ παρκ έγραψε, θα του δώσω κι άλλη ευκαιρία.Στα ελληνικά από τον Κέδρο το 1996 (Επείγον περιστατικό).
This is the first Michael Crichton book I've read, and I couldn't put it down. The pervading theme was the moral and ethical decisions doctors had to make concerning abortions -- performing them, knowingly not reporting (and, in fact, covering for)reputable doctors who performed them in hospital settings. This book was originally published under the name of Jeffery Hudson in 1968 when abortion was still illegal in the USA, and may have been intended to stir the public to legalize it. I personally am Pro-life. I would not want to spoil the story for you if you haven't read it, but it revolves around a doctor who has performed abortions with the knowledge and even some behind the scenes help of other doctors on staff at his hospital. Dr. Lee is arrested when a patient is brought into the emergency room after a botched abortion and dies. Her step-mother tells the police that Dr. Lee did the abortion. His friend, Dr. John Berry in Pathology, determines to find the real abortionist when Lee says he did not do it. I will leave it there and let you follow along with Dr. Berry in his informal investigation.
What do You think about A Case Of Need (2003)?
I enjoyed this book bc it was about the taboo topic of abortion. The characters were well developed and the main character of John Berry was interesting to follow. Another thing i really enjoyed about this book was the scattering of medical jargon within the text. It was like a reality episode of ER or some other popular medical drama. Although i have seen the subject of an abortion going wrong and the patient dying, this was a very good perception. The one thing that wasn't believable was the timeline. I highly doubt that all of the content could have happened within a week, and that made it a little less believable. The ending was a little predictable but was decent and packed with lots of action, which made me want to keep reading and finish.
—Sarah
A quick-paced, medical mystery with a lot of bit-part characters to distract you: that's my take on Michael Crichton's A Case of Need. Loaded with padded dialogue and esoteric terminology, this book dances the line between medical drama and crime novel without much definition to tell the difference. I commend him for tackling a subject that was a hot button at the time; and, I can also appreciate the attempted genre-split, but I think the novel would have benefited from just being a medical drama. The "whodunit" aspect was a tangled spectrum of vague characters and events that played out pretty flat in the end. Though it's obvious Crichton harbors some subtly jaded feelings towards his original profession, healthcare is where his strength and knowledge lay and he should have stuck with that. I enjoyed it well enough, but was left wishing it would hurry up and end in some parts, which is sort of an unfortunate fact when one is speaking of a short book with an already hurried pace. It's an early Crichton novel, which is evident when reading. Luckily, he decided to lead with science over mystery throughout his career.
—The Black Hat Writer
This book started really well. There was a dead patient, a daughter of a famous doctor and a friend of the protagonist was accused doing the abortion that led to the death of the patient.It was intriguing (though I am not sure that a layman could enjoy reading it uninterrupted without consulting google or dictionary) and the plot was built really well.Half through the book, I have to admit that I couldn't put it down until I finishedMy problem with this book is there was some unsolved mysteries (or maybe it is just me) at the end and there were so many characters that I constantly have to read it back and forth to figure out who is this person he's calling.Overall, a solid book but not my favorite Michael Crichton's fiction (that award goes to either Sphere, State of Fear, or the Great Train Robbery).
—Win
