bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Review of The Physician
By: Noah Gordon
Rob J. Cole as a boy was apprenticed to a barber surgeon and had the gift of knowing when death is coming for someone. As he grows older, he realizes he can help heal people by attending a school for physicians in Persia. Unfortunately, he is a Christian and they don’t allow Christians, so, he decides he must become a Jew to fulfill his dream.
Rob’s journey is amazing as we see him learn how to be physician and grow while discovering this new culture that is very different from his European one. It is an intriguing culture that mixtures their laws and religious belief, but Rob finds it can be limiting to his career as a physician. At the same time, it is enriching for his life path. There are a lot of interesting characters such as Henry Croft, the barber surgeon, Ibn Sina, his mentor, and Mirdin and Karim, the friends that Rob makes in Persia. They are each flawed and complex characters, teaching him the very things that shape Rob. Rob experiences plenty of loss as he is never reunited with his family and loses many people to death making this story heart-wrenching at times. There is also plenty of religious persecution against Jews and Christians. Even Rob before he gets to Persia has a bias against the Jewish religion until he realizes they’re not much different from Christians, just different way of practicing. There were some parts that disturbed me and made me comfortable to read about as I didn’t always understand the mentality, just as Rob didn’t always. It is the story of a good chunk of Rob’s life, so it is slow paced and at times tedious, but it was worth the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Blood, Death, Classism, Hate crime, and Murder
rainydayswithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Comfort book! I can't explain exactly why I liked the book so much. The emotions are not particularly described and some situations in the book are more horrible than beautiful (read the trigger warnings!). Nevertheless, I like the story and it is interesting to follow the main character Rob for so long (from childhood to adulthood). His passion for medicine and his journey is unique. The different cultures, religions and lifestyles covered in the book are very authentically told. One gets many images in one's head of the doctors, the heat, the mud house, the market and the hustle and bustle, but also the suffering and poverty, injustice and greed for power of many people. I liked it especially from the middle of the book onwards. Although some of the actions made me gulp and shed tears, the book gave me comfort and took me to another world.🌴🫖🏜🛖☀️🧿🪔
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War, Sexual content, Death, and Alcohol
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