Beat the Reaper: A Novel
by Josh Bazell
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Book Reviews of Beat the Reaper: A Novel
Book Review: "Murdering someone is bad for you."
Summary: 4 Stars
The hero of Josh Bazell's "Beat the Reaper" is intern Dr. Peter Brown (real name: Pietro Brnwa), a foul-mouthed hulk who grew up in northern New Jersey. He has impressive martial arts skills that he uses to deadly effect on more than one occasion. Brown has an irreverent and cynical attitude about almost everything, pops uppers like candy, and is in the Federal Witness Protection Program. He has a tragic and colorful past, including a stint working as a Mafia hit man. There is always the chance that someone will recognize him and rat him out to his many enemies. In short, Peter is living on borrowed time, and he will need all of his survival skills to escape the grim reaper when he inevitably comes calling.
Peter is a deeply flawed and off-beat protagonist who is as intelligent as he is aggressive. Throughout the book, he answers a number of questions that actually have a bearing on the plot: Why are scrub suits reversible? In what ways are humans naturally terrible fighters? Why was the Bishop of Berlin during World War II, Konrad Preysing, known as "The One Good German"? What are the differences between the fibula and the tibia? As the novel progresses, we learn about Peter's childhood and adolescence, including his relationship with the Locano family. When Peter is fifteen, he befriends his classmate, Adam Locano, and Adam's father, David, a lawyer with mob connections, takes Peter under his wing. Peter is so hungry for a feeling of belonging that he is willing to sell his soul to become a member of this clan. As a youngster, he cannot anticipate what a high price he will pay for his connection to the Locanos and their associates. After he becomes a hit man, he later admits that killing "murders something in yourself, and has all kinds of other consequences you can't possibly foresee." Partly to atone for his actions, Peter decides to go into medicine.
"Beat the Reaper" is adrenaline-fueled, complicated, politically incorrect, and filled with action and gore. (There is a nerve-wracking scene in a shark tank). It is enlivened by witty dialogue and unexpected twists and turns. Although everything that happens is surreal, we go along for the roller-coaster ride because it is fun, exciting, and unpredictable. Those who are offended by four-letter words and sexually explicit language might want to skip this one. Readers who enjoy sharp satire with a touch of poignancy (Peter does have a heart, although it is not always obvious) will want to stick around and see if Dr. Brown can stay alive to wisecrack another day.
Book Review: Like Scrubs on Crack
Summary: 4 Stars
Every time I look at this book, I think of the song by Blue Öyster Cult, "The Reaper". This really has nothing to do with the book, but I think it nonetheless. I'm not normally a fan of mafia books, for the reason that mafiosi are so evil that reading about them depresses me. I did like this book, but I was always struggling against the horror that any semi-realistic portrayal of gangster life elicits.
My favorite part of the book is the random medical facts scattered throughout the book, either in the body or in cute little footnotes. Lest anyone think that the medical mayhem of Manhattan Catholic is entirely fictional, I was recounting to my Mother the episode near the beginning of the book where Dr. Peter Brown comes in for rounds and discovers one of this patients is dead, despite the notation on the chart that claims the patient's temperature is 98.6º with blood pressure 120/80 mmHg. My Mom blurted out, "ooh, that happened to me!" My Mother has a great deal of experience as a nurse, and this exact incident happened to her, with the change that it was the aide who did it to the nurse instead of the nurse to the doctor.
I have worked in hospitals myself, and currently am a designer of medical devices, so everything about Manhattan Catholic rang true, even though that much misery is not usually concentrated in one place. I can indeed confirm the typical surgeon's potty mouth. I've never heard such astounding things as you can hear in an operating room. I also appreciate Dr. Brown's gallows humor. When you work with death, you need something to help you stay sane. You can't go and cry in your beer every time something goes wrong. The most common method is black humor to provide emotional distance. Less common is sanctification, as practiced by chaplains and religious. I never hear gallows humor out of Sr. Elizabeth. Of course, maybe she just isn't sharing.
The denouement of the book reminded of the Hitman series by Eidos. Anyone who has played through Hitman: Blood Money will find some similarities. Not huge ones, just reminiscent. The ending was imaginative. Perhaps I should say, strains credulity, but I'm not sure I could do it better. The medical facts do at least make it possible, if not plausible.
If you enjoy gangster books, go for this one. If you want to know what hospitals are really like, read this too. No hospital is this bad, but they definitely share a family resemblance. This book is like Scrubs on crack
Book Review: A truly exciting read
Summary: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (2/09)
"Beat the Reaper" is one of the rare books that I would give more than 5 stars to if I were allowed. I took this book everywhere with me for two days, hoping to grab a few minutes to read. I did not go to sleep because I could not put it down. When the book was finished, I felt such a feeling of disappointment that it was over, that there were no more pages to be read and the story really was over. It has been a long time since a book had me so gripped within its pages that the outside world ceased to exist.
"Beat the Reaper" tells the story of medical intern Dr. Peter Brown. Dr. Brown narrates his own story, telling his present life as a doctor in the worst hospital in Manhattan, and at the same time weaves the story of his past as a mafia hit-man. Brown's voice in telling his story is wry and humorous, with no censure of what comes out of his mouth. Reading this book is like being at a party, listening to one of the most interesting people you have ever met share their life story. We learn how Peter was raised as "Pietro Brnwa" by his Polish Jew grandparents. After their murders when he was fourteen, Peter was taken in by his best friend's parents, the Locanos. Pietro quickly begins working toward exacting his revenge for the murder of his grandparents. That is the first step to him becoming one of the most feared, and most successful, hit-men the mafia has ever had.
After his lifestyle catches up with him, Pietro becomes "Peter Brown" and embarks on a life in medicine as an attempt to atone for his past. By narrating between past and present, Dr. Brown very carefully leads the reader into his world and takes the reader for a suspenseful, wild ride as he rushes to stay alive now that his cover is blown.
It takes true talent to make a mafia hit-man into a sympathetic character. It takes even more talent to tell the stories of hits and mafia lifestyle without letting that story stray so far into violence that it turns the reader off. There is violence here, but it is told as a matter of fact, never in a gratuitous manner. This story is in turns funny, violent, suspenseful and heartbreaking. I don't know who Josh Bazell is or where he came up with this story but I truly hope he has more waiting to come out. "Beat the Reaper" absolutely blew my mind and it will be a long time before it is forgotten.
Book Review: A Ride on the Wild Side - 4.5/5 Stars
Summary: 4 Stars
I have to admit, Beat the Reaper, is not the type of book I would typically choose. I was, however, curious about this recent release as I heard that Leonardo DiCaprio is hoping to star in a movie based on Bazell's debut book.
The author, Josh Bazell has a BA in English literature and writing from Brown University and an MD from Columbia. Currently a resident at the University of California, San Francisco, he wrote Beat the Reaper while completing his internship at a hospital not at all like the one described in this book.
Pietro Brwna, abandoned by his parents when he was young was raised by his grandparents. One day he discovers his grandparents murdered, and himself alone. Pietro (later known as Peter Brown) becomes friends with the son of a MOB Lawyer, and the family takes him in. Peter is bent on revenge against the people who murdered his grandparents, and he soon starts working for the MOB as a hit man.
Later, after making a break from his past and entering the Federal Protection Witness Program, he becomes a doctor at one of the worst hospitals in Manhattan. While making rounds one day, Peter notices a familiar face from his hit man days. The patient is Nicholas LoBrutto, AKA... Eddy Squillante. Nicolas / Squillante has stomach cancer and does not have long to live He is threatening to blow Peter's cover if Peter does not save his life. Will Peter be able to "Beat the Reaper"?
This book is an extremely fast paced thriller. The book has several quirky characters which were really well developed. Another thing I loved about this book, was that there were footnotes peppered throughout the book which added lots of humor.
for example on page 165 ..."I use a random patient ID number to open up a fluids cabinet and take out a bottle of water with 5 percent dextrose." *
(footnote) * Most bottled water in hospitals has 5 percent dextrose. This is to prevent the phrase "Liter of plain F_ _ _ ING water: $35 " from appearing on your bill.
This book is darkly comical and pretty wacky to say the least, but strangely, I was not able to put the book down. There is an awful lot of profanity in the book, so if that bothers you, you might want to pass on this book, otherwise, this book is recommended if you are interested in a ride on the wild side.
Book Review: It doesn't get much better than this if you like morbidly funny twisted crime-fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
Beat the Reaper is right up my alley. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time I was reading this (which wasn't long because it's a short book and I had a hard time putting it down). This is a wildly entertaining, over-the-top thriller. The best way I can think of to describe it is to say its like the TV show House given an infusion of Goodfellas as imagined by the `Tarrinto-addicted' love-child of Carl Hiassen and Charlie Huston.
If this combination sounds good to you - you're in for a treat.
Of course, not everyone is going to like it. To help you decide if this book is for you, consider the following:
1. Are you offended by coarse language? If you are, give this one a pass. If, on the other hand, you enjoy novels peppered with f-bombs - Beat the Reaper has all the expletives you could ever ask for.
2. Do you like morbid and sarcastic humor? If so, you'll especially appreciate the cynical shots at the health care system.
3. How about graphic bone-busting violence? Beat the Reaper has that too, accompanied by hilarious anatomy lessons and trivia.
4. What about sexual content - graphic and crude? (This isn't actually something that I like much of in a novel - but there's a healthy dose of it here - notably a rather twisted (and unlikely) coupling in a shark tank).
5. Speaking of shark tanks - Good news for shark fans (and who isn't?). Beat the Reaper has them too.
6. But perhaps most importantly, do you like novels that are smart AND far-fetched? If you do, Beat the Reaper is a great example of a smart novel that is completely preposterous. Unlike novels that are unrealistic in a dumb way, Beat the Reaper is unrealistic in an intentional, entertaining, over-the-top way. (If you like unrealistic, dumb novels, you might want to check out Stuart Woods).
For those of us that crave brutally funny crime fiction, Beat the Reaper is a breath of fresh air. This is a fast paced, wildly entertaining, novel that will appeal to anyone who likes their crime fiction a little twisted. For those of us that like this type of novel: trust me, you won't be able to put Beat the Reaper down. It may not have much 'substance' but when it comes to pure entertainment value, it doesn't get much better than this.