Book Description
On Call A Doctor's Days and Nights in Residency Emily R. Transue, M.D. The 'birth' of a doctor through the grueling years of residency earing the long white coat of an M.D. and being called 'Doctor' for the first time are heady experiences for a newly-minted doctor checking in for her first day of residency. In a reflective and crisis-packed memoir, Dr. Emily Transue chronicles this intense three-year stage of medical training-her internship in internal medicine in a Seattle hospital-as she gains confidence in putting her academic knowledge to work. During her first week on the medical wards, she watched someone die of cardiac arrest in the emergency room. It was a long way from books and labs. She began to record her ex-per-iences as a way of gaining perspective. Transue focuses on the patients she encounters in the hospital, ER and clinic, all of whom are at critical junctures in their lives. Some of these stories are funny, and others are tragic. A charming man, newly diagnosed with lung cancer is lyrical about his life on a sunny island far away; a family witnesses the death of an estranged son, losing him twice; and an elderly woman, just released from a breathing machine after nearly dying, sits up and demands a cup of coffee. On Call captures the harried life of a resident physician and shows Dr. Transue growing into the respon-si-bility of a new member of the medical profession to become a highly respected physician in the field. Emily R. Transue, M.D., is a native of Toledo, Ohio. She attended Yale University and Dartmouth Medical School. She did her residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she was awarded a chief residency position. She works as a general in-ternist at a clinic in downtown Seattle where she lives. Medicine/Memoir 0-312-32483-9 $23.95 $34.95 Canadian 51/2" x 81/4" / 256 pages August
Customer Reviews:
A great snapshot of the terrors and trials of residency.......2007-08-04
Dr.Transue does a great job of infusing her story with accuracy and gory details, but still keeps a very human approach and doesn't lose sight of her patients as people. This book is so interesting for anyone (and most of us hopefully have)who has been on either side of medical care to see both sides. It is a great book to help patients realize how human their doctors truly are and the enormous amount of stress their caretakers are under,and yet they still manage to have patience and grace under fire.
Fabulous book!.......2007-05-14
I really enjoyed this in depth book about residency and the continued process to achieve the doctor status! Very well written and bright!
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the medical field and those searching for info on the process of becoming a doctor!
Fine,Fine Doctor.......2006-07-17
She was my Dr..Soooo kind and always the patients advocate.I even have one of her ink pens,LOL! I begged and she caved in and gave it to me.
It stands to reason she would write a book about her impressions of Harborview and its broad cross section of doctors and patients.
to think i knew emily way back when ..........2006-01-11
ok, i admit it - i went to med school with Dr. Transue so I am biased - I like her personally. But while that may bias my opinion of the book, it also lets me assess the book from a first hand perspective. Her writing really "captures the moment". It is so accurate that I kept waiting for the part where she mentioned my name or had me walking through the door. Never happened, but regardless - the stories she told were very realistic, and the emotions she conveyed were the same types of feelings that most of us experienced as we went through our medical training. great job emily - waiting for the sequel!
signed - one of your gross anatomy partners
Very well written, compassionate stories.......2006-01-03
Being a Registered Nurse myself and also being married to a physician, I'm very aware of all the hospital stories that occur during training. In fact, I dated many medical students when I was young and working at a teaching hospital. I also now live in Seattle. So this book was a "given" that I would read it.
I thoroughly enjoyed every story she told. She struggled with being "human" rather than tough and non-feeling as many doctors appeared to be. And that was an endearing part of her story. Doctors are human and have feelings. And Dr. Transue learned in her training that being tough isn't necessary and that it's ok to become involved in patient care and really "care".
I worked L&D most of my clinical career in San Diego. A real tough OB doctor worked with me for years----he could be very matter of fact and hard core with his patients. One day I realized that a patient of mine in the triage room was carrying a stillborn. He was the doc on call. I was concerned that he would be too tough and not soft enough for this patient. But when he pulled the curtains and cried as he told her the baby had died, I realized that he is a caring man and had compassion for his patients---just tried too hard not to show it. I gained a new respect for him and doctors.
This is an excellent book about the training for doctors. I highly recommend it for all those newly graduated from medical school. It just might help them with that "human factor".
Book Description
Press 1 for technical support.
Press 2 for broken hearts.
Press 3 if your life has totally crashed. . . .
Six friends work nights at a call center in India, providing technical support for a major U.S. appliance corporation. Skilled in patience–and accent management–they help American consumers keep their lives running. Yet behind the headsets, everybody’s heart is on the line.
Shyam (Sam to his callers) has lost his self-confidence after being dumped by the girl who just so happens to be sitting next to him. Priyanka’s domineering mother has arranged for her daughter’s upscale marriage to an Indian man in Seattle. Esha longs to be a model but discovers it’s a horizontal romp to the runway. Lost, dissatisfied Vroom has high ideals, but compromises them by talking on the phone to idiots each night. Traditional Radhika has just found out that her husband is sleeping with his secretary. And Military Uncle (nobody knows his real name) sits alone working the online chat.
They all try to make it through their shifts–and maintain their sanity–under the eagle eye of a boss whose ego rivals his incompetence. But tonight is no ordinary night. Tonight is Thanksgiving in America: Appliances are going haywire, and the phones are ringing off their hooks. Then one call, from one very special caller, changes everything.
Chetan Bhagat’s delicious romantic comedy takes us inside the world of the international call center, where cultural cross-wires come together with perfect pathos, hilarity, and spice.
Customer Reviews:
A Bridget Jones-y plot-- with racism as a bonus!.......2007-09-19
The book's fluff plot aside (the guy gets the girl!), its constant statements about Americans trip off my alarm: "Are these comments that, if stated about black people, would be unspeakably racist?"
And in fact, yes, a novel that has God speaking to Indian call-center workers via cellphone and opining that Americans are warlike [p251], is indeed racist-- whereas, we must infer, the Indians have, with infinite pacifistic serenity, transcended all violence, now and forever. One can only imagine the surprise and delight that this news will bring to the residents of Kashmir, or to the survivors of the recurring massacres of ethnic/religious minorities elsewhere in the Subcontinent.
Moreover, on the topic of judging whole peoples to be "warlike", I seem to recall a spot of bother about India conducting nuclear weapons tests on and off over the past few decades. But presumably those were super-special nuclear weapons that irradiate giggles instead of lethal gamma rays, and blast candy into the air, instead of fallout. Good luck with that whole "peace" thing, guys. Glass houses, throwing stones, etc.
Quite interesting is climax of the novel, when the plucky call-center workers "save the day" by phoning up hundreds (thousands?) of Americans and telling them that the whole of the US is under attack from terrorist computer viruses [p275]. That part is especially "hilarious"-- in some special sense of that word that actually means not funny at all, but instead inexcusable and repulsive.
(Call-center workers of the world, here's a hint: if you lapse into racist fantasies, it's long past time to quit.)
I give the book one star, because I can't give it zero, or negative fifty.
Great Poolside Reading.......2007-06-21
This is a very nice first or second piece of fiction. I get a chuckle out of people throwing around the word "novel". Mr. Bhagat really stretches the sense of term "novel" by referring to this short non-fiction volume as a novel on the cover page. Novel? Perhaps in the sense that no one in my recollection has written a story centered around an Indian call center. But, a novel? Please. Doesn't novel imply a work of art or a serious attempt at art? This is not art.
Of course, if you can get by the "Americans are fat stupid idiots" pabulum sprinkled throughout the volume what you get is a very well told story about some young Indian kids striving to get ahead. The narrative and dialog, while not exactly riveting, is certainly entertaining and worth a read. I'm not expert on Indian culture, but I went to school and have worked with many Indian experts and have grown to respect the work ethic and general willingness to "get along" with people. I've always wanted to visit India and this book has done nothing to dissuade me.
I was hoping for more information or anecdotes about the inner workings of call centers. Often new "novelists" do so much homework on their subject that you actually feel like you're reading history or some other non-fiction type of work covering the subject.
Again, a nice summer read. Good job Mr. Bhagat and best of luck with future work.
And, hey, call center work sounds like a grueling, repetitive, frustrating job. So, I can forgive the anti-American stuff. If I were working a call center in Chicago (who knows) covering India I'd be cursing about customer after a while too.
Interesting to read for its "view from the inside".......2007-05-03
I read this book with great curiosity because I'd heard about this novel for a long time (while it was unavailable in the USA) and I thought it would be interesting to read the perspective of some call center workers in India. I wasn't disappointed.
Their awareness of their low salaries (as compared to their American counterparts), the social differences between their culture and the USA, and the often-poor treatment they received from many of their customers (and their manager) was no surprise. Their day-to-day work issues were not unlike may others: fear of layoffs, incompetent managers taking credit for their work, pressure to increase their productivity, and technology breakdowns. And their struggles with some old-culture traditions -- like arranged marriages -- made the story more interesting.
I could have done without the intro and the ending to this novel -- which is an additional storyline that takes place in a conversation between the author and a female passenger. In my opinion, these intro and outro parts added nothing to the story and even made it a bit cheesy at the end.
All in all, I recommend it...it's a fast and entertaining read.
Average customer rating:
- NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE CALL
|
Call in the Night
Susan Howatch
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Howatch, Susan | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0751533122 |
Book Description
From half way around the world, American Clare Sullivan obeys a desperate summons from her glamorous sister Gina and flies to Paris. But when she arrives, there’s no sign of Gina. Her sister’s trail leads Claire to London and to Garth Cooper, a boyfriend of Gina’s, who seems to have a secret to hide. As time passes, Claire begins to understand that Gina’s disappearance is not just another one of her sister’s melodramatic stunts.
Customer Reviews:
NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE CALL.......2004-05-10
This is one of Susan Howatch's shorter books before she became famous with the publication of Penmarric. While there is essentially nothing wrong with the story, it follows the tried and trusted Gothic formula - the heroine doesnt know who to trust and starts to suspect the man that she is becoming attracted to etc - there is nothing that stands out either.
The whole premise ie Claire Sullivan travelling halfway around the world after a mangled message from her flighty sister is far fetched. After a whole lot of nothing, the end when the murder victim is found and the murder unmasked is dealt with too abruptly. If you are looking for a better Howatch short novel I would suggest The Shrouded Walls (four stars) and her best The Devil on Lammas Night (five stars).
Amazon.com
Inspired by the discovery that Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle attended medical school in Scotland with one of the 19th century's most notorious serial killers, David Pirie's The Night Calls reels out a grim but engrossing tale that suggests a model for Holmes's foremost adversary, Professor James Moriarty.
A series of bizarre assaults on women in the brothels of 1878 Edinburgh draws the attention of Dr. Joseph Bell, a surgeon, charismatic teacher, and forensic expert who periodically applies his deductive skills to solving crimes. Together with a young Conan Doyle, his "trusted clerk and pupil," Bell follows the trail of an elusive attacker who leads them on crepuscular chases through gloomy Victorian streets and to a blood-filled room where the puzzle of his motive becomes deeper. However, Conan Doyle is occupied with other matters, as well. He's fast developing a fondness for fellow student Elsbeth Scott, whose interest in promoting educational rights for women has made her many enemies, and whose sister, the wife of a hypocritical philanthropist, grows sicker by the day--either as a result of disease or deviousness. The future author is disturbed, too, by his father's deteriorating mental condition. Assisting Bell offers Conan Doyle some release from worry--at least until their controlling quarry becomes a threat to Miss Scott. Pirie's plot only gains more perplexity and darkness as its action shifts to London, forcing the logical Bell and his impetuous amanuensis to contend with opium fiends, disappearing corpses, a severed head with "horrifying power," and continuing taunts by a murderer who believes that "evil is freedom."
While British author Pirie's previous Bell-Conan Doyle novel, The Patient's Eyes, was more of a whodunit, liberally employing Sherlockian investigative techniques, the rather more smoothly constructed The Night Calls concentrates equally on drama and the morally incongruent psychology of its principal players. This novel blends fact with fiction in a mesmerizing tale that boasts a frightening, cliffhanger ending. A sequel is planned. --J. Kingston Pierce
Book Description
As a young medical student, Arthur Conan Doyle-the creator of Sherlock Holmes-studied under one of the pioneers in forensic medicine, Dr. Joseph Bell. While details of Doyle’s actual relationship with the Doctor remain shrouded in mystery, author David Pirie has created an engrossing series that pairs the two as partners in criminal investigations in the dark underworlds of Victorian Edinburgh.
The Night Calls chronicles their most frightening and disturbing case, the encounter with the man who prefigures Holmes’ archnemesis Moriarty. A series of bizarre and outlandish assaults on women in the brothels of Edinburgh has caught the attention of Bell, who calls on Doyle to assist in the investigation. At the same time, however, there’s a violent struggle for women's educational rights taking place at the university’s medical school where Doyle is a student. There he meets young Elsbeth Scott, a fellow student with an unfortunate list of enemies, among them a crazed misogynist student name Crawford, and the smiling hypocritical patron of the university, Henry Carlisle.
Bell slowly begins to realize that the increasingly freakish crimes indicate a heretofore unknown and terrifying kind of criminal, one who is not susceptible to the Doctor’s old methods. The Night Calls takes them from the evil heart of old Edinburgh into what Bell calls their “fight against the future” and to London itself, where Doyle again faces a villain with terrifying results.
Customer Reviews:
An Unsatisfactory Read.......2005-12-03
I got through this book by gritting my teeth. Why I put myself through the thankless task is the true mystery of this novel of suspense. A mystery compounded by the fact that there is no resolution at the end - just a referal to the next volume in The Murder Room Series and I won't be reading that any day soon - make that never. I have never felt so conned.
It's an odd book. The narrator is an irritating, petulant twerp who constantly lets his emotions rule his behaviour and I quickly lost any sympathy for him. The novel is within shouting distance of a resolution half way through but the author then spins the novel out and on to its detriment.
The second half of the novel turns on an increasingly preposterous series of coincidences that would put Amistad Maupin to shame. The predictability of the ensuing events is equally annoying. As for the "surprise" at the end? What surprise - I could see it a mile away!
The author's notes makes it clear that he was inspired to write this particular novel due to a coincidence he discovered in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's background history - that he had studied medicine with a notorious serial killer - but he took that idea and just got carried away. The "idea" didn't warrent a second (or third?) novel. In deed, it didn't deserve one novel of this length. The first half could have been developed into one interesting, self-contained novel but it wasn't and more's the pity.
All in all, an unsatisfactory read.
Thoroughly captivating suspense!.......2004-06-16
I just finished reading this book, and I absolutely LOVED it, I couldn't put it down. Thanks to a friend in Edinburgh who sent me this book, I am now an avid fan of the series, and having never read any Sherlock Holmes novels (I know, shame on me!), not only did this book fascinate me, but it also made me want to read Doyle's works, and learn more about the man. Anyone who loves literary fiction or who is a Holmes fan (obviously), or just likes a good suspenseful horror novel, will LOVE this book!
Killer and sleuths match wits in this exciting thriller........2003-09-21
David Pirie's excellent novel, "The Night Calls," features a young Arthur Doyle, who is a medical student, and his mentor, Dr. Joseph Bell. Bell's sharp powers of observation and clever methods of detection were an inspiration for Doyle's fictional character, Sherlock Holmes.
It is the late 1800's in Edinburgh, Scotland. Arthur Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell combine their resources to investigate a series of grisly assaults on women. Ultimately, Bell fears that the assaults are the work of an unhinged individual whose crimes may soon escalate to murder. It turns out that Bell's fears are well founded. Their antagonist is a sadist who has tremendous intelligence, imagination, cruelty, and daring.
With his skilled description and vivid characterizations, Pirie has done a marvelous job of capturing the mood of the times. He tackles several feminist themes, including the discrimination that faced young ladies who wished to attend medical school, and the wretched exploitation of impoverished women who sold their virtue in order to survive.
The characters of Bell and Doyle and sharp and well-drawn. Bell's incisive mind, no-nonsense approach, and tenacity when faced with a difficult problem are indeed reminiscent of the great Sherlock Holmes. The central villain of the piece is a vile individual who will make your blood run cold.
Pirie includes several intriguing subplots, including one about a chauvinistic and cruel husband and another about an arrogant scientist who believes that the ends of scientific discovery justify unethical means. "The Night Calls" is a chilling, fascinating, and expertly written novel, and I recommend it highly.
Atmospheric and absorbing.......2003-08-29
Sherlock Holmes. Very few names are as evocative as that one. And yet there are many questions and speculations surrounding the creation of that marvelous fictional detective. It has been said that the only way to gain any true knowledge of Holmes is through his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. David Pirie must subscribe to that train of thought as well and has therefore devised a background for Doyle. In so doing, Pirie gives us an imaginative glimpse into the relationship between the writer and Dr. Joseph Bell, the man credited with being the inspiration for Holmes himself.
`The Night Calls' is first and foremost a thoroughly atmospheric, not to mention a completely absorbing, story. Each setting and scene is described in careful detail, which lends the prose a rich density that manages to escape any sense of being cumbersome. The reader is allowed to take to the streets of Edinburgh and London right alongside Doyle and Bell. Yes, those streets are dark and unsavory, but you would never think of turning back. And even though Pirie takes the mystery on a couple of tangent jaunts that may seem unnecessary, the heart of it remains compellingly close and "concludes" in a highly chilling manner.
After reading the Historical Note included at the end of the novel, I was surprised to find just how much of Doyle's real life had been snuck into the narrative. Pieces of the man's history that you think must have been part of the fiction turned out to be true and you appreciate the way the story was crafted even more for it. This is the type of novel that makes you want to learn more. More about Doyle himself, about the real-life serial killer that plagues Bell and Doyle throughout, and more about the women's movement that rose up during the time.
I thoroughly enjoyed `The Night Calls' and have since purchased `The Patient's Eye' which actually precedes this novel. I am also anticipating the dvd release of `The Murder Rooms', a miniseries upon which the novels were based.
Another winner!.......2003-08-18
Once again David Pirie has given us a winner: complex plotting, rich detail, characters who are real, beautiful writing. As you follow Doyle and Bell through the misty streets of old Edinburgh, it is quite possible to forget that you are not actually there. In "The Night Calls", Doyle has begun to open the darkest, most frightening of his "Murder Rooms", and the reader is drawn into all the fear, frustration, pain, and failure, as well as the successes, of that awful year in Doyle's life. A warning: "The Night Calls" and "The Patient's Eyes" are intertwined in some ways - a tidbit here, a phrase there - and you may find yourself picking up and enjoying "The Patient's Eyes" once again, as I did the moment I finished "The Night Calls". I hope Pirie intends to open every one of Doyle's "Murder Rooms"!
Book Description
In this “extraordinary novel from a great and true voice of our time” (Washington Post), a teenage drug overdose throws a closely knit Negev Desert settlement into turmoil - and tests the limits of a precarious love affair. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Translated by Nicholas de Lange.
Customer Reviews:
enchanting, melancholic, wise.......2006-08-01
Two people, so fundamentally different, who somehow find peace and understanding together.
This is, in principle, what "Don't call it night" is about.
Amos Oz, probably the most famous Israeli writer and propagator of peace, wrote a very wise novel. Israel is inseparable from the story, its history and geography (the overwhelming desert) are in every sentence, but the truths emerging from this book are universal.
Noa and Theo, a couple with eight years together behind them, are in a bit stagnant phase of their relationship. Theo, a man in his sixties, who achieved a lot in life as a successful architect, and saw a lot, living for years in Central America, has reached a minimalist attitude. He is very introvert, drawn in, finds pleasure in observing other people and in his daily routines. Noa, a middle-aged literature teacher at the local school in a small town of Tel Kedar, who started her independent life very late, after the death of her paralyzed father who she was taking care of, is always running around, never happy with her achievements, always setting new goals.
The novel starts when they have to face a difficult situation: Noa has suddenly been asked to organize a refuge for the young drug addicts as a memorial to her pupil, who died (suicide?) recently. The boy's father promised to provide the money... Noa, an energetic, even restless woman, starts the research immediately... only to discover endless obstacles. She does not want to show her weakness and ask Theo for help, until she has to. Theo, on the other hand, does not want to interfere if he is not asked...
The whole problem seems to be also a trial for their relationship... But shows only their enormous affection, tenderness and love for each other. Thanks to a formal maneuver- the chapters change narrators between Noa and Theo - the reader knows more of their feelings to each other, than they do.
The language of the novel is very pure, simple yet precise without baroque ornaments and erudition shows, so common nowadays. Oz uses the knowledge of history and the Bible where it is essential for the plot. "Don't call it night" is a beautiful book, worth returning to from time to time.
An interesting relationship........2003-05-08
Theo, a highly capable, but directionless civil engineer in his 60's, lives with Noa, a teacher in her 40's in the small dessert town of Tel Kedar. Noa is seeking more in life, and when she comes to head an effort to establish a drug rehabilitation center she sees working on this project as the answer, but at the same time this heightens her dissatisfaction with what she sees as her lover's lassitude. The story is told in their alternating voices, a device which works very well: sometimes they are talking about the same events, more often each voice moves the story along. Oz has a great appreciation for the physical environment and conveys this to the reader: the apartment the two share, its views, the desert surrounding the town. The book is somewhat limited in its plot, and in its secondary characters; also, while I was interested in the relationship between Theo and Noa, I did not find them particularly interesting people. Consequently, what is a rather short novel, almost seems too long, yet one definitely worth reading.
Redemption Comes in Small Packages.......2000-03-01
The title tells the whole story. It only seems like life is dark. Redemption can come in the smallest of packages. I was moved by the book. Redemption comes not from building roads or espousing ideologies, but from perservering in a relationship and getting up in the morning to make your salad just right. Oz's language is rich and beautiful. He artfully uses biblical and other Jewish references. It's gorgeous even in translation.
Average customer rating:
- Good StoryLine, A Good Read.
- OMG! their might be a part 3!
- Wonderful Storyline, Plot and Charecters
- Immensely enjoyable reading, also respectful of topic
- A New Slant on Fantasy
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Night Calls
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel
Manufacturer: Harpercollins (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Kimbriel, Katharine Eliska | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books | Adventure | Alternate History | Anthologies | General | Graphic Novels | High Tech | History & Criticism | Series | Short Stories | Space Opera
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ASIN: 0061054119 |
Book Description
I wasn't eager to learn the Wise Arts.I was just a girl, more interested in running wild with my brothers than developing what my mother called the Gift.
Then the werewolves came, shattering the peaceful nights in our village of Sun Return. They took five of ours -- including two babies and my big brother Dolph, before my parents agreed to give me up. They called in Cousin Cory, Aunt Marta, all the known practitioners. The ones who could teach me how to hide in a leaf, "dip" into minds and find the secret herbs that heal.
My childhood was over. It was my turn to straddle the worlds and face the Dark on the other side....
Customer Reviews:
Good StoryLine, A Good Read........2007-04-21
Alfreda knew how a girl was supposed to behave and what her role in life was to be but this did not stop her from longing for the same opportunities in life as her brothers were offered. The normalcy of her world is suddenly shattered when werewolves come to her village claiming several victims and awakening an old power. Alfreda and her family are forced to accept an old family obligation and it is up to Alfreda to conquer the power or be destroyed by creatures from the other side.
I found the story to be a pleasant read and developed affection for the characters described. I did think there was room for a bit more rounding out on the relationships but that can be addressed in a second book. I would have like to have seen Alfreda's discover more about her feelings for her beau before the book ended but it left a nice opening for another story if needed. The story wrapped up quite quickly and had a little bit of a rushed feeling to it but I closed the book with a smile. Over all I recommend the book as a good light hearted read.
OMG! their might be a part 3!.......2006-07-03
Wings of Morning - is the name for the third book, at least i think it is. i came upon it on one of my usual random searches of katharine eliska kimbriel's works and this one was new so check it out bc i hope ally and shaw get together in this one!
Wonderful Storyline, Plot and Charecters.......2004-04-19
I just adore this book, I almost have it memorized after many readings. Unfortunaly my baby riped it up so I need to find a new one. For anyone who is looking for a bit of interesting reading, buy it!
Immensely enjoyable reading, also respectful of topic.......2004-04-04
I discovered this quiet classic just after it was first published. I have lost track of how many times I have read it. It is very well written, telling its story through the eyes of an 11 - 14 year old but on an adult reading level. Having been a solitary wiccan for 17 years, I was skeptical that it might be just another "monsters and mayhem" tale, but the author manages to walk with ease "between the worlds" without the tiniest smidgeon of exploitation to be found. I have "redisovered" it after a long absence from it, and was astounded to find it had developed an amazing following. So much for that "just to read on the plane" beginning! Bottom line is great story, characters that are vibrantly alive, and a fascinating plot through man, myth, and magic. My only complaint: we need a third book to round out the story!!!!!! Ok, so I'm busted, I want a happy ending with Allie and Shaw... P.S. I now own three copies of "Night Calls" and its sequel, "Kindred Rites" because everyone keeps borrowing them from me!
A New Slant on Fantasy.......2001-09-18
I received Night Calls as a gift, and didn't read it for several months. I shouldn't have put it off! I was fortunate enough to take it with me on a long train ride, and very little reading time has been spent more pleasantly.
The backgdrop of the story is one I haven't encountered before: the American frontier, but through the eyes of a budding young girl/witch of Scandinavian descent. The unusual (but light) cultural slant, coupled with the author's ability to write a story that serves the characters, gave me a new perpsective on dark fantasy. The reader learns about the magic art along with the protagonist, and the writing makes all of it believable. Much of the magic element of the book is based in herbalism, of which I know little, but which the author presents with authority. However, the technical details never overshadow the human elements of the story. I would recommend this book to adult and young adult readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Average customer rating:
- A Bridget Jones-y plot-- with racism as a bonus!
- This book is Anti-American
- Fast and fun read, will be great as a movie
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One Night @ The Call Center
Chetan Bhagat
Manufacturer: Rupa & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 8129108186 |
Product Description
Novel on IT, cultural issues, by author of Five Point...
Customer Reviews:
A Bridget Jones-y plot-- with racism as a bonus!.......2007-09-19
The book's fluff plot aside (the guy gets the girl!), its constant statements about Americans trip off my alarm: "Are these comments that, if stated about black people, would be unspeakably racist?"
And in fact, yes, a novel that has God speaking to Indian call-center workers via cellphone and opining that Americans are warlike [p251], is indeed racist-- whereas, we must infer, the Indians have, with infinite pacifistic serenity, transcended all violence, now and forever. One can only imagine the surprise and delight that this news will bring to the residents of Kashmir, or to the survivors of the recurring massacres of ethnic/religious minorities elsewhere in the Subcontinent.
Moreover, on the topic of judging whole peoples to be "warlike", I seem to recall a spot of bother about India conducting nuclear weapons tests on and off over the past few decades. But presumably those were super-special nuclear weapons that irradiate giggles instead of lethal gamma rays, and blast candy into the air, instead of fallout. Good luck with that whole "peace" thing, guys. Glass houses, throwing stones, etc.
Quite interesting is climax of the novel, when the plucky call-center workers "save the day" by phoning up hundreds (thousands?) of Americans and telling them that the whole of the US is under attack from terrorist computer viruses [p275]. That part is especially "hilarious"-- in some special sense of that word that actually means not funny at all, but instead inexcusable and repulsive.
(Call-center workers of the world, here's a hint: if you lapse into racist fantasies, it's long past time to quit.)
I give the book one star, because I can't give it zero, or negative fifty.
This book is Anti-American.......2007-04-02
I do not know how I am supposed to feel about a book that calls me stupid. Not just me, but my friends, my family and every American from sea to shining sea. Unfortunaly one of India's best selling books, One Night @ The Call Center, does just that.
I was enjoying the book until I got to page 53 and read:
"I passed by the training room on my way to Bakshi's office. I peeked inside: fresh trainees were attending a session. Some students were snoozing; they were probably still getting used to working at night.
'35=10', the instructor wrote in big bold letters on the blackboard.
I remembered the 35=10 rules from my training days two years ago. It helped agents adjust to their callers.
'Remember,' the instructor said to the class, 'a thirty-five-year-old American's brain and IQ is the same as a ten-year-old Indian's brain. This will help you understand your clients. You need to be patient as you are when dealing with a child. Americans are dumb, just accept it. I dont want anyone losing their cool during the calls'"
The book continues to mock American callers and their ridiculous problems. I'm still reading the book but I feel very defensive. Everywhere I go I see the, "dumb American" book. I am currently in India but I'm from the US.
We are all individuals and stereotypes are unfair. Not all Indians are engineers and not all Americans are stupid. When American's need help from call centers it's because their computer has crashed. It's not because we took our oven apart because the turkey wouldn't fit into it. The story focuses on a group of people who work in the Western Appliances Strategic Group. "The strategic customers (Americans) call a lot and are too dumb to figure out things (actually the latter applies to a lot of callers)," (p.39).
It's ironic that America created the flattering portrayal of Indians. Those dumb Americans were smart enough to only let in the brightest minds from other countries. Mira Kamdar says in her book, Planet India, that, "After 1965 Indian engineers, doctors, scientists and other college-educated individuals or people seeking an education in these fields began arriving in increasingly large numbers. The Indian engineering student stereotype was born to be replaced a couple of decades later by the Indian information-technology wiz. For the last several years, India has consistently sent more students to study in the United States than any other country. In 2005, over eighty thousand students from India come to the United States for higher education," (pg28).
Guess what? Most become U.S. citizens. So those stupid Americans calling into the center are Indian too. If Americans are so stupid and all Indians are brilliant why did the electricity go out in my hotel, in Bombay/Mumbai, FIVE times yesterday?
It's a well written, funny book but remember the award winning Indian author, Chetan Bhagat, lives in Hong Kong.
Some more quotes that will leave Americans feeling dissed:
"Guys, there are two things I cannot stand," he said and showed us two fingers. "Racists. And Americans," (pg 122).
"Americans are sick," Vroom said, as he pointed to a US politician who had spoken out in support of the war. "Look at him. He would nuke the whole world if he could have his way." "No, not the whole world. I don't think they'd blow up China," Priyanka said, sounding high. "They need the chap labor," (pg 207).
"Well, don't be so high on America. Americans may have many things, but they are not the happiest people on earth by any stretch. Any country obessed with war can't be happy, " God said, (pg 234).
Yes, in the book God is anti-American too.
"Meanwhile bad bosses and stupid Americans suck the life blood out of our country's most productive generation," (pg 254).
Fast and fun read, will be great as a movie.......2007-02-20
The author worked for a horrible boss and cited him as an inspiration for this book. If only all bad working experiences could be translated into bestsellers.
I was surprised this was getting an American release, as Americans aren't exactly shown in a flattering light here. The 35=10 rule just about made me spit up. The Indian call center teaches all call agents that a 35-year-old American is as intelligent as a 10-year-old Indian. I wonder how Americans will take this saying. I suppose you sort of have to insult the people who call all night long to complain about idiotic problems now and then to stay sane and not end up screaming at them after one stupid question too many. The author does acknowledge that inspite of the vast intelligence Indians have, the country is plagued by corruption and thus very behind America.
The call center narrative is woven into the flashbacks the protagonist has of his past dates with his dream girl, now about to be whisked away by an Indian-American suitor to an American life. I didn't get too attached to the romance aspect of it, mostly I liked the insight into the life of the average 20-something Indian, trying to make a good living but not selling out.
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- Shadows on the Stars (The Great Tree of Avalon, Book 2)
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