The Good Doctor By Damon Galgut - Book Review

Set in post apartheid South Africa the hospital in which this book is set has been created as a new town by central authorities. It would be hard to believe if we in the UK had not our own experiences of the social engineering of the 1960s. Unfortunately this hospital does not meet the needs of the local population and is not therefore used. The hospital cannot tend to the few patients it does receive because it doesn't have the supplies, equipment, experience etc., and a vicious downward cycle of decline ensues.The good doctor has been working or pretend working in this environment for a number of years - his motivation or lack thereof is explored throughout the book. Into this doldrums comes a young enthusiastic doctor with what may be seen as missionary zeal or simply naivety. The two become friends of sorts.This is a book exploring the danger of living in times of political instability. How life is precarious and how the smallest things can cause the greatest tragedy. I
guess it is a book about perceptions and whether real or imagined how they can do harm to those onto whom they are projected. It is ultimately about treachery and the awfulness of the human condition.It is a book that leaves you thinking months after reading it.As you would expect it has received numerous good reviews.

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