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Executive Times |
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2008 Book Reviews |
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Foreign
Body by Robin Cook |
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Rating: |
** |
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(Mildly Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Deals Robin
Cook’s latest novel, Foreign
Body, applies the author’s usual formula to medical tourism. To save
money on elective surgery, patients head to other countries for treatment. Cook’s
novel presents ludicrous villains trying to discourage medical tourism for
their nefarious corporate purposes. Cook reprises medical examiners Laurie
Montgomery and Jack Stapleton to fly to India to rescue the day. Here’s an
excerpt, from the
beginning of Chapter 3, pp. 45-47: OCTOBER 15, 2007 MONDAY, 9:30 A.M. LOS ANGELES, USA (20
MINUTES AFTER LAURIE GIVES HERSELF HER HORMONE INJECTION) The cell phone's vibration
caught Jennifer completely off guard because she'd totally forgotten she'd
slipped it into the pocket of her scrub pants instead of leaving it in her
locker. As a consequence she jumped, and it was enough to catch her new
preceptor's attention. His name was Dr. Robert Peyton. Since he'd made her
adequately aware that she'd started on the wrong foot in his estimation when
she'd been almost four minutes late on the first day, the vibrating phone,
which could be heard faintly, was a potential disaster. She shoved her hand
into her pocket to try to calm the insistent device, but she couldn't. Unable
to determine quickly enough the phone's orientation, she couldn't connect
with the appropriate button. Jennifer, along with Dr.
Peyton, who was an elegant man with marquee good looks, and seven of
Jennifer's classmates who'd signed up for the same elective, was standing in
the mausoleum stillness of the anesthesia supply room situated between
operating rooms number eight and ten, discussing the coming month's schedule.
The eight-person group was to be divided into four pairs and assigned
weeklong rotations in various surgical specialties, including anesthesia. To
Jennifer's chagrin, she and another student had been assigned to anesthesia.
She felt that if she'd wanted anesthesia, she would have chosen it for the
whole rotation. But because of the bumpy start she'd had from being late,
she'd not complained. "Is there something the
young lady would like to share with the group in reference to her very
apparent startle and her apparent need to bring her cell phone into the
OR?" Dr. Peyton questioned, with a taunting tone and with what seemed to
Jennifer an uncalled-for hint of sexism. She was tempted to give the man an
appropriate response but thought better of it. Besides, the continuing
vibration of the phone dominated her thoughts. She could not imagine who
could be calling her unless it had something to do with her grandmother.
Impulsively and despite everyone's attention directed at her, she pulled the
phone from her pocket, mainly to quiet it, but in the process glanced at the
LCD screen. Instantly, she could see it was an international call, and having
called the number so recently, she knew it was the Queen Victoria Hospital. "I beg everyone's
pardon," Jennifer said. "I have to take this call. It's about my
grandmother." Without waiting for a response from Dr. Peyton, she rushed
out through the door into the OR's central corridor. Sensing that even having
a phone in the OR might have been considered a major no-no as she flipped it
open and put it to her ear, she said, "Hold the line for a moment!"
Then she ran toward the double bidirectional entrance doors. It wasn't until
she got to her earlier location in the locker room that she tried to have a
conversation. She started by apologizing. "It is no bother," a
rather high-pitched Indian voice said. "My name is Kashmira Varini, and
you left a message on my voicemail. I am Maria Hernandez's case
manager." "I did leave a
message," Jennifer admitted. She could feel her abdominal muscles tense
as to why the woman was calling. Jennifer knew it wasn't a social call, since
it must have been close to midnight in New Delhi. "I'm calling you as you
instructed. I have also just finished speaking to your father, and he advised
me to call as well. He said you should be in charge." "In charge of what?"
Jennifer asked. She knew she was playing dumb to an extent and postponing the
unthinkable. The call had to be about Maria's condition, and there was little
chance of it being good news. "In charge of
arrangements. I'm afraid Maria Hernandez has passed away." For a moment Jennifer couldn't
speak. It seemed impossible that her grandmother could be dead. "Are we still
connected?" Kashmira questioned. "I'm still here,"
Jennifer answered. She was thunderstruck. She could not believe a day that
had started out so promising was turning out so disastrous. "How can
this be?" she complained irritably. "I just called your hospital
maybe an hour and a half ago and was assured by the operator that my
grandmother was doing just fine. I was told she was even eating and had been
mobilized." "I'm afraid the operator
did not know. All of us here at the Queen Victoria Hospital are terribly
sorry about this most unfortunate state of affairs. Your grandmother was
doing splendidly, and the operation to replace her hip was a complete,
unqualified success. No one expected this outcome. I hope you will
accept our most sincere sympathies." Jennifer's mind was in a near
paralysis. It was almost as if she'd been
hit on the head. "I know this is a
shock," Kashmira continued, "but I want to assure you that
everything was done for Maria Hernandez that could have been done. Now, of
course—" There
are a few good times to read a Robin Cook novel like Foreign
Body: after paying a medical bill; while stuck at an airport; when you
have nothing else to read. For fans, Cook’s predictability can be reassuring.
For most readers, the formula gets old fast. Read if you like the comfort of
a formula and can handle poorly developed characters and a weak plot. Steve
Hopkins, November 20, 2008 |
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Go to Executive Times Archives |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the December 2008 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/Foreign Body.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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