Dr Khadra's follow up to Making The Cut, in which he sets out his fairly strong opinions on the state of health care in Australia (mostly a cot case in urgent need of repair). He does this by using the journey of Jonathan Brewster, your standard Type A corporate high-flyer, from his diagnosis to eventual death from bladder cancer. The book is written in two layers: one a very dry diatribe on public health policy, doctors, nurses etc and the other a very affecting tale of the one-way cancer trip and the disintegration it causes. Accused of being arrogant and patronising in Making The Cut (many nurses hated it!), he is nevertheless capable of writing very well about the human condition and how disease disrupts everything around us. He tells Jonathan's story with genuine feeling and I thought it was excellent. It's just a pity that it was continually interrupted by Khadra's barrow-pushing most of which we've heard before. Hopefully next time (and I hope he has more books in him) the good doctor will stick to what he does very well: writing about patients as people.
by Christine
