The Blood of Strangers

The Blood of Strangers
Frank Huyler
Fourth Estate, £10
ISBN 1841154458
Rating: 4/4

This small hardback publication is easy to overlook when browsing the crowded shelves in the bookshop. Its austere cover, a photo of a darkened, empty operating theatre, does not scream at you for attention. However, the book is worth hunting down as Frank Huyler's first foray into popular literature is a gem.

Huyler is almost certainly an unknown to most of us; he is a full time physician, part time poet who works in an emergency department in New Mexico. What then, you might ask, has he got to offer the reading masses? The answer to this question lies in his amazingly varied experience, both as a medical student and later as a resident and attending physician.

The Blood of Strangers is a collection of case vignettes of a sort; not clinical histories but true short stories about characters, both patients and staff, that the author has met during his time in emergency medicine. This on its own may not sound like essential reading, but Huyler's writing captivates because it goes beyond just recounting events. Indeed, much less time is spent detailing events than in describing the author's own feelings, thoughts, and interactions with other staff members or patients. From the elderly lady who refuses treatment because of her beliefs, to the young girl who may have inherited Huntingdon's disease, and the colleague who [ab]uses drug cocktails to stay awake, Huyler's prose makes you feel as if you are there. He describes the frustration, anger, shock, and sadness in each case. These are all feelings that, as medical students, you can empathise with and understand. In the end it reminds you of situations or patients you have met and perhaps will make you think about them in a new light.

However, The Blood of Strangers can ultimately leave you feeling empty as it sticks so true to real life and you are left wondering what happened next. In accident and emergency departments you are rarely able to follow up patients, find out how they are doing, and it's the same with Huyler's short stories. You are left wondering about that person who was rushed to the operating theatre or who self discharged after yet another heart attack.

There are no heroes in Huyler's book and everyone, including himself, becomes tainted through the rigours of real life. And perhaps that is what he has portrayed - the world stripped bare for us to see, cruel yet beautiful at the same time, and certainly reaching far beyond superficial impressions.

Overall, this book may seem overpriced, but it's worth the money and it will leave a lasting impression, whether or not you work in medicine.

Navin Chohan, final year medical student, St Bartholomew's, the Royal London, and Queen Mary College, London
Email: navster@yourwap.com


studentBMJ 2001;09:171-216 June ISSN 0966-6494