Hospital

Hospital, Book 1

By: Han Song, Michael Berry - translator

Narrated by: Feodor Chin

Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

From acclaimed Chinese author Han Song comes a twisted, experimental narrative of one man’s mysterious illness and his journey through a dystopian hospital system.

When Yang Wei travels to C City for work, he expects nothing more than a standard business trip. A break from his day-to-day routine, a good paycheck, a nice hotel—nothing too extravagant, of course. No fuss, but all the amenities.

But this is where his problems begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel minibar results in sudden and debilitating stomach pain, followed by unconsciousness. When he wakes three days later, things don’t improve; they get worse. With no explanation, the hotel forcibly sends him to a hospital for examination. There, he receives no diagnosis, no discharge date…just a diligent guide to the labyrinthine medical system he’s now circulating through.

Armed with nothing but his own confusion, Yang Wei travels deeper into the inner workings of the hospital and the secrets it’s hiding from the patients. As he seeks escape and answers, one man’s illness takes him on a quest through a corrupt system and his own troubled mind.

©2016, 2023 by Han Song (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2023 by Michael Berry

Critic reviews

“China’s premier science fiction writer.”—Los Angeles Times

“[T]his dystopian tale skillfully balances delusion, disillusionment, and disdain. Readers are in for a dark, difficult trip down the rabbit hole.”—Publishers Weekly

“Fans of Haruki Murakami and Cixin Liu will enjoy Song’s writing style and inventive narrative scope.”—Booklist

Deeply Disappointing

I, too, quit after several chapters. I can see there might have been an attempt at hyperbole or satire (or a combination of both) but it just didn’t resonate. I had no idea where it was going. I thought, for a while, “Maybe this is Candide of the future.” but in the long run it wasn’t particularly witty or poignant. The protagonist made ridiculous choices and his mental model wasn’t believable or imaginable.

Next time, I’ll pay closer attention to reviews when Audible recommends a title. Perhaps this is poorly translated? Who knows.

Amazing Book ; Weird Reviews

If you have disabilities, or if you've known someone who has had to see 3 specialists to get a diagnosis they guessed on their own before even getting their first referral... If you had to lose days of work to get said diagnosis... If you can't afford to take an ambulance to the hospital in an emergency... If you have ever been hut with a single "surprise fee" because you are sick and, OBVIOUSLY, it isn't your fault... If you've had to wait months to get HRT etc etc etc... this book is more than for you.

The tone is snarky and playful and well done. This is probably the greatest satire of the healthcare-industrial complex of our century- and that's an easy title and bar to set seeing that there isn't much of it.

There really isn't much humor unless you like to laugh at heavy, familiar situations. It is incredibly "Juvenalian" and gut wrenching. The book itself seems upset with profiteering healthcare models. This is what I don't understand about the reviews here and on Goodreads. It almost feels like an agenda.

Ugh!

I quit after just a few chapters. This just isn’t the kind of humor that I enjoy although I’m sure many will think it’s hilarious.