Harraga

To read that book – your book – without being forever changed is impossible. The problem with people who know nothing is that you have to explain everything, and the more you explain, the more they shut themselves off. They cling to their ignorance, it keeps them warm.

For every single person on this planet, there is a book that speaks directly to them, that is a revelation, that tells them everything they need to know.

Rather than using words to persuade, it’s better to demonstrate and devastate.

The memory of Doctor Montaldo brings a human face to my relationship with time even though I disapprove of treating villains as effectively as honest folk. In choosing paediatrics, I opted for the innocent; with children there can be no qualms of conscience, nice or not you treat them just the same and – hup! – off to bed.

I’m not ashamed to admit that medicine is just a job to me, there is nothing profound or poetic about it. How the hell can anyone practise genuine, sincere, caring, holistic medicine when everything – people, ethics, cities, hospitals – is going to hell in a handcart?

everything – people, ethics, cities, hospitals – is going to hell in a handcart? If proof were needed, the good doctor died penniless and exhausted while many of his patients ended up rich and powerful. Many went on to rule us with an iron hand and their successors – military and religious – still do so today