A dark tale of the japanese health system.
A young idealistic doctor starts his journey to his worst nightmares.
On the surface shining technology and wealth hide their shortcomings told in a very realistic way.
To name a few: exploitative work conditions, medical associations having mafia like influence on health, corruption, pride and bad blood being endemic, mental health being treated as a pariah, to name a few.
While they can be common through all the world there are specific critiques made to the japanese health system that can look far fetched but are true in their core issues.
In Japan a common finding is that hospitals can shut their doors at night and weekends, why? Because while they have an adequate number of doctors as any developed country they have 4 times the number of hospitals which leads to a very diluted workforce, fact that is present through every single page.
Although a certain discussion about chemotherapy can be a little cynic the core cause holds up: foreign drugs can face a ton of red tape to enter the japanese market specially when a local version is being developed.
It's amazing how well researched this book was.
In my opinion the last chapter about mental health stigmatization gets all the honors.
Bonus points to portrait bad blood among doctors in realistic ways that are rarely seen in fiction.