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Samaritans
‘a coruscating, wrathful, passionate, hilarious and astonishingly timely novel’ – Stephen Fry Samaritans Medical Center, Washington DC, can't seem to look after itself and its increasingly desperate doctors, let alone its patients. The chairman of the board, billionaire arms dealer and part-time philanthropist, David Soper, decides that it's time to kill or cure. Business School alumnus and Las Vegas hotel genius Max Green is the perfect man for the job. A man of vision. A man with a mission. A man who knows that wealth-care is smarter than healthcare. He's going to make Samaritans great again. Andrew Sharp, star cardio-thoracic surgeon, turns his back on the NHS and buys in to this brave new world of Porsches and payola. But when his American Dream turns into a living nightmare, Andrew discovers that even the new-found love of his assistant, Cathy, may not be enough to save him… Samaritans is the new novel from the co-creator and writer of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. Praise for Samaritans 'A book Orwell would have approved of.' The Sunday Times ‘It’s wonderful! I was hooked, mouth open, heart pounding. The catastrophic state of medical care is his story but Samaritans can be read too as a wider allegory, a discourse on a politics of greed, dis-entitlement, deregulation and social brutality that has run quite mad.’ Stephen Fry ‘It is with the highest confidence that I recommend this book, with particularity, to those members of Congress who remain committed to making access to life saving care far too difficult for far too many people. It is my fondest hope that they might laugh their way to the education they so sorely require.’ Rick Ungar, Forbes ‘Jonathan Lynn tackles the US healthcare system in satirical splendour. I laughed out loud. It is both hilarious and scary at the same time! Nobody does it better.’ Barbara Broccoli 'Samaritans is smart, dark, and very, very funny. Stay healthy, America!' Michael McKean, Better Call Saul, Spinal Tap
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2017
63 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Lynn
60 books56 followersJonathan Lynn has directed 10 feature films including the cult classic Clue (he also wrote the screenplay), Nuns on the Run (also written by Mr Lynn), My Cousin Vinny, The Distinguished Gentleman, Sgt. Bilko, Greedy, Trial And Error, The Whole Nine Yards, The Fighting Temptations and most recently, Wild Target. His first produced screenplay was The Internecine Project (1974).
For television, Jonathan’s writing credits include dozens of episodes of various comedy series but he is best known for the phenomenally successful, multi-award-winning BBC series Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, co-written and created with Antony Jay.
Jonathan authored the bestselling books The Complete Yes, Minister and The Complete Yes, Prime Minister, which cumulatively sold more than a million copies in hardback and have been translated into numerous languages and are still in print nearly 30 years later; Mayday (1993, revised 2001) and his latest book Comedy Rules (Faber and Faber), which also received rave reviews.
Jonathan made his first professional appearance on Broadway in the revue Cambridge Circus, and his television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, live with 70 million viewers, both at the age of 21. Jonathan’s West End theater debut, aged 23, was as an actor in the role of Motel the Tailor in the original London cast of Fiddler on the Roof. His subsequent London directing credits include: The Glass Menagerie; Songbook (Best Musical, Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award); Anna Christie (RSC, Stratford and the Donmar); Joe Orton's Loot; Pass The Butler by Eric Idle, Shaw’s Arms And The Man and The Gingerbread Man (Old Vic). At the National Theatre, he directed A Little Hotel on the Side by Georges Feydeau and Three Men on A Horse (Olivier Award, Best Comedy). As Artistic Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company, he directed 20 productions, producing 20 others, 9 of which transferred to the West End.
His numerous awards include the BAFTA Writers Award, Writers Guild (twice), Broadcasting Press Guild (twice), NAACP Image Award, Environmental Media Award, Ace Award –Best Comedy Series on US cable, and a Special award from the Campaign For Freedom of Information.
Lynn received an MA in Law from Cambridge University and now lives in New York, describing himself as a recovering lawyer.
For television, Jonathan’s writing credits include dozens of episodes of various comedy series but he is best known for the phenomenally successful, multi-award-winning BBC series Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, co-written and created with Antony Jay.
Jonathan authored the bestselling books The Complete Yes, Minister and The Complete Yes, Prime Minister, which cumulatively sold more than a million copies in hardback and have been translated into numerous languages and are still in print nearly 30 years later; Mayday (1993, revised 2001) and his latest book Comedy Rules (Faber and Faber), which also received rave reviews.
Jonathan made his first professional appearance on Broadway in the revue Cambridge Circus, and his television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, live with 70 million viewers, both at the age of 21. Jonathan’s West End theater debut, aged 23, was as an actor in the role of Motel the Tailor in the original London cast of Fiddler on the Roof. His subsequent London directing credits include: The Glass Menagerie; Songbook (Best Musical, Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award); Anna Christie (RSC, Stratford and the Donmar); Joe Orton's Loot; Pass The Butler by Eric Idle, Shaw’s Arms And The Man and The Gingerbread Man (Old Vic). At the National Theatre, he directed A Little Hotel on the Side by Georges Feydeau and Three Men on A Horse (Olivier Award, Best Comedy). As Artistic Director of the Cambridge Theatre Company, he directed 20 productions, producing 20 others, 9 of which transferred to the West End.
His numerous awards include the BAFTA Writers Award, Writers Guild (twice), Broadcasting Press Guild (twice), NAACP Image Award, Environmental Media Award, Ace Award –Best Comedy Series on US cable, and a Special award from the Campaign For Freedom of Information.
Lynn received an MA in Law from Cambridge University and now lives in New York, describing himself as a recovering lawyer.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 28, 2017
Political satire has changed over the last 10 to 20 years thanks to programs like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Shows such as these go beyond amusing entertainment. They've become sources of news and information, vehicles that actually increase political knowledge. Jonathan Lynn's book
Samaritans
does the same with America's healthcare debate
The book is a biting takeoff on healthcare in America. More important, it conveys many of the ideas at the heart of the ongoing spectacle of the current farcical debate over the Affordable Care Act. In so doing, Lynn also weaves in plenty of real life facts and statistics that say much about the state of America's healthcare system.
Lynn is perhaps best known as a television writer and film director (including one of my all-time favorites, My Cousin Vinny . Satire becomes a scalpel in his story of Max Green, head of hotel operations at a Las Vegas casino, who sees being CEO of a large hospital as the path to wealth. And few elements of the healthcare system are spared.
Green becomes head of Samaritans Medical Center in the Columbia Heights area of the nation's capital. Obsessed with the bottom line, Green insists his contract include him getting "a fair slice of the profits" when he turns the hospital's the red ink into black. The hospital board, chaired by the billionaire owner of a company that makes electronic components for weapons systems sold worldwide, decides to give Green a chance.
Green's efforts include fairly common strategies -- trying to build high profile practices by hiring renowned doctors, eliminating costly elements (even nurses, here many are replaced by janitors) to create profit centers, and buying outside service providers, such as temporary nursing and billing and collection agencies. These aren't enough for Green. He implements numerous "innovations," including cutting a deal with a celebrity lawyer who frequently sues Samaritans, that bring profit but also have dire ramifications for both he and the hospital.
It's what motivates Green and his data-driven deputy, Blanche Nunn, that sharpens the book's focus. They expound the free market and evangelical ideologies underlying much of today's healthcare debate. Green tends to make Paul Ryan-like pronouncements, such as, "People can't have what they can't afford. That's what got America into this economic mess -- everybody wanting something for nothing." If someone can't afford health care, Green says it's "TP," their problem.
Green's philosophy also lays out the Catch-22 in leaving people uninsured. "Prevention's not profitable," he observes. It's better to shutter a diabetes center because treating the consequences of the disease is far more profitable. And when Andrew Sharp, the star cardiothoracic surgeon Green hired, suggests not everything can be decided by the marketplace, the CEO says that "sounds like communism."
Blanche's devotion to the free market is rooted in what she's learned from her evangelical ministers, Pastors Spittle and Wallow. (The hospital's Roman Catholic chaplain doesn't express opinions he "can safely leave my theological thinking to my superiors.") "Capitalism is God's ordained economic system," Blanche maintains, and because the free market is "divinely inspired," government should not interfere. When it comes to medical needs, Spittle taught her that "God had prescribed the answer: unregulated, free-market corporate health care." Thus, Medicare's problem, she says, is that it was “set up to help patients, not profits."
In lampooning these ideas, Samaritans shows how they are at work in the politics of healthcare. Dr. Sharp and other Samaritans physicians and employees provide the counterpoint, observing and experiencing the impact of Green's and Nunn's machinations. Ultimately, Green goes a step (or three) too far, resulting in inventive denouement. Lynn's one page epilogue contains some of the book's best humor but it would require an inexcusable spoiler to show why.
Samaritans is more insightful farce than laugh-out-loud funny and generally succinct and well written. It does, though, have its flaws. A couple characters seem unnecessary to advancing the story and feel more like walk-on extras. More disquieting is a tendency for some of the female characters to use sex as a tactic to achieve success. While Lynn uses this to further distinguish between the good guy and the bad guy, the frequency with which it appears collapses toward hackneyed trope.
Still, these blemishes are comparatively negligible compared to the book's truth telling. In looking at America's healthcare system, Samaritans both entertains and educates.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie.)
The book is a biting takeoff on healthcare in America. More important, it conveys many of the ideas at the heart of the ongoing spectacle of the current farcical debate over the Affordable Care Act. In so doing, Lynn also weaves in plenty of real life facts and statistics that say much about the state of America's healthcare system.
Lynn is perhaps best known as a television writer and film director (including one of my all-time favorites, My Cousin Vinny . Satire becomes a scalpel in his story of Max Green, head of hotel operations at a Las Vegas casino, who sees being CEO of a large hospital as the path to wealth. And few elements of the healthcare system are spared.
Green becomes head of Samaritans Medical Center in the Columbia Heights area of the nation's capital. Obsessed with the bottom line, Green insists his contract include him getting "a fair slice of the profits" when he turns the hospital's the red ink into black. The hospital board, chaired by the billionaire owner of a company that makes electronic components for weapons systems sold worldwide, decides to give Green a chance.
Green's efforts include fairly common strategies -- trying to build high profile practices by hiring renowned doctors, eliminating costly elements (even nurses, here many are replaced by janitors) to create profit centers, and buying outside service providers, such as temporary nursing and billing and collection agencies. These aren't enough for Green. He implements numerous "innovations," including cutting a deal with a celebrity lawyer who frequently sues Samaritans, that bring profit but also have dire ramifications for both he and the hospital.
It's what motivates Green and his data-driven deputy, Blanche Nunn, that sharpens the book's focus. They expound the free market and evangelical ideologies underlying much of today's healthcare debate. Green tends to make Paul Ryan-like pronouncements, such as, "People can't have what they can't afford. That's what got America into this economic mess -- everybody wanting something for nothing." If someone can't afford health care, Green says it's "TP," their problem.
Green's philosophy also lays out the Catch-22 in leaving people uninsured. "Prevention's not profitable," he observes. It's better to shutter a diabetes center because treating the consequences of the disease is far more profitable. And when Andrew Sharp, the star cardiothoracic surgeon Green hired, suggests not everything can be decided by the marketplace, the CEO says that "sounds like communism."
Blanche's devotion to the free market is rooted in what she's learned from her evangelical ministers, Pastors Spittle and Wallow. (The hospital's Roman Catholic chaplain doesn't express opinions he "can safely leave my theological thinking to my superiors.") "Capitalism is God's ordained economic system," Blanche maintains, and because the free market is "divinely inspired," government should not interfere. When it comes to medical needs, Spittle taught her that "God had prescribed the answer: unregulated, free-market corporate health care." Thus, Medicare's problem, she says, is that it was “set up to help patients, not profits."
In lampooning these ideas, Samaritans shows how they are at work in the politics of healthcare. Dr. Sharp and other Samaritans physicians and employees provide the counterpoint, observing and experiencing the impact of Green's and Nunn's machinations. Ultimately, Green goes a step (or three) too far, resulting in inventive denouement. Lynn's one page epilogue contains some of the book's best humor but it would require an inexcusable spoiler to show why.
Samaritans is more insightful farce than laugh-out-loud funny and generally succinct and well written. It does, though, have its flaws. A couple characters seem unnecessary to advancing the story and feel more like walk-on extras. More disquieting is a tendency for some of the female characters to use sex as a tactic to achieve success. While Lynn uses this to further distinguish between the good guy and the bad guy, the frequency with which it appears collapses toward hackneyed trope.
Still, these blemishes are comparatively negligible compared to the book's truth telling. In looking at America's healthcare system, Samaritans both entertains and educates.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie.)
May 19, 2017
Mixing Vegas flash with US anti-socialised health care, Lynn provides an amusing juxtaposition that reveals itself to be neither as laughable not as big a juxtaposition as the reader hoped; but remains darkly entertaining.
Max Green is the best manager in the almost best of Las Vegas casino-hotels. But being that great means recognising Vegas is tied up tight enough that he’ll never move from fairly remunerated employee to obscenely wealthy power-in-his-own-right. However, he also recognises that US health care is an under-exploited revenue stream. And Samaritans Medical Center in Washington DC, a mediocre hospital with a CEO problem seems the ideal opportunity to get in before the top spots are allocated. After all, what difference is there between light entertainment and cardio-thoracic surgery once you cut out the emotion?
As befits a novel based around a theory that everything can be reduced to an identical set of economic structures and a trivial veneer of emotive assumptions, the opening section contains a noticeable amount of exposition and narrative. While this is perhaps drier than the start of most fiction, Lynn leavens the descriptions of hotel and hospital administration with amusing commentary and character pieces. Once this initial – and necessary – setting of the scene is finished, the book travels deeper into the absurd extremes of this economic reality. Therefore, readers are likely to be well served by granting Lynn some benefit of the doubt to begin with.
Satire at its heart is a Sophoclean endeavour: the author, like some naïve guide, leads the reader away from an ostensibly not-unreasonable point until they reach an entirely unreasonable one. Only satire seeks to entertain as well as expose flaws. And Lynn does not disappoint: arms-manufacturers see no contradiction in funding medicine; faith becomes a reason for sin; pharmaceutical reps treat doctors; and it is somehow more profitable to pay agency fees on top of wages than employ the same staff.
However, satire is more than just an absurd situation. It draws strength from the almost nervous laughter that comes from the realisation of how little separates reality from the absurdity. And this novel is built on tiny steps that, individually, seem a touch venal yet not implausible. Perhaps the strongest indication of Lynn’s satire not being mere absurdity lies in some of the radical opinions expressed by his characters being almost identical to public statements made by senior US officials a couple of weeks before this review was published.
While Green’s recruitment incites the absurdity, Lynn provides a second viewpoint on the changes at Samaritans: that of Andrew Sharp, a renegade surgeon recruited to be the first headline act in Green’s plan to treat health care like Vegas. Sharp’s desire to be the best surgeon, although it drives him to save lives, has no space for the ethical side of medicine; as such, it is as lacking in empathy for patients as Green’s rampant capitalism. This contrasting, yet still slightly extreme, perspective both highlights the issues with Green’s plan and provides issues of it’s own, enhancing the dark comedy of both by contrasts.
Green is a well-written character: engaging, active, clever and just sympathetic enough to not revolt utterly. While readers will be thankful he isn’t running any hospital they visit, the distance of fiction is enough that they can gain pleasure from discovering how he overcomes the increasing issues of treating people like poker chips.
Sharp on the other hand is a more traditional protagonist, discovering that he wants to be more than just great at surgery but that he has no idea how to be a better man.
The supporting cast are similarly sympathetic and yet not free of moral compromise. It is this use of shared slant in each character rather than any one definite evil that draws the reader in before revealing the farcical but troubling consequences: taken alone the characters don’t seem that bad; but placed together, they reinforce and redirect each other’s baser natures, creating plausible progressions to absurd outcomes.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking satire with just enough absurdity to not seem like reportage.
I received a free copy from the publisher with a request for a fair review.
Max Green is the best manager in the almost best of Las Vegas casino-hotels. But being that great means recognising Vegas is tied up tight enough that he’ll never move from fairly remunerated employee to obscenely wealthy power-in-his-own-right. However, he also recognises that US health care is an under-exploited revenue stream. And Samaritans Medical Center in Washington DC, a mediocre hospital with a CEO problem seems the ideal opportunity to get in before the top spots are allocated. After all, what difference is there between light entertainment and cardio-thoracic surgery once you cut out the emotion?
As befits a novel based around a theory that everything can be reduced to an identical set of economic structures and a trivial veneer of emotive assumptions, the opening section contains a noticeable amount of exposition and narrative. While this is perhaps drier than the start of most fiction, Lynn leavens the descriptions of hotel and hospital administration with amusing commentary and character pieces. Once this initial – and necessary – setting of the scene is finished, the book travels deeper into the absurd extremes of this economic reality. Therefore, readers are likely to be well served by granting Lynn some benefit of the doubt to begin with.
Satire at its heart is a Sophoclean endeavour: the author, like some naïve guide, leads the reader away from an ostensibly not-unreasonable point until they reach an entirely unreasonable one. Only satire seeks to entertain as well as expose flaws. And Lynn does not disappoint: arms-manufacturers see no contradiction in funding medicine; faith becomes a reason for sin; pharmaceutical reps treat doctors; and it is somehow more profitable to pay agency fees on top of wages than employ the same staff.
However, satire is more than just an absurd situation. It draws strength from the almost nervous laughter that comes from the realisation of how little separates reality from the absurdity. And this novel is built on tiny steps that, individually, seem a touch venal yet not implausible. Perhaps the strongest indication of Lynn’s satire not being mere absurdity lies in some of the radical opinions expressed by his characters being almost identical to public statements made by senior US officials a couple of weeks before this review was published.
While Green’s recruitment incites the absurdity, Lynn provides a second viewpoint on the changes at Samaritans: that of Andrew Sharp, a renegade surgeon recruited to be the first headline act in Green’s plan to treat health care like Vegas. Sharp’s desire to be the best surgeon, although it drives him to save lives, has no space for the ethical side of medicine; as such, it is as lacking in empathy for patients as Green’s rampant capitalism. This contrasting, yet still slightly extreme, perspective both highlights the issues with Green’s plan and provides issues of it’s own, enhancing the dark comedy of both by contrasts.
Green is a well-written character: engaging, active, clever and just sympathetic enough to not revolt utterly. While readers will be thankful he isn’t running any hospital they visit, the distance of fiction is enough that they can gain pleasure from discovering how he overcomes the increasing issues of treating people like poker chips.
Sharp on the other hand is a more traditional protagonist, discovering that he wants to be more than just great at surgery but that he has no idea how to be a better man.
The supporting cast are similarly sympathetic and yet not free of moral compromise. It is this use of shared slant in each character rather than any one definite evil that draws the reader in before revealing the farcical but troubling consequences: taken alone the characters don’t seem that bad; but placed together, they reinforce and redirect each other’s baser natures, creating plausible progressions to absurd outcomes.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking satire with just enough absurdity to not seem like reportage.
I received a free copy from the publisher with a request for a fair review.
May 10, 2017
Jonathan Lynn is a truly great comedy writer. He has produced a very good book in Samaritans, which is funny and thought-provoking - and disturbing.
Samaritans is the story of a struggling community hospital in Washington DC which appoints Max Green, an executive from a Las Vegas casino as its CEO in order to deal with its difficult financial situation. Max is a monster of self-centredness, greed and corporate malpractice whose approach to healthcare is summed up in this conversation with his secretary:
"What do you think we should do if our uninsured patients can't pay the bills?" [Max asked.]
"Same as your last business did, I expect."
"Break their legs?"
She smiled "No, silly, use a collection agency."
"You mean, bankrupt them?"
"If we have to. Otherwise everyone will want healthcare, whether they can afford it or not."
"You're exactly right," Max said. "people can't have what they can't afford. That's what got America into this economic mess – everybody wanting something for nothing. There's no morality in that, is there?"
Subtle, this ain't. It's a political polemic, really, but made witty and very readable by Lynn's comic skill. He aims somewhat crude but well-directed blows at corporate greed, management hypocrisy and callousness, the excesses and absurdities of the US healthcare industry and so on. The book is very well-researched, so people cite genuine cases describing just what Lynn is denouncing, making the whole thing quite chilling. (And do make sure you read the Epilogue when you've finished the main book. It's brief but brilliant, I think, especially in the light of recent political developments.)
Samaritans is an enjoyable read which made me smile, made me angry and made me think. Recommended.
(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)
Samaritans is the story of a struggling community hospital in Washington DC which appoints Max Green, an executive from a Las Vegas casino as its CEO in order to deal with its difficult financial situation. Max is a monster of self-centredness, greed and corporate malpractice whose approach to healthcare is summed up in this conversation with his secretary:
"What do you think we should do if our uninsured patients can't pay the bills?" [Max asked.]
"Same as your last business did, I expect."
"Break their legs?"
She smiled "No, silly, use a collection agency."
"You mean, bankrupt them?"
"If we have to. Otherwise everyone will want healthcare, whether they can afford it or not."
"You're exactly right," Max said. "people can't have what they can't afford. That's what got America into this economic mess – everybody wanting something for nothing. There's no morality in that, is there?"
Subtle, this ain't. It's a political polemic, really, but made witty and very readable by Lynn's comic skill. He aims somewhat crude but well-directed blows at corporate greed, management hypocrisy and callousness, the excesses and absurdities of the US healthcare industry and so on. The book is very well-researched, so people cite genuine cases describing just what Lynn is denouncing, making the whole thing quite chilling. (And do make sure you read the Epilogue when you've finished the main book. It's brief but brilliant, I think, especially in the light of recent political developments.)
Samaritans is an enjoyable read which made me smile, made me angry and made me think. Recommended.
(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)
July 5, 2017
I picked this up purely on the strength of Jonathan Lynns name. Being old enough to remember Yes Minister when it started, and still diving into it occasionally, I was curious to see how a new book would turn out.
While Yes Minister should be a text book for politicians, this should be a text book for anyone thinking of privatising the NHS. While this is a satire, and an incredibly good one, it's a little too close to the truth to be comfortable.
Max Green is one of the best managers in the casinos of Vegas. He's always wanted to be rich, and although he's doing well, he could always do better. His master plan involves taking over the running of a Washington hospital as CEO.
At the same time, Andrew Sharp, a hot shot new surgeon has been hired. Max is intending to run the hospital with Andrew as his star. While Andrew is a superb surgeon, he's not actually a good doctor, or a good person. It's not that he’s a bad person, but he's self absorbed and thoughtless.
Max on the other hand is not a nice person. He's convinced that a hospital can run like a casino. It's occupancy rates, playing the system, and where someone can't pay their bill set a collection agency on them. Even while they are still in hospital.
As Max gets more into the profit of the hospital, Andrew is becoming more human, to the extent where he becomes the voice of reason.
It's not subtle this, it's a bit of a sledgehammer, but to be fair it is all done with a smile. The dry humour shines through. It's been a long time since I've read a satire that well done.
While Yes Minister should be a text book for politicians, this should be a text book for anyone thinking of privatising the NHS. While this is a satire, and an incredibly good one, it's a little too close to the truth to be comfortable.
Max Green is one of the best managers in the casinos of Vegas. He's always wanted to be rich, and although he's doing well, he could always do better. His master plan involves taking over the running of a Washington hospital as CEO.
At the same time, Andrew Sharp, a hot shot new surgeon has been hired. Max is intending to run the hospital with Andrew as his star. While Andrew is a superb surgeon, he's not actually a good doctor, or a good person. It's not that he’s a bad person, but he's self absorbed and thoughtless.
Max on the other hand is not a nice person. He's convinced that a hospital can run like a casino. It's occupancy rates, playing the system, and where someone can't pay their bill set a collection agency on them. Even while they are still in hospital.
As Max gets more into the profit of the hospital, Andrew is becoming more human, to the extent where he becomes the voice of reason.
It's not subtle this, it's a bit of a sledgehammer, but to be fair it is all done with a smile. The dry humour shines through. It's been a long time since I've read a satire that well done.
June 11, 2017
I received a free review copy from Endeavour Press.
Well, to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Max Green is an honest, hardworking man in charge of the Samaritans hospital. The difficulties of his new job are no match for his enthusiasm. He inspects the delicate clockworks of the medical centre and, with great care, uses the tool that has always served him well. A sledgehammer.
Now, there is one problem I have with this book. It is too short. The man with the hammer could use more time to turn the hospital into a proper mess. The characters are unambiguous and the author goes a bit too far to convince the reader. For example, The Victim is an old black woman. One is tempted to reread the book to see if she has an LGBT background.
All in all, this is a pleasant read.
Well, to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Max Green is an honest, hardworking man in charge of the Samaritans hospital. The difficulties of his new job are no match for his enthusiasm. He inspects the delicate clockworks of the medical centre and, with great care, uses the tool that has always served him well. A sledgehammer.
Now, there is one problem I have with this book. It is too short. The man with the hammer could use more time to turn the hospital into a proper mess. The characters are unambiguous and the author goes a bit too far to convince the reader. For example, The Victim is an old black woman. One is tempted to reread the book to see if she has an LGBT background.
All in all, this is a pleasant read.
May 20, 2019
3 stars
I think this book is definitely a hidden gem. I think more people would love this if they knew about it.
Sometimes books are written and I know that they aren’t typically my type, but I want to explore and see what happens. I did that with this book and while I didn’t love it (but still enjoyed it), I will still recommend it to people because I think it will be the perfect book for some.
I appreciate this book for what it was and the message it had. Especially loved/hated the ending. You can tell a lot of thought and research went into this book and I appreciate the hard work Lynn put into it, and also how smart he must be to write something like this.
I think people are sleeping on this, and it seems especially relevant with how politics are at the moment. If you like satirical comedy, political comedy etc. definitely pick this up.
I think this book is definitely a hidden gem. I think more people would love this if they knew about it.
Sometimes books are written and I know that they aren’t typically my type, but I want to explore and see what happens. I did that with this book and while I didn’t love it (but still enjoyed it), I will still recommend it to people because I think it will be the perfect book for some.
I appreciate this book for what it was and the message it had. Especially loved/hated the ending. You can tell a lot of thought and research went into this book and I appreciate the hard work Lynn put into it, and also how smart he must be to write something like this.
I think people are sleeping on this, and it seems especially relevant with how politics are at the moment. If you like satirical comedy, political comedy etc. definitely pick this up.
August 13, 2020
Mixed Feelings at First, Then Improved
This was a bit slow in the beginning. I also wasn't initially sure if the author was trying to drum up sympathy or antipathy for Obamacare and other policies that provide basic healthcare for all. The author seemed to be suggesting that hospitals will fail financially if we don't restrict medical care to the people who can afford to pay the inflated costs of this care.
After a short while, however, the main character became so relentlessly perverse that it became clear that the novel was an indictment of having a medical care system too driven by a financial bottom line.
The novel then served up a steady diet of seriously flawed characters and situations for the reader to hate, and the novel became a page-turning, satirical romp.
This was a bit slow in the beginning. I also wasn't initially sure if the author was trying to drum up sympathy or antipathy for Obamacare and other policies that provide basic healthcare for all. The author seemed to be suggesting that hospitals will fail financially if we don't restrict medical care to the people who can afford to pay the inflated costs of this care.
After a short while, however, the main character became so relentlessly perverse that it became clear that the novel was an indictment of having a medical care system too driven by a financial bottom line.
The novel then served up a steady diet of seriously flawed characters and situations for the reader to hate, and the novel became a page-turning, satirical romp.
October 24, 2020
Audible Audiobook: An excellent not-so-far over the top farce on our current medical-economic system. It is surprisingly accurate on many of the underlying realities governing medical care and access to in U.S. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of some of the main characters and their subsequent changes, or lack thereof. The humor is nonstop and there is no shortage of classic, memorable one liners. After a full, satisfying and frustrating career in medicine, I was anticipating giving this audiobook a cursory listen and a quick heave-ho. I was pleasantly surprised by its quality, accuracy on fundamentals of medical practice and economics, and nonstop humor. I started this in the evening and listened through to daylight. Be forewarned. Highly recommended.
May 15, 2017
Satire of the medical field.. terrifying considering I work as a health care provider. A wealthy businessman from Las Vegas, Max Green takes over as CEO of Samaritans Hospital to "turn things around." Even though this was satire, the extremes that this man goes for the hospital to make a profit, are infuriating and to some extent what we are facing in the health care industry today. All you hear about is cost cutting and this book shows that and takes it too far.
I liked the characters, except the main character Max (no one could like this guy). Overall, a good read.
I liked the characters, except the main character Max (no one could like this guy). Overall, a good read.
April 23, 2021
This was hilarious and awful. I enjoy the TV series ‘New Amsterdam’, and this book is almost an ‘Anti-New Amsterdam!’. I’m very glad I’m not a patient at Samaritans (yes, I know it’s fiction). Max is a bombastic caricature, with the pig-headedness (and possibly the business brain) of Donald Trump. Scary stuff.
Final thoughts: thank HEAVENS for the UK’s National Health Service!
Final thoughts: thank HEAVENS for the UK’s National Health Service!
January 25, 2020
Neither particularly funny nor well written 'Samaritans' heavy-handed satire nevertheless does expose the insanity of American healthcare.
Now that the voters of England have returned the market-driven sociopaths of the Tory party to power, perhaps we'll see the same thing here?
Now that the voters of England have returned the market-driven sociopaths of the Tory party to power, perhaps we'll see the same thing here?
July 13, 2022
A satirical look at American healthcare and wealthcare, this book puts some everyday practices into the spotlight and makes light of other, more serious matters. Definitely a good read to get you thinking.
July 3, 2017
Darkly entertaining
July 31, 2017
Fine satire of the 'free' market.
January 23, 2019
A disturbing critique of capitalism and the American healthcare system.
January 24, 2019
A satirical observation of the American healthcare system which had me chortling in a manner unseen since the offerings of Tom Sharpe.
March 10, 2020
Hilarious
Sad but spot-on in some respects. Quite entertaining. From a retired hospital CEO. Recommended reading for everyone interested in American healthcare
Sad but spot-on in some respects. Quite entertaining. From a retired hospital CEO. Recommended reading for everyone interested in American healthcare
July 12, 2020
Muy chiste
I never laugh out loud at books, but this one was a good parody of running a hospital. I recommend a read.
I never laugh out loud at books, but this one was a good parody of running a hospital. I recommend a read.
December 18, 2021
Savage, and how broken is the US health system?
January 8, 2022
Sickeningly believable.
September 25, 2017
This book was not amusing despite the reviews I'd read. it was sexist rubbish and full of typos.
April 20, 2017
I wish I could be more positive about this book. I've loved other works by Mr. Lynn but this one is sloppy and not particularly witty. Without getting too deeply into the plot or revealing spoilers, this is a satire on American health care and there is no disguising the authors views on the subject. We're meant to be appalled by the state of our health care and the corporations that run it. In that sense, it reminds me in some ways of works by Max Barry (Syrup, Company, etc.) only with less actual humor. Not what I expected from one of the creators of Yes, Minister.
The main character of Samaritans is Max, a greedy sociopath who takes over a failing hospital. Max is utterly disinterested in medical care, just in profit. In case you miss that message, it will be pounded into you page after page. The author somehow manages to make Max cartoonish but not comical. I get that this is satire, but Max is not a character. He is barely two-dimensional.
At every point in the book I had the feeling the work had been rushed. It is a very quick read, mostly due to the simplicity of every single character, the dialog and the plot. I noticed several typos and other errors in the book (how hard is it to check the spelling of a major U.S. airport's name?) and the references to recent US events seemed forced and unnecessary. It is also fairly short.
OK. The American health care system has flaws. We get it. Profit and quality of care are always going to be in conflict. We get it. Some humor would have been nice along the way, but apart from a passing reference to the Clue screenplay (also written by Mr. Lynn) there is precious little.
If you already agree with the author's views about for-profit medicine, you might find this book entertaining, but you will have to wade through some unrealistic dialog, not to mention a healthy dose of unnecessary sex and language. [To clarify, these last two areas don't bother me in the least, but they simply don't add anything to the plot.] I would not recommend the book for younger readers.
The main character of Samaritans is Max, a greedy sociopath who takes over a failing hospital. Max is utterly disinterested in medical care, just in profit. In case you miss that message, it will be pounded into you page after page. The author somehow manages to make Max cartoonish but not comical. I get that this is satire, but Max is not a character. He is barely two-dimensional.
At every point in the book I had the feeling the work had been rushed. It is a very quick read, mostly due to the simplicity of every single character, the dialog and the plot. I noticed several typos and other errors in the book (how hard is it to check the spelling of a major U.S. airport's name?) and the references to recent US events seemed forced and unnecessary. It is also fairly short.
OK. The American health care system has flaws. We get it. Profit and quality of care are always going to be in conflict. We get it. Some humor would have been nice along the way, but apart from a passing reference to the Clue screenplay (also written by Mr. Lynn) there is precious little.
If you already agree with the author's views about for-profit medicine, you might find this book entertaining, but you will have to wade through some unrealistic dialog, not to mention a healthy dose of unnecessary sex and language. [To clarify, these last two areas don't bother me in the least, but they simply don't add anything to the plot.] I would not recommend the book for younger readers.
June 10, 2017
A sharp and brilliant send-up of the American healthcare system. Sadly, too true to life to be laugh-out-loud funny, and the current healthcare debate stole a bit of its thunder, but really well done.
October 11, 2017
The shocking part is the hidden truth! God bless America.
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