Der Medicus by noah gordon

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

This is a novel of adventure and romance, intrigue and betrayal, culture and religion, politics. Gordon weaves an interesting story, and all his characters are well-developed and believable but flawed, still very likable. His descriptions of life in the Middle Ages are vivid.

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lkagaminer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

The Physician can easily be ranked as one of the most racist, prejudicial, erroneous, and contradictory novels, yet to be written on the East (the Others).

Islam and Persia are grotesquely sexualized. Domes on the mosques are described as body parts. Inappropriate sexuality is described as acceptable, desirable, “very sensible,” to the Persians, when the king recalls a childhood memory with a tone, frighteningly close to fondness (380). One would question the author’s motives in making the King so promiscuous and such a devil. The answer seems to be that the author is trying to create another “mysterious” East (the Others).

The majority of the jargons, transliterations, simple Persian vocabulary, locations, historical figures, historical events, and Islamic terms are wrong throughout the novel! One would expect a historical novel, even if imaginative, to have a bit of research, editorial review, and educational preparedness. The author’s goal has justified “any and every” misinformation and exaggeration.
Read the following statements on how Persians and Islam are described throughout the book. All are racist, prejudicial, stereotypical, and clearly untrue. These are just a few examples:

t“Zaki’s skin had been dark, an advantage under a hot sun. Karim’s skin needed the yellow slave; it was the color of light leather, the result, Zaki always said, of a female ancestor being f… [the author uses the full word] by one of Alexander’s fair Greeks. Karim thought something like that probably was true. There had been a number of Greek invasion and he knew light-skinned Persian men, and women with snowy breasts” (403).

The climax of hatred and animosity toward the Persian land (Persia) is grotesquely depicted when Rob enters Persia and reaches a lake (Urmiya). The land, the air and everything in Persia is “salty”:

- ““Take a pinch of salt [of the lake] and place it on your tongue.” He did, gingerly, and made a face. Lonzano grinned. “you are tasting Persia”…”We still have long days to ride.” But first Rob pi… into Lake Urmiya, adding his English Special Batch to Persia’s saltiness”” (266-267).

- “Freckles were Allah’s just punishment on someone so shameless she didn’t wear the veil” (493)

This book is planned to become a major motion picture in Hollywood and hit the movie theaters in 2013. One should only hope that this will not result in another biased, false, and shallow movie, one that only increases the distance between Us and Them, and pushes love and compassion further away.

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Virimee

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

A fabulous book that I bought at a discount, Until I saw an add for this book I had never heard of the author and now I want to read more. The author does a great job transporting the reader back in time to the 11th century and shows the difference between medicine and medical knowledge in England and Persia. Well drawn characters, an interesting premise and a very easy and fast read. Highly recommended.

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NejiHasSharingan

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Šioje knygoje yra vaizduojama vieno žmogaus istorija Viduramžiais, kuomet devynmetis berniukas likęs našlaitis tampa barzdaskučio - chirurgo mokiniu. Vėliau - jis pats perima šią profesiją, kol galų gale, pajautęs pašaukimą ir nenumaldomą norą, leidžiasi į kelionę į kontrastingąją Persiją, kur gydytojus ruošia itin plačiai žinomas ir išgarsėjęs Avicena.

Pati knyga su pagrindiniu veikėju, taip pat puikiai pavaizduoja apie žmogaus augimą, ,,evoliuciją", nuklydimus ir pakilimus, primenančius, jog žmogus nėra tobula būtybė.

Be to, išsirašiau šias dvi dėmesio vertas citatas, kurios turėtų nuolat priminti gydytojui apie jo paties kilnią ir pasiaukojančią profesiją, kylančią iš pašaukimo. Nepamiršti jos unikalumo. Kitaip tariant, omnium artium nobilíssima medicína est.

,,Lengva numarinti žmogų. Palaikyti gyvybę - kur kas sunkiau, dar sunkiau išsaugoti sveikatą. Štai apie ką turime nuolat galvoti."

,,Medicinos gali mokytis net ne vieną, o kelis gyvenimus, bet vis tiek pas tave ateis žmonių, kurių ligos tau bus paslaptis."

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Saikouuu7

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

I had such great hope for this novel and although it started out well, it continued into a quagmire of long and drawn out story telling. While the premise was fascinating, the author just dragged the story out and included many banal details which slowed down the reader and made one feel like they were crossing the desert to a finish line that kept on getting further and further away.

I never really fully accepted nor found Rob, the main character, very appealing. Granted his life was hard and one does always have admiration for those who find their way, I just could not work up much empathy for him and the characters he came in contact with. It all seemed to matter of fact and not so much empathetic feelings seemed to be portrayed by the author.

Sorry to say, that as much as one can look forward to reading a certain book, they can be bogged down by rhetoric and rhetoric is certainly what ruined this novel for me.

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shaaaaan

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

For the first third of this book, I thought I'd found the book that I never wanted to end. Absolutely perfect, could have ended right there and five stars. But then it went on to have some picaresque in foreign climes and with a nice, but only nice, love story. So disappointing, and the denouement on a sheep farm, for God's sake, why has he studied so long? Where is the conflict he transcends or is consumed by? A completely awesome first act, deflated by the final two thirds, which is all the more frustrating.

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BoundlessHawk

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

¡Magnífica novela de principio a fin! ¡Mi favorita de todos los tiempos!

"El médico" es una novela de ficción-histórica ambientada en el siglo XI que cuenta la historia de Robert J. Cole, un barbero cirujano inglés, que se queda huérfano tras la muerte de sus padres por una extraña enfermedad, lo que lo hace descubrir su don de percibir si alguien está próximo a la muerte con solo tocarlo, lo que lo llevará a realizar una épica travesía por la Europa medieval hasta Persia (hoy Irán), en pos de estudiar en la escuela de medicina más importante de la epoca.

Esta novela la he leido dos veces en mi vida, la primera vez cuándo adolescente y luego cuando adulto, y aún a la fecha me parece una obra maestra insuperable. La prosa de Gordon es sencilla, instructiva y sus capítulos tienen el balance perfecto entre descripción y desarrollo, transmitiendote de manera perfecta todo el amor a la medicina que siente su protagonista, cómo su enorme resiliencia al verse enfrentado a un mundo, que en lo que en cuanto a medicina se trataba, vivía sumido en la ignorancia y superstición. Es un libro que a pesar de su extensión recomiendo al mil porcien leer ya que en ningún momento se hace pesado o aburrido, la cantidad de retos y vivencias que enfrenta nuestro protagonista son tales que siempre hay algo que logra mantener nuestro interés.

Por otra parte, sé que tambien se hizo una pelicula de ésta novela, aunque de ella no puedo hablar mucho debido a que nunca la he visto. Siempre he sentido temor de que me termine manchando la gran estima que le tengo a esta novela.

¡Para mí una obra maestra en toda regla!

¡Recomendadísima!

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JustHereForFun

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Prompted by Ilse, my GR friend and writer of wonderful reviews, I thought I should take a few minutes to say that I enjoyed reading The Physician and am not at all surprised that she found many copies in accommodations in Nepal and India during her travels 25 years ago.
It has all the ingredients for a best seller - an attractive hero, a love story, trails and tribulations, a long journey across unfamiliar lands and cultures and a challenging quest achieved.
For four days it took precedence over my other current reading, which I know I’m going to rate much more highly because they are changing the way I see the world (Braudel) and making me stop and think (Jacobson, Levy).
Hence the three stars.
It’s good light entertainment.
Thank you, Ilse.

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Der Medicus

noah gordon

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