The Good Doctor

Author: Damon GalgutPublisher: PenguinYear: 2003Language: EnglishPages: 216ISBN/UPC (if available): 0143031813 DescriptionWhen Laurence Waters arrives at his rural hospital posting, Frank is instantly suspicious. Laurence is everything Frank is not-young, optimistic and full of new schemes. The two become uneasy friends, while the rest of the staff in the dilapidated hospital view Laurence with a mixture of awe and mistrust.The town beyond the hospital is also coping with new arrivals, and the return of old faces. The Brigadier-a self-styled dictator from apartheid days-is rumored still to be alive. And down at Mama's place, a group of soldiers have moved in with their malign commandant, a man Frank has met before and is keen to avoid.Laurence wants to help, but in a world where the past is demanding restitution from the present, hid ill-starred idealism cannot last.REVIEWSOne of the best and weirdest novels I have read in a long while. From the first page the reader is gripped. At a t