The Good Doctor

Damon Galgut
3.68
4,765 ratings 462 reviews
A taut, intense tale of the dashed hopes of the post-apartheid era and the small betrayals that doom a friendship, The Good Doctor is an extraordinary parable of the corruption of the flesh and spirit. The Good Doctor has inspired enthusiastic interest around the world, with rights already sold in eleven countries, and assures Damon Galgut's place as a major international talent. When Laurence Waters arrives at his new post at a deserted rural hospital, staff physician Frank Eloff is instantly suspicious. Laurence is everything Frank is not—young, optimistic and full of big ideas. The whole town is beset with new arrivals and the return of old faces. Frank reestablishes a liaison with a woman, one which will have unexpected consequences. A self-made dictator from apartheid days is rumored to be active in cross-border smuggling, and a group of soldiers have moved in to track him, led by a man from Frank's own dark past. Laurence sees only possibilities—but in a world where the past is demanding restitution from the present, his ill-starred idealism cannot last.
Genres: FictionAfricaSouth AfricaLiterary FictionNovelsContemporaryAfrican LiteratureLiteratureBook ClubMedicine
225 Pages

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