I'm reading the novel Black Flies by Shannon Burke. This book follows the story a man Ollie who is new to his profession, being an EMT. Ollie is a new guy so he is not accustom to all the gore and death that is experienced in the job, because of this he is made fun of by the veteran EMT's. This book has a huge amount of detail making the scene's very easy to visualize, even though they might be gory and terrible to think about. A crime scene is described, "A half dissected cadaver lay on a steel table, the interior cavity of the body exposed, the organs visible. the grayish formaldehyde poled in the folds of the plastic wrapping, and all around us high shelves held jars with floating hearts, brains, kidneys, fetuses, and encephalopathy babies"(8). This line was an amazing description of a tiny room with jars all around the walls. While reading this I had a vivid picture of the scene in my head. Although this isn't the best picture to have in your head, it enhancs your reading and understanding of the book. In this scene Ollie is unable take it all in, the gore and death is too much for him to handle. Due to his incapablility to handle all the graphic deaths his coworkers taunt him and ridicule him, they even go so far as putting a dead decaying pig in his car.
At the beginning this book seems as thought the plot is thin, but as you read on the story becomes more and more interesting. Not only does the graphic deatailing enhance the story but it gives the book "style" and makes important details and parts to the story stand out even more. Burke has done an excelent job putting this extremely difficult and gory job into terms that the reader can begin to understand. Although I'm only at the beginning this book is very intriguing and is very well written. So far I'm enjoying the book Black Flies.
Burke, Shannon. Black Flies. New York: Soft Skull P, 2008.*Black Flies should be underlined
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6 comments:
I was going to read this book and then couldn't find it but I think it looks good. I mean may be gory but that could help create a really cool story. I can't even imagine doing a job like that but people do it and thank goodness. We all see it in tv shows like ER and all that but I think reading a book about it would create a whole new view. Hopefully it turns out good!
Nice blog!!
This book would gross me out completely, even though I have no idea what words like formaldehyde mean. I'm confused though, is this book only about Ollie and how he copes with being grossed out by his job? Good job on blogging!
I can really emphasize with Ollie because I can't stand guts and all that. When I watch Grey's Anatomy I have to turn away when they show the surgeries. It would be nice to know more about the book though.
I am also reading Black Flies, and I find it very disgusting. I have never been one to handle the sight of blood and practically faint at the mention of a needle, so this book is difficult for me to read. However, it is very interesting to learn about something I know nothing about. I agree that so far the plot is pretty thin. But thinking about it, all these deaths and tragedies come with their own plots. The most disturbing part for me was when Ollie witnessed the teenage girl who committed suicide who had the words LIFE SUCKS carved into her belly. I just hope that Ollie remains the "good guy" who wants to help his patients and not just bring home his pay check. I'll be interested to see what your take on the rest of the book is!
This book sound really intriguing! It also sounds quite disturbing, i do not know if i could handle it but obviously you can. I really liked how you demonstrated to us how detailed your author was, instead of making us just believe you! Sounds great and can't wait for next weeks post.
After reading your quote I felt very compelled to point out a connotation that hit me on the spot making your gory quote all the more gross. The word 'organs' instead of just representing kidneys and brains, ran pictures of blood and guts through my mind immediatedly adding to the disgust of that particular quote making your post strangly memorable.
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