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Best Book Club Questions and Reviews

Adam Kay's This is Going  to  Hurt

1/5/2022

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Book Review of Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt

This is Going to Hurt book cover
Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt is both sad, funny and wise.
Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt describes his life as a junior doctor during the years leading up to his resignation. Written in a dry satirical tone, Adam doesn't hold back and shows the NHS in its raw state. The staff are overworked, underpaid and lacking in sleep. Humorous and heartbreaking in equal measures, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt shows that there is nothing glamorous about being a junior doctor. There are however, enough feel good moments to remind him and the reader of the value of being a doctor, until there aren't ....

As a memoir, it has proven hugely popular, perhaps because it validates from within the institution, what  the public have thought and feared for a long time. 

Book Club Questions on Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt

  • ​At the opening of the book, the scriptwriter says of Adam Kay’s self portrayal on the TV show: “And it’s brave of you, making your character so dislikeable throughout.” What was your opinion of Adam? How would you sum him up? Is he dislikeable?
  • Adam says “I went to a school that was essentially a sausage factory, designed to churn out medics, lawyers and cabinet members, and as my dad was a doctor, it was written on the walls.” How likely is it for a young person to follow in their parents' footsteps careerwise?
  • How would you describe Adam Kay’s humour throughout the book?
  • What was your emotional response to the book?
  • Adam Kay describes the nights as akin to sailing a ship alone. “A ship that’s enormous and on fire, that no one has really taught you how to sail.” How does this description make you feel, both in terms of understanding Adam’s role as a junior doctor, but also as someone who is likely to recevie treatment from the NHS?
  • Adam Kay describes how the medics trade “stories about nonsense symptoms that people have presented us with.” These include itchy teeth, sudden improvement in hearing, and arm pain during urination. What is the most ridiculous symptom you can imagine anyone feeling?
  • The book reveals lots of errors that doctors make, such as the inadequate measuring of pulse. Would you sue the NHS for mistakes made?
  • Simon is depressive and relies on Adam as a kind of mentor/samaritan figure. Discuss the relationship between them?
  • When Adam visits his friend Ron’s dying dad, the dad makes lots of jokes. Adam had been dreading the visit but soon feels at ease. How much burden do you think falls on  terminally sick people to make their visitors feel better?
  • In the final chapter, Adam Kay says “Your time in hospital may hurt them (the doctor) a lot more than it does you.” Discuss whether you have ever viewed a doctor’s role from this perspective.
  • Monday 11th April 2005 - Adam describes how good a registrar is at  explaining to a mum about her son’s appendix problem. He describes how her pride and joy is wheeled away, while she cries, and her son remains dry eyed. What might this show about mother/son relationships?
  • What key messages is Adam Kay sharing about the current situation of the NHS? Discuss.
  • Having read This is Going to Hurt, would you try to put off a friend or family member from becoming a doctor?
  • Adam Kay has to speak to someone about the need to do exercise and suggests a gym. She replies I’m a member of one already but I haven’t been in about 3000 pounds. Does this resonate with you in any way?
  • Kay says that ‘while you become an expert at prioritising at work you generally become even worse at prioritising real life.” Discuss.
  • How would you sum up Kay’s narrative style?
  • What is the purpose of the book This is Going to Hurt? Do you believe what Adam Kay has written?
  • The book reveals some of the tension between private and free health care provision. For example, Adam delivers a baby, even though he is told not to as the private doctor who was scheduled to perform the delivery was en route. In effect he saves the baby's life. How much faith do you have in private health care?​
  • Was there any one incident, event or episode in the book that particularly stood out to you. Discuss why it was significant to you? 

Book Club Questions on This is Going to Hurt (if you haven't read the book!)

Ex doctor Adam Kay who wrote this is Going to Hurt
Adam Kay has made a bit of a career for himself in T.V since quitting his role as a doctor.
  • ​In 2010 after 12 years in the medical profession Adam resigns from his job as a junior doctor. He claims “my parents still haven’t forgiven me.” How much do you think we live our lives to please our families and parents? 
  • “I chose which medical school to go to at the age of eighteen – and even that was because I was impressed with the curly fries in the student union.” Discuss how many life changing decisions are based on illogical and insignificant events. Do you have any personal stories that you would like to share? 
  • Did you know what a haemophiliac was (a person that has both ovarian and testicular tissue.) Discuss your attitudes to transgender issues and consider how open minded you are.
  • Dr Kay was told he ought not to go to his favourite patient’s funeral. This was perhaps, due to a belief that the doctors would be seen as failing because the patient had died. He went anyway. Was he right to do so? 
  • Dr. Kay describes how medics seldom get a ‘well done’. How important is positive affirmation in any profession?
  • Sunday December 25th 2005 - Adam Kaye didn’t go home on Christmas Eve as he fell asleep in his car. He had to work ChristmasDay. If you were his partner how would you react?
  • Not all of you will have watched the TV show. I haven’t. But, generally speaking would you say it is always better to read the book before watching the TV show? Why, or why not?
  • Adam Kay sends a congratulatory text to his sister on successfully getting into medical school. He says that had he heard her news at the end of his shift he’d have said “Run like The f…ing wind.” Have you ever felt desperate to give someone some advice that goes against their hopes and dreams?
  • At a dinner party, the doctor gives away the gender of the baby of his partner's friend. Have you ever dropped any major clangers, perhaps regarding a secret you should have been keeping? 
  • Adam says "A patient named her baby after me today." Has anything like that happened to you or to someone you know?
  • “Yes Madam, you will shit during labour … there’s nothing you can do about it… though I’d have suggested the massive curry you ate to induce labour wasn’t going to help.” What is your attitude to childbirth? Is it something you think is embarrassing? Discuss.
  • In February 2001 Adam Kay is overwhelmed to receive a thank you card and a mont blanc pen. He wasn’t used to receiving gifts. When have you felt overwhelmed by a kind gesture?

Personal Response to Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt

I have heard that the TV show of This is Going to Hurt, is pitched as a comedy set on a labour ward. This suprised me, as ultimately the book is looking at the good in humanity, but how, at times, we seem to do everything we can, institutionally and personally to wreck that goodness. Overall, depite its wit I found this book to be fundamentally sad. It reminded me a little of Christopher Button's The Secret Diary of a Student Nurse.
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Victoria Hislop's The Island

12/4/2022

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Book Review on Victoria Hislop's The Island

Book cover Victoria Hislop's The Island
Victoria Hislop's The Island is a great debut novel.
Victoria Hislop's The Island is her debut book, set on a fictional Greek island both pre-war and during the Second World War. The story begins with Alexis Fielding who, at a cross-roads in her own young life, wants to find out about her mother, Sofia's secret past. 

Before heading off to Greece, Sofia gives Alexis a letter addressed to an old friend of hers, Fontina. It is Fontina, the best friend of Alexis's grandmother, Maria, who is able to provide many of the answers to the questions that Sofia had never been willing to answer.

There follows the telling of Alexis's family history. Both Alexis's grandmother and great-grandmother had caught leprosy and had been banished to the island of Spinalonga, a colony where all leprosy sufferers were sent. The novel reveals what life was like both on the colony, and for the family members of those who have been sent. The link between the island and the mainland, is Girogis, Maria's husband, who took provisions to and from the island.

Victoria Hislop presents Spinalonga as a place of far more hope than the reader might initially expect. The island is a place of love as well as death. Entertainment and industry flourish and people prosper, especially after the arrival of the lepers sent from Athens. Spinalonga is a place that people dread to go to, but once there, don't necessarily want to leave. 

The novel heads toward a conclusion as a cure for leprosy is found and the islanders are free to leave. There is though one more dramatic twist that prevents a 'happy ever after' ending. Read more about the novel here. 

Book club questions on Victoria Hislop's The Island

  • Maria claims that Sofia is like her mother, when she stays out late and is hot-headed. How would you sum up Sofia's character? 
  • How do you think the story would have panned out if Andreas hadn't come to the village celebration? 
  • Do you think The Island captures the mood of Greece? How would you sum up the atmosphere at different points in the novel?
  • In The Island, Spinalonga is arguably seen as a better developed society than the mainland was. Discuss whether you agree with this statement. Give reasons for your opinions.
  • When Maria went to Spinalonga, Fontina was able to visit her and drink tea in her house. Maria also saw her father three times a week. How do you think the rest of the islanders would feel about this?
  • How would you sum up Giorgis's character? 
  • How convincing did you find the characterisation in the novel The Island? Discuss the reasons for you viewpoint. 
  • Is the book a tragedy? Discuss why or why not.
  • After everyone left Spinalonga events moved quickly. A lot happens and a lot of time passes in only a relatively few chapters. Do you think The Island would be a better novel if the story ended at a different point? Discuss the reasons for your viewpoint.
  • Why was Sofia so secretive about her life? What made her finally decide it was time for the truth of her past to be shared with Alexis?
  • What do you think is the most heroic event or action in The Island? Discuss.
  • What did you find the most moving aspect of The Island? Discuss.
  • ​What aspects of The Island didn't you enjoy?​
  • On Spinalonga we learn that Elina has an adversary with a grudge against her,  that is then transferred to her daughter. However, this isn't really developed. Are there any other aspects of the story that you'd like to know more details about?

Book club questions on Victoria Hislop's The Island (if you haven't read the book!)

  • One August Night is the sequel to The Island. Set in 1957 it follows the next chapter of the Petrakis family, after the island Spinalonga becomes uninhabited. What is your view of sequels? Are they ever as good as the first book in  a series?
  • Victoria Hislop is a Greek Citizen and owns a home in Crete. She is passionate about using the Greek Islands as a backdrop to her stories. If you were a novelist where would you set your novels and why? 
  • Victoria Hislop's book The Island spans several generations. A main theme that runs through it, is exposing family secrets. To what extent do you think families should be open about their histories? What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping family secrets?
  • Anna and Maria in Victoria Hislop's The Island are, in many ways, polar oppsites of each other. To what extent do you think nurture dominates over nature, or vice versa? Discuss the reasons for your opinions.​
  • Many of the people on the mainland are prejudiced against people with leprosy. Discuss why you think it carried such a stigma. Can you make any comparisons to prejudices that people hold today?
Victoria Hislop in Greece
What a wonderful place to promote The Island from!

Personal Response to Victoria Hislop's The Island

 I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy The Island or not. Love affairs, ending in tragedy; boring, but rich husbands; unreliable lovers; wild daughter and loyal daughters - it all seemed a heady romantic mix and family saga, that I wasn't sure was my cup of tea. 

​The structure was brave and accessible so that was good. The opening of Alexis travelling, provided a good reason for telling the story of her mother. To my mind, the development of Sofia's teen years were a little rushed. And, while I didn't bother to calculate the dates it seemed odd that Fontina was still in such good health, running her cafe, when both Maria and Kyritsis had died. 


There were parts of the tale that I ddin't find completely convincing (spoiler alert), the shooting for example, was a bit too melodramatic for my stiff-upper lip British sensibilities. However, putting crimes of passion aside, I thought it was a good first novel.
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