Patrick Taylor's devoted readers know Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly as a pugnacious general practitioner in the quaint Irish village of Ballybucklebo. Now Taylor turns back the clock to give us a portrait of the young Fingal—and show us the pivotal events that shaped the man he would become.
In the 1930s, fresh from a stint in the Royal Navy Reserve, and against the wishes of his disapproving father, Fingal O'Reilly goes to Dublin to study medicine. Fingal and his fellow aspiring doctors face the arduous demands of Trinity College and Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital. The hours are long and the cases challenging, but Fingal manages to find time to box and play rugby—and to romance a fetching, gray-eyed nurse named Kitty O'Hallorhan.
Dublin is a city of slums and tenements, where brutal poverty breeds diseases that the limited medical knowledge of the time is often ill-equipped to handle. His teachers warn Fingal not to become too attached to his patients, but can he truly harden himself to the suffering he sees all around him—or can he find a way to care for his patients without breaking his heart?
A Dublin Student Doctor is a moving, deeply human story that will touch longtime fans of the Irish Country Books series as well as readers who are meeting Doctor Fingal O'Reilly for the very first time.
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"For fans of 'An Irish Country Doctor' series this book takes the main protaganist, Doctor Fingal O'Reilly, back in time to his medical school days. It's a heart-warming look at his life with his parents then life at Med school. The book has a bit too much medical training detail to suite me, however - as I now think I can pass most medical school finals! But its an enjoyable look at Dublin, and the state of medicine, in the 1930's. (The 'Irish Country Doctor' series takes place in the mid 1960's.) Just like the 'Irish Country Doctor' series (and like life) this book has a mix of joys and sorrows. Like a good medicine, reading this book (and the series) will make you feel good!"
—
Ron (4 out of 5 stars)