Gemini Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B00IGDM06K | Format: EPUB
Gemini Description
An ICU doctor in one of Seattle's most respected hospitals, Dr. Charlotte Reese is used to listening for the chop of the Medvac helicopter and preparing for the worst. But when a Jane hurtles through the doors of Beacon Hospital with tubes keeping her alive, Charlotte's stoic resolve begins to fail her and she becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery of her patient's identity to solve what is looking more and more like an attempted murder. As Jane Doe's condition worsens over the course of days, Charlotte must decide what matters most as she grapples with the concept of life quality and the idea of letting Jane's fate be decided by a court-appointed guardian with no links to the patient. Filled with stunning medical detail and set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, Gemini is a vivid novel of moral complexity and emotional depth that will resonate with fans of Sue Miller and Jodi Picoult.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 12 hours and 31 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Audible.com Release Date: March 4, 2014
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00IGDM06K
Carol Cassella's "Gemini" explores how our health, biological and genetic history, personalities, prosperity, and social standing all may contribute to our happiness or misery. Are we destined to be contented and well-adjusted or unhappy and dysfunctional? Most of us are somewhere in between, experiencing highs and lows at different stages of our lives. Dr. Charlotte Reese frequently ponders mortality and other weighty issues, since she deals with gravely ill patients in the Intensive Care Unit of Beacon Hospital. She sometimes wonders "if her entire medical career was an interminable battle against the will of the universe." Yet, she is an excellent doctor who fights for her patients, even when it appears unlikely that they will survive.
A case in point is Jane Doe, an unidentified female in her late thirties who is transported by helicopter to Charlotte's hospital from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Jane, the victim of a hit-and-run driver, has multiple injuries. Her blood pressure is plummeting, her lungs are filling with fluid, and her kidneys are about to shut down. As time passes and Jane remains in a coma, no one comes forward to claim her as either as a relative or friend. Dr. Reese grows attached to this solitary patient with whom she has never exchanged a single word.
In addition to its fascinating depiction of the work of intensive care physicians, "Gemini" is a coming of age story about a young girl, Raney, who is being raised on a farm by her doting but no-nonsense grandfather. Grandpa Remington is a widower and survivalist who has built a well-equipped underground bunker, preparing for "the end of the world as we know it." Meanwhile, Raney strikes up a friendship with a visiting city boy, Bo, whose wealthy parents are divorcing.
I really liked Cassella's first novel, introducing a heroine who was an anesthesiologist. She took readers behind the scenes of the operating room and added a solid mystery.
Cassella seems to challenge herself more with Gemini. In today's literary world multiple viewpoints are considered advanced, modern and representative of an author's skill. I actually like the contrasting stories. Raney is an unpolished, rural girl, growing up isolated even from her own community, brought up by a gruff but ultimately compassionate grandfather. With limited horizons, she doesn't dare to dream or even bring her dreams to fruition when she gets the chance.
In the early scenes Raney meets a boy who comes to visit the island. She resents his apparent wealth and his privileged life in Queen Anne (actually, it's Lower Queen Anne and not Queen Anne Hill that are near the Space Needle, but Raney wouldn't know). Yet as she challenges this boy "Rob" he toughens up and they develop a sort of friendship.
At the same time Charlotte works in intensive care in Becaon hospital that might be Harborview in real life. She's competent and dedicated - almost too dedicated - and she finds herself caught up in a Jane Doe patient - severely injured, unidentified, a challenge both medically and socially. Charlotte doesn't want the hospital to give up on Jane too quickly. Charlotte's life in Seattle, with her career and her current boyfriend, contrast with the limits of Raney's world.
As readers with access to both stories, we know they'll come together. As the story moves along, the ending becomes more and more obvious. There's not so much a mystery as an unveiling.
As some reviewers suggest, the end is more of a whimper than a bang. It's not especially surprising.
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