Whatever definition there exists of a bibliophile, I am it. Here's a collection of my favourite novels (series and standalones) with reviews and maybe rants.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"But I would not have jumped. Three things were preventing me. Mom and Dad. And you."
***
There was a toss-up between my two favourite standalone books, this and the next one.
Now here's the disclaimer: I'm not a medical student, neither are my mother and brother, and yet all three of us are in love with this book. We have an old, peeling copy my mother owns from her college times, and she made us read, and it's an absolute family favourite.
It's size can be daunting. But it's easy to read, and it's good-feel right from the beginning.
The story centres around childhood friends Barney and Laura, both of who dream of becoming doctors when they grow up. They do eventually end up at Harvard (Erich Segal has a thing for Harvard), where they meet a bunch of other people from different racial and economical backgrounds. They survive the five tumultuous years of medical school together, and go out into the real world, where there are humungous challenges to meet.
The backstories of each of the characters are the highlight of the story. Though Barney and Laura are the leads, at least half a dozen more characters are important and brilliantly fleshed out. Issues like racism in 20th century America, the twisted mess of psychiatry and the decision of a soft-hearted doctor in the debatable concept of 'mercy killing' are dealt with beautifully.
The most memorable plot point (no spoilers, but this is the plot point my mother told me to get me into reading this book) is one of the batchmates get caught up in a police case, and another, whose career in surgery has been ruined by an accident, now a medical lawyer, fights the case for him.
Barney and Laura are both amazing characters, Laura being one of my favourite female leads in fiction. And Barney's best friend, Bennett, and their relationship--it's a platonic bond to cherish forever. Trust me, friendship lovers, this book is a gem.
If you like this book, you can go ahead and read all Erich Segal's other books: 'Class,' about a bunch of prodigiously talented batchmates with some very memorable characters, 'Prizes,' about the elusive world of academia and excellence (relatable to me now, since I'm going into academia), 'Man, Woman and Child,' on which the famous movie 'Masoom' is based, and 'Acts of Faith,' based on religious differences.
Erich Segal is actually famous for his book 'Love story,' but I'm not a big fan of that one. It's tiny and super easy to read, though, so you can try that! It's certainly rated very high, and my mother loves it.
I've read all of this man's books, and he's quite easily among my favourite 10 writers.
