La maladie de Sachs

From Publishers Weekly The original version of this immensely engaging, painstakingly composed journal about a provincial doctor who makes house calls was hailed in France upon its publication in 1997. Like the physician whose logbook it describes, Winckler, the nom de plume of French author Marc Zaffran, is a general practitioner who, according to the publisher, has chosen writing as his preferred method of helping sick people. Bruno Sachs, "single-minded, hypermoral, kind of jerky," sets out his shingle in the small French town of Play because it needs a doctor and his abiding ambition is to obey the Hippocratic Oath. The journal is made up of discrete chapters or vignettes written in the unassuming voices of his patients, mostly farmers and small tradespeople, employees and family members. Throughout, Sachs is referred to as "You," e.g., "You're a good guy and you're very clear, but I do think you ask some questions that are a little too personal." Sachs's "part-shrink part-father-confessor" manner wins the trust of his flock, whose litany of physical torments gradually plunges him into a paroxysm of grief and pity. He is especially sympathetic to the needs of women; he gives them abortions at the clinic, and eventually falls in love with his patient Pauline Kasser. Above all, Sachs is a good listener, and it is by this gift alone that he often comes to the heart of a patient's suffering. Sachs finds true love with Pauline, who in turn encourages him to heal through writing. There is no unifying, cohesive drama to the novel save in the personality of Sachs, but rather a series of deeply felt leitmotifs (smoothly translated with the American reader in mind). As Sachs opens himself to the inexorability of human misery, Winckler allows glimpses into the doctor's personal notebooks and confessions, thereby completing his affecting portrait of a fallible and saintly fellow tortured by his powerlessness to turn back death. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Bruno Sachs is a French country doctor, but don't mistake him for a Gallic Marcus Welby. This doc is a paradox: cynical but compassionate, emotional yet reserved, reassuring but troubled. His personality is revealed bit by bit in over 100 short chapters as related by his patients and associates. He cares deeply about them and a few close friends but seems remote and unfulfilled until he falls in love. The episodic structure seems choppy at first, but over time several subplots develop, and a variety of different patients are portrayed in some detail. This book is simultaneously a powerful critique of modern medicine by a former country doctor, a realistic romance, and a fascinating character study. Published as La Maladie de Sachs in 1997, this book was a French best seller and the winner of the Prix du Livre Inter. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.DJim Dwyer, California State Univ., Chico Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, I