The Doctor Stories

I must admit that I had no prior knowledge of Richard Selzer or his work before reading this book. The title had the air of so many other trite books written by doctorsno doubt an attempt by the publishers to exploit the profession's mystique for dollar signs and, as such, I really wasn't expecting much another compilation of "let me tell you why I'm so great" stories is what I thought was awaiting me. I had read enough of these that simply the table of contents would be sufficient for me to deduce the rest of the mediocrity at no less than lightening speed. However, when after some time I realized I had progressed no further than the Introduction, I knew I had stumbled across something very different. Indeed, the deceptively simple title belies the beautiful language Dr. Selzer uses to spin truly engaging stories and nothing as boring as the standard hospital melodrama so easily found elsewhere. In The Doctor Stories, Dr. Selzer compiles a sort of "greatest hits" of his short stories, while including two that have never before been published. Despite its title, the book delivers a diverse range of stories, most of which are not medical per se, but which deal with doctoring in the most general of termssomething which distills into the basic notions of what lies at the heart of relationships between people. If you have never read any of his work, this is a great book to pick up, with the bonus of an introduction detailing Dr. Selzer's journey into writing and written as lyrically as the rest of the book. While his poetic and descriptive prose is a delight to read, it is in the context of his stories where it is most gripping. A story teller at his finest, Dr. Selzer makes the reader's world melt into the visceral one he creates, with every character as intriguing as the next. Fans of literature and good stories everywhere would serve themselves well by spending some time indulging in this remarkable collection of tales.