 First edition | |
| Author | Toby Litt |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton [1] |
Publication date | 2007 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 511 |
| ISBN | 0-241-14280-6 |
| OCLC | 232364991 |
Hospital, subtitled A Dream-Vision, is a 2007 novel by Toby Litt, describing surreal events in a large hospital around the framing device of an unnamed boy's attempts to find the exit. It is Litt's eighth novel, [2] and was originally published by Hamish Hamilton.
Litt initially adopts a realistic tone, portraying several conventional scenarios associated with medical drama, including a nurse's romantic interest in a doctor, the arrival of a coma patient from another hospital, a young boy's stomach-ache (which he believes to be the result of an apple tree growing from a seed he had earlier swallowed), and the medical troubles of other patients. As the novel progresses, situations become increasingly surreal, as the ritual slaughter of a baby by Satanist doctors causes an impenetrable fog of implicitly supernatural origin to beshroud the hospital, impeding contact with the outside world. As the young boy continues to search for an exit, various bizarre events occur: a group of patients begin to worship the comatose man who had been transferred into the hospital earlier that evening; meat in characters' stomachs regenerates into the animals it had been taken from, ripping their torsos open; and the young boy's fear that an apple tree is growing inside of him is realised. [3]
The book is notable for its large cast of characters, who are progressively introduced throughout in order to convey a sense of confusion and bewilderment. Litt estimates that the novel contains ‘about 130 characters’ overall. [4] The meaning of the narrative is subject to multiple interpretations. Some, such as Martin, have argued that the subtitle implies that the text should be understood as a dream of the coma patient, [5] whereas Steven Poole believes it is an allegorical representation of birth. [1]
Archibald Joseph Cronin, known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is The Citadel (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh mining village before achieving success in London, where he becomes disillusioned about the venality and incompetence of some doctors. Cronin knew both areas, as a medical inspector of mines and as a physician in Harley Street. The book exposed unfairness and malpractice in British medicine and helped to inspire the National Health Service.
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Toby Litt is an English writer and academic based at the University of Southampton.
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Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy was a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks. It was introduced in 1927 by Austrian-American psychiatrist Manfred Sakel and used extensively in the 1940s and 1950s, mainly for schizophrenia, before falling out of favour and being replaced by neuroleptic drugs in the 1960s.
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Clown Care, also known as hospital clowning, is a program in health care facilities involving visits from specially trained clowns. They are colloquially called "clown doctors" which is a trademarked name in several countries. These visits to hospitals have been shown to help in lifting patients' moods with the positive power of hope and humor. There is also an associated positive benefit to the staff and families of patients.
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Dignitas is a Swiss nonprofit organization providing physician-assisted suicide to members with terminal illness or severe physical or mental illness, supported by independent Swiss doctors. By the end of 2020, they had assisted 3,248 people with suicide at home within Switzerland and at Dignitas' house/flat near Zürich. They provide advisory work on palliative care, health care advance directives, suicide attempt prevention, and legislation for right-to-die laws around the world.
deadkidsongs is a 2001 novel by Toby Litt. The story is a black comedy about friendship, loyalty, love, hate and revenge in the fictional English town of Amplewick, and centers on four main characters: Andrew, Matthew, Paul and Peter, who form "Gang".
A hospital is an institution for health care providing patient treatment with specialized staff and equipment.
Frieda Petrenko is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by Olga Fedori. She first appears during the twelfth series episode "Together Alone", originally broadcast on 17 February 2010. Frieda was introduced as a nurse, before retraining as a foundation doctor. She departs during the fourteenth series episode "Wolf's Clothing", originally broadcast on 15 May 2012. Frieda guest stars in a series 17 episode, originally broadcast on 22 September 2015, as a patient diagnosed with tuberculosis. Fedori reprised the role again in 2017 and returns in the nineteenth series episode "We Need to Talk About Fredrik", originally broadcast on 12 December 2017. The actress quit the role a year later and Frieda departs in the twenty-first series episode "Running", originally broadcast on 26 March 2019. The character received critical acclaim and Fedori earned a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 16th National Television Awards.
"24 Hours" is the pilot episode of the medical drama series ER. It first aired on NBC in the United States on September 19, 1994. The episode was written by Michael Crichton, adapted from a screenplay he originally wrote in 1974, and directed by Rod Holcomb. The episode was a critical and commercial success, receiving both high ratings and very favorable critics reactions.
Oliver "Ollie" Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor James Anderson. He first appeared in the eleventh series episode "Proceed With Caution", broadcast on 9 June 2009. Oliver was introduced alongside his older sister, Penny, as a Foundation House Officer 1 (F1) on rotation at Holby City Hospital. Series producer Diana Kyle intended their inclusion to have an "instant impact on the wards." Anderson was selected to play Oliver; he spent time with a real F1 doctor and trained with the programme's medical advisors to prepare for the part. It took him around six months to ease into the role, and a further six to feel comfortable in it.
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