Hospital, Han Song
Hospital, Han Song
List: $42.99 | Sale: $30.10
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Hospital

Author: Han Song, Michael Berry

Narrator: Feodor Chin

Unabridged: 13 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/01/2023

Synopsis

From acclaimed Chinese author Han Song comes a twisted, experimental narrative of one man’s mysterious illness and his journey through a dystopian hospital system.When Yang Wei travels to C City for work, he expects nothing more than a standard business trip. A break from his day-to-day routine, a good paycheck, a nice hotel—nothing too extravagant, of course. No fuss, but all the amenities.But this is where his problems begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel minibar results in sudden and debilitating stomach pain, followed by unconsciousness. When he wakes three days later, things don’t improve; they get worse. With no explanation, the hotel forcibly sends him to a hospital for examination. There, he receives no diagnosis, no discharge date…just a diligent guide to the labyrinthine medical system he’s now circulating through.Armed with nothing but his own confusion, Yang Wei travels deeper into the inner workings of the hospital and the secrets it’s hiding from the patients. As he seeks escape and answers, one man’s illness takes him on a quest through a corrupt system and his own troubled mind.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) on February 18, 2023

3.5 Stars This is a really unique piece of dystopian science fiction novel that explores the dark side of the medical system. The narrative feels especially dark because so much of the story pulls on the medical technology and ethics that exist in the present day. As a translated work, I found the pro......more

Goodreads review by Jeannette on February 05, 2023

Kafka on steroids This book was tortuous to finish. It was too long, too repetitive, the same Kafka-esque nightmare over and over, with the protagonist losing all sense of reality. Long passages of brainwashing techniques went on and on and on. The initial chapter was a spaceflight to Mars that had n......more

Goodreads review by Translator on March 22, 2023

Unsettling, nearly unrelenting, kinda triggery, I asked myself if this might be what 'The Magic Mountain' would look like if written today. Rounding up from 3.5 stars. I was put off by the Buddhist "preface" ... the dialogue felt wrong, the actions didn't fit the scenario, but I stuck around for the......more

Goodreads review by Tom on September 05, 2024

this turned out to be the most underrated novel of the decade for me (average score of 2,33 on goodreads). if i had to recommend one novel out of all the novels i’ve read in 2024, it would probably be this one. there's some franz kafka in it, some philip k. dick, & some han song, but ultimately, the......more

Goodreads review by ania | hellishreads on March 02, 2023

I have mixed feelings about this book because on one hand the premise of the story — a social and political commentary on Chinese society, the medical system and so forth — was interesting, but on the other hand the book felt like an absolute drag to get through. It felt like it went on for far too......more

Quotes

“China’s premier science fiction writer.” —Los Angeles Times“[T]his dystopian tale skillfully balances delusion, disillusionment, and disdain. Readers are in for a dark, difficult trip down the rabbit hole.” —Publishers Weekly“Fans of Haruki Murakami and Cixin Liu will enjoy Song’s writing style and inventive narrative scope.” —Booklist

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