Bringing Out the Dead

Rating:
Summary: true to life story
Review: As a paramedic for over 20 years, I found myself in a lot of these calls. I may not have done the exact call, but I have memories and flashbacks to similar ones. For a novel, I found it to be very realistic and Connelly has obviously put a lot of himself and his emotions into the book. Outstanding reading.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive.
Review: An honest and engaging glimpse into the life of a New York City Paramedic. The material puts aside conventional plot development and focuses more on the complex thought, reactions, counter-reactions, and weaknesses displayed by the Main Character. He meanders, going from one scene to another to 'bear witness', only to slowly sink into a spiral. At times I found myself laughing out loud at some of the emergency situations but was immediately silenced as the remaining words and sentences emerged. New York itself provides such crucial backdrop to this story. I've always thought of the famous City as a mini-version of our planet, harboring in concentrated form every kind of pain, hope and guilt known to mankind. This is not a debut Novel- it's quality literature. I don't think it paints EMS crews or the job itself in negative light.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough assessment of life on the streets in EMS.
Review: This book could easily be about any urban paramedic's experiences on the street. Many times I found myself thinking "That was my patient once." At times, however, it was true fiction, somewhat unbelievable to the trained eye. I did find the constant reference to a "ghost" redundant, but understand its relevance, especially in the context of the story. Overall, it is a well written book that depicts if not reality, at least what many of us have thought during those long nights on the street.

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Summary: Bringing Out The Dead is a look at the dark side of the EMS
Review: Joe Connelly opens the ambulance door and takes the reader on a harrying ride. This book shows the reader a side of the EMS that can only be told by someone who has been there. Not only does the reader travel through the dark canyons of Manhattan with its dead and dying but also the dark canyons of Frank Pierce's mind. Frank struggles with remorse and guilt for those he could not save. Their ghosts haunt him. He waits for that one call that will change his luck and give meaning to his life and job. Throughout the book Frank teeters on the edge of sanity and keeps the reader wondering if he is going to make it.

Rating:
Summary: Gritty and Realistic But Missing Something Nonetheless
Review: I heard that they were making a movie of this starring Nicholas Cage. I think that's an ideal actor to play the lead role. I liked the book, however, maybe I was expecting too much, and wanted more. I wanted the character to be more demented then he was, I guess. I liked the book, however I wanted the characters to speak to me more than they did. I look forward to his next.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe Too Real
Review: Since I've lived in the NYC area my whole life and have seen "The Bus" in action, I think this a little too real. The insanity Frank Pierce experiences in this novel seems to pervade NYC. He's the epitome of the Walking Dead and his story grips you until the last ride.

Rating:
Summary: Sobering view of paramedic's reality - a must-read
Review: Joe Connelly graphically constructs the reality of 48 hours in the life of a burnt-out paramedic. Once called Father Frank for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own. Connelly juxtaposes exacting details of the emergency medical treatment in Hell's Kitchen against the surreal world Frank occupies, populated by the images of the dead that haunt him. Many pages require sobering contemplation, much like driving by an automobile accident, then later realizing that the steering wheel was in the back seat of the wreckage. The main character's struggle between wishing to serve others and having no more in him to give provides a new appreciation for those that fight against the Grim Reaper daily and must deal with the consequences of losing. While the topic may put some off, they will miss out on one of the best written books this year.

Rating:
Summary: Intense,Provacative,Funny Look at NYC EMS
Review: One of the most harrowing, thought provoking books I've read in a long time, what makes it all the better is the reality and knowledge Joe Connelly puts into these characters that mot would decribe as life's losers.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning debut with an incredible sense of place.
Review: Evoking both "Catch-22" and "Going After Caciatto" with its rich atmosphere of paranoia and helplessness, Bringing Out the Dead is a first-rate debut. Connelly puts you IN Hell's Kitchen, and every character seems believable and true. Connelly has an ear for dialogue and a sharp sense of (black) humor. While the book's subject may put some off, it is well worth reading this fine novel.

Rating:
Summary: When Morning Is Night
Review: I was a medic for nine years on the night shift in Times Square, working for the hospital in which I was born. From the start the job was about driving fast, the gunsmoke still in the air, up the stairs out the window down the alley under the train. I was twenty two years old, and time was measured equally in seconds and months, the month of fires, of stabbing victims named Jesus, the April I brought back to life everyone I met. It took a few years but gradually I slowed, the rush to revive that feeling, of bringing someone back to life, came in seconds now to the months of DOAs, of stink with splatter, of James Harris and his drunk elbow. My hands knew what to do, but my eyes couldn't stop from stopping, on the photos on the wall, a yellow raincoat on a rain-darkened street. The high of saving a life is like no other, a great month, but losing lives is a thing permanent and immortal--the scars have names with photos of the family screaming. The society of Times Square at four in the morning can be a fun place to visit, but once you're a member it loses charm quickly, and the dues are exorbitant. On my salary, the self-destruction tax alone was putting me in debt, while at the same time making me unfit for any other salaried position. So I wrote a book, the photo album in my head, another way of saving lives, perhaps my own included.