The Bad Doctor: The Troubled Life and Times of Dr. Iwan James (Graphic Medicine)

Great book thank u

Very good condition

There are thousands of graphic novels, and there are thousands of books about doctors. But this is the only graphic novel about the life of a doctor that I am aware of, and that makes this book interesting and unusual. What's even more interesting is that the doctor portrayed in this book, Iwan James, is no stereotypical Marcus Welby who burbles over with time and sympathy for his patients. Dr. James is a "real person" (i.e., "real" for being a fictional character) who happens to be a doctor, and that means there are days he is cranky and irrational, and there are patients he doesn't like and has no sympathy for, though he manages to hide those feelings and deal with the patients professionally and with compassion, because Dr. James is--title notwithstanding--a good doctor indeed. He helps his patients fight their inner demons, even though he is plagued by his own inner demons--obsessive compulsive disorder, suicidal ideation, self-doubt and self-loathing. The theme of the book, in fact, may best be captured in one of the lines of dialogue: "Doctors, like artists, need to be on nodding terms with the Devil. Otherwise we'd be ignoring a large part of the reality of existence."I'm not a big reader of graphic novels and chose this book to review because I was more interested in the medical aspects of the story. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much I enjoyed the illustrations. They are not as busy and detailed as you will find in other graphic novels (which makes it easier to read, in my opinion), but the author makes every detail he includes count. For example, in one panel he portrays Dr. James's deadbeat colleague reading a magazine, and the reader can make out the title of one of the articles: "More cuts to G.P. income." In the next panel is show James walking away from his colleague in disgust, and on the wall of the hallway is a copy of the Bristol Stool Chart, which describes the major types of poop that people can produce.This is an excellent graphic novel, but the reader must make sure not to go into it confusing 'graphic novel' with 'comic book.' While there are flashes of dark humor throughout the book, it is not a comedy, and there are some dark, even tragic, moments described. I found myself thinking about it long after I had finished it.

This graphic novel beautifully illustrates the difficulties and joys of being a physician from a physician's point of view. Even as one who works in the academic medical field, it can easy to box physicians (psychiatrists, nurses, physical therapists, etc...) into a category of being uncaring, clinical, and jaded. This memoir-esque fictional story shares the demons that one physician with OCD struggles with as he tries to cope with his home life, his personal life, and his work life. By going back in time to different struggles he has had throughout his life, we are able to piece together some of the "why" behind why he became a physician and also why he struggles daily with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some patients are difficult to work with, some are wonderful. Home life is filled with joys and stressors, along with the challenges that come after years of being over-worked, even in a field that one loves. This book was a revealing story that helped me to remember that physicians are people too. Great teaching tool for medical schools and teaching hospitals.

The Bad Doctor tells the tale of a doctor in a small Welsh town. Iwan James is a sympathetic figure who deals with zany patients (a la James Herriot's books). But there's trouble below the surface, which comes out throughout the book as we learn more about his mental illness, his fear of the irrational, and his attempts to deal with life's frustrations. Juggling light-heartedness with depressing reality, Williams also chooses a beautiful, clean drawing and story-telling style, making it a quick yet fruitful read. Design-wise, the book is a masterpiece, with "chapter" separations showing bicycle parts, religious & occult images (and combinations of bicycle parts AND religious and occult images - very clever), or other items relevant to the story. Great heavy metal references throughout are a plus, as is the stylisation of flashback sequences that leave you wondering who the dark-haired boy in the stories is. And while there's plenty of hand wringing and tragedy, there are also laugh-out-loud funny bits (like the chest surgery scar section). Brilliant.