This was quite an insightful read! Having worked in the NHS, this hit on quite a personal level! I definitely think I enjoyed it more as an audiobook than if I had have read it in physical form.

Thank you Netgalley and Granta Publications for the ARC. Not sure this is for me, it was hard to read but had some interesting stories. I'm sure there are out there that would really appreciate this book but just not me.

This was a short book that I felt compelled to listen to. It was a very brief, basic insight into the harsh realities of what intern doctors are subjected to.

I thought this short account of the experiences of three surgical night interns was a great depiction of working in a hospital. It's very atmospheric and precise, using all of the senses to make you really feel like the there, with the minute-by-minute minutiae of all that comes with working in a medical environment. It's such a detailed depiction that I really felt like I could picture every minor detail, even listening to the audiobook version. There's a nervous, tense energy that carries through without much let up, adding to the frazzled, pressured atmosphere. I can't fault the scene setting.

I did find though, that almost too much attention was given to making the hospital feel hyper-realistic, and as a result the characters are neglected. I found all three interns vaguely unpleasant, with no real character arcs -and not too much by way of plot either. I expected the four hours to race by, but unfortunately found chunks of it fairly slow and stagnant, and if it wasn't a NetGalley read unfortunately I'm not sure I'd have made it to the end - or at least taken longer.

A novel that has the feel of an impressionist painting; it is indistinct and dream-like and a sense that below the surface, undercurrents are about to emerge. Yet despite this, it doesn't quite come together at the end.

Documenting the life of a newly qualified doctor, the Night intern delves into the work lives of interns in an Irish hospital. It was like listening to snippets of conversations between colleagues. Both funny and sad, a Intresting read.

If you are looking for a book detailing the crude life of a newly qualified doctor, then this is the book for you. The Night intern delves into the work lives of interns, and it gives a glimpse of what it's like to be "on call" in an Irish hospital. This is more of a catalogue of on call jobs, more so than an actual novel. Doctors treatment of each other is very unpleasant, I'm not sure if that is for the benefit of the story, or if it's true to life. An intriguing read. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

As a nurse who does almost permanent nights I knew once I saw The Night Interns popping up I had to read it even if it was with some trepidation.

The book centers around 3 young surgical interns as they attempt to navigate a series of nights on call down the dark corridors of a large Irish hospital. Duffy presents the reality of a working hospital at night in it's true mundane, dark, and often tense form. He allows the reader into the world of the exhausted and browbeaten interns trying to survive yet another night while simultaneously trying to keep their patients alive.

I've seen some reviews complain that they felt nervous and exhausted reading this and I honestly think that that just shows the incredible talent that Duffy has in conveying the minute by minute anxiousness and sheer need to just keep going that can accompany a nasty night shift.

The book isn't all dark, it's filled with some great moments of companionship and a few sections where I did have a proper giggle. I found it quite interesting to see the doctor/nurse dynamic played out from the other point of view and also just really loved the brutal honesty and openness.

The book definitely felt like a memoir rather than fiction and I wonder if it is semi-autobiographical/auto-fiction considering that Austin Duffy is a practicing consultant. Either way, I think his own lived experiences as an intern most definitely contributed to the writing success of this book.

I listened to the audiobook, which I enjoyed as it really added to that feeling of being inside their heads as they fumbled along. Paul Nugent was a fantastic narrator and was able to portray the different characters really well, from the antagonistic consultant down to the often overly eager intern.

The Night Interns may not be for everyone but it is a really well written, realistic and truly evocative book which conveys the moody almost ominous feeling of a hospital at night.

medical fly on the wall type book, slightly funny (probably the main medical characters) but also very serious and shows the hard work and dedication involved in being a junior doctor. Such a responsibility as well, takes it toll on the doctors health and well being. You have to be very strong to get through medical school and the early years of medical diagnosis, we all think they have the answers. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review

Many thanks to Bolinda Audio and Austin Duffy for the advanced audio copy of The Night Interns via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Wow…The Night Interns was harrowing. It’s meant to be, and it definitely succeeds in its mission. There is no humour or softening of the experiences of the author: just the cold, hard, bleak truth.

Through emotive and descriptive writing, you really get immersed in the world of the night interns. It’s a lonely world, with cold winds blowing through doors to an outside world they’re completely apart from. They are in this world of their own, filled with panic and judgement. The judgement comes from their superiors, their colleagues, their peers and from themselves.

I listened to the book in two sittings, and would have done it in one go if I’d had the time available to me. It was absolutely compelling, although I want to know what happened to Therese.

I enjoyed listening to Paul Nugent’s narration, it reflected the mood of the book perfectly. The pacing and nuance were excellent and I would definitely listen to more books narrated by him.

Moods: challenging, dark, emotional, informative, reflective, tense
Pace: fast
Trigger warnings: Blood/Gore, Cheating, Death, Physical illness, Racism, Suicide

Rating
Story: 5/5
Audio: 5/5

This review will be featured on my blog at www.mymentalshelf.com in future

I finished The Night Interns still waiting on something interesting to happen. It reads as a blow by blow account of what seems to be a believable recount of what life is like as an intern in a busy hospital. Much of it focuses on the ‘in-house’ politics involved in the day to day running of a hospital with a large staff and their angsts. The best part of this book was the narrator who was excellent and although admittedly, there are parts that gave me belly laughs, it’s not something I would honestly recommend unless you’re in a placid mood and want an easy to listen to audiobook.

I enjoyed listening to this book and I thought the narrator was really good and easy to listen to. However I would have liked a bit more. It felt quite short and i was left wanting more.

Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.

Three young surgical interns are working the hospital night shift. They are unsure about their roles, their place in the world, and the patients in their care. They must learn to navigate all of this, facing off against their uncertainties, if they are to survive the night.

I read another review for this book that used the word insubstantial to describe it and that has stuck with me as an accurate description. I can foresee this really working for many readers but I, unfortunately, was not one of them.

The protagonists are exhausted, overworked, and anxious. Duffy really allows the reader to experiences this and the almost dream-like writing quality allows the emotions to further permeate. In this instance, the insubstantial qualities are a true positive as this novel felt almost like a fever dream where nothing could be trusted and all should be questioned.

However, in other areas, scenes were featured and I was left wondering what their purpose served. I felt tense whilst reading and and certain that some grand tragedy or catastrophic moment would appear but, when none did, the contents lost some meaning for me and became insubstantial along with the others in the same vein.

This intern's experience as a medical doctor was a bit morbid for me. The details of the process of death and working with some undesirables as coworkers and as their superiors was depressing. In was engaging but subject matter was depressing. Its great dialogue but just not for me. The narrator was excellent in bringing the details to life. I recommend it for folks who don't mind reading about death and dying.
#TheNightInterns #NetGalley

Working in healthcare (nursing) this felt familiar to me, but I'm not a doctor so it felt like a new insight too. I didn't like the age-old trope of nurses getting in the doctor's way - we're coworkers after all. I could resonate with night shift going from 0 to 100 as well, so the narrative is steeped in reality which I didn't doubt as the author is a doctor in real life. In terms of storyline, there wasn't a traditional intro-conflict-resolution narrative, but there isn't in healthcare either. You don't always find out the end of stories you're involved with. I admired Linda for her confidence and felt for Stuart and the narrator as healthcare is daunting when you're beginning with so much to learn and so much to possibly go wrong.

I listened to this audiobook as a free eARC from NetGalley (with thanks to Austin Duffy and the publisher). I would recommend this book to other readers but I would not reread it again myself.

Really enjoyed this and listened in one sitting! It always astounds me that anyone trains to be a doctor. It’s so stressful and exhausting and the pressure is immense . This short books follows interns during their night shifts and the harsh learning curves they have to deal with. The narrator was fantastic as well

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bolinda Audio, and the author, for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a sucker for anything remotely medical related! So this book was a no-brainer. The book follows the narrative of a surgical intern as he goes through his night shift with two other of his peers. Our narrator along with Linda and Stuart are on rounds for their night shift and they are both the most qualified and least experienced people at the same time. Linda is uber confident in everything she does, Stuart is scared and rather not do anything by himself and our narrator is quite literally in the middle of it all. The story is like a chunk out of a medical professionals life, while they navigate the great unknowns of both their career and the lives of the people they kind of control.

The microaggressions, the rampant hate for other disciplines, the segregation of different levels and the subtle sexism is so close to real life that its no big shock. Having heard first hand experience of my best friend working as a medical intern, I feel like this book is probably so much of the Author's and his peers experiences in real life written down for us to experience.

TW: Racism, micro/macro aggressions, sexism, gaslighting, emotional abuse, exhaustion, medical neglect

The Night Interns
by Austin Duffy

t doesn't matter what your profession, I'll bet that if you were given a schilling for every time you or a colleague joked that you could write a book on all the absurdity that goes hand in hand with your particular field, you'd be a very rich person. The one profession you'd hope not to hear that from is the medical profession, but hot on the heels of Adam Kay's hilarious set of junior doctor confessionals, I find that my warped mind .has secretly been relishing tales of inexperienced, overworked novices acting like the fabled Dutch boy who saved the country by sticking his finger in the dike.

Over his six month rotation as a surgical intern, the narrator talks us through his experiences, all the routine stuff like insertions of drains and catheters, writing up meds, locating images, to life and death decisions made in the middle of the night when he finds himself suddenly to be the most qualified, but least experienced person in the entire hospital. The ridiculousness of these situations are compounded by the exasperation of the nursing staff and the downright contempt of the pompous consultants.

This is terrifying stuff, and yet it is so entertaining because it is so true. This author, who is now a practicing oncologist, is not making any of this up. How does anyone survive this relentless pressure and maybe the bigger question? How do so many patients seem to survive the dysfunctionality of a system run by sleep deprived, abused, traumatised hopefuls that may or may not become the next generation of consultants.

As funny and entertaining these stories are, it's also a firm warning to the medical hierarchy to ease up on these future heroes, give them time and space to hone their craft and maybe not knock every soft edge off them, and hopefully some day we will have consultants that more closely resemble humans than demi-gods.

Thanks to #netgalley and #bolindaaudio for providing me with an ALC for review