Reviews

Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly

sporksyeye's review against another edition

4.0

Hauntingly intriguing story about a paramedic’s slow descent into madness.
 Beautifully written, I docked it a star because the plot was hard to follow at times. 

lee_loryn_'s review against another edition

5.0

I devoured this book. I had already seen the movie years ago and loved it - didn't have a clue there was actually a book. The writing was poignant and gripping (thus having devoured). The ending gave me chills.
I want to say blahblahblah - oh, the movie is so close to this - and it is, yet the movie will probably never encapsulate for me, the emotions and experiences the main character endured. Film adaptations just don't do that for me haha.

the_dave_harmon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

moonmama's review against another edition

4.0

Ugh, i seriously need to start posting on this as soon as I've actually finished reading the book, not a thousand mind years later. because, of course, now i only have vague impressions of it. i loved the characters immensely, and they all just jumped off the page. I wish I had more to say, and when I read it again, I'll add more. On a side note to myself, I'm going to start reading, and making notes, just so I would be able to recall to myself what I liked about certain books, because I think I read so much, they just become a blur until I reread them.

auroraleininger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

blairconrad's review against another edition

3.0

A big downer. I think it would've totally sucked me in if it had a plot. As it was, I was very interested in Frank's relationship with his former "clients", but didn't get much from his relationships with his coworkers.
I'd normally be turned off by a main character that I cared so little for, but I think knowing that he'd at least (partially) been made the way he was by his job helped.
If nothing else, the book helped increase my appreciation for EMTs and the job they do.

saltycorpse's review against another edition

5.0

Do you need a book that will be a wrecking ball to your psyche? That will steep you in trauma and the horror of life's final, helpless moments, over and over again? Well this is the book for you. It fucked me up. It only takes place over a few nights of medic calls, but holy shit it is non-stop PTSD and very real body horror. The first pages solidified that I never, ever want CPR unless there's a damn high possibility that I'll survive without major complications or straight-up vegetative state/brain death. The description of the ribs breaking (which happens if you're doing CPR right) was visceral. And that was just the START of the book.

johnnyb1954's review against another edition

4.0

Connelly has crafted this well, setting a tone that lets you feel the burnout, the addiction and the guilt that weigh Frank down. It is all as unrelenting as the despair and suffering Frank encounters in the work. That is the flaw for in this story. The darkness almost blinded me to the humor. There is a lot of humor here but it was hard to fully appreciate because it was all shrouded in the blanket of misery. I recommend the book but really it's a bit short of four stars. I rounded up.

ebarbs3's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

sanitybandit's review against another edition

3.0

I really enjoyed the majority of the stories in this book. The beginning was really exciting and sucked me in. I think that I was only slightly disappointed with the ending, and the core plot was a little flat.