Better

Samanth reviews Atul Gawande’s latest colelction of essays, Better.

We are endlessly fascinated by medicine because we are endlessly fascinated by ourselves… Why wouldn’t we be, though? How can we resist us, these creatures of brittle bone, stringy muscle, messy blood and fragile craniums, cells and tissues that somehow, inexplicably, can add up to William Shakespeare and Raphael and MS Subbulakshmi? And by extension, how can we resist doctors and their craft? We submit completely to their mastery of bone, muscle, blood and craniums, all the while knowing that healing is often one fine scalpel-stroke away from maiming or killing. It’s a piquant balance, and it’s one that Atul Gawande weighs endlessly in Better, his second collection of essays.