c.2012, PublicAffairs
25.99 / $29.00 Canada
25.100 275 pages
Superman can do anything.
He can outrace a train, jump high, stuff you already know. But he can also save puppies, solve crimes, hear through walls, and sense things that are about to happen.
But that’s not all – Superman lifts trucks over his head, blows buildings apart with one breath, and powers through steel. And he gets the girl in the end.
That’s why they call him Superman.
But for some people on the island of Nantucket in New England, Superman comes in human form. He’s not quite as strong, but his abilities are widely-known and in the new book “Island Practice” by Pam Belluck, you’ll read about him.
Nantucket is an island about 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, but for its rich and influential residents, it’s a world away from problems.
The island offers relaxation to stars, policy-makers, and commentators. Politicians go to Nantucket for much-needed rests, and philanthropists summer there, but they aren’t the only residents: Nantucket is the year-round home to a number of working-class folks and eccentrics – and when a small town (which basically describes Nantucket) becomes a magnet for people with “flaws,” it needs someone who acts as “glue” to hold its citizenry together, both in body and mind.
Nantucket has its Dr. Lepore.
Tim Lepore initially came to Nantucket to work for just for a month, but he “liked what he saw” in the town and its tiny hospital. He realized that the cases he’d see at Nantucket Cottage Hospital were nothing like those at his old job in Providence. Nantucket could be interesting – he loved nothing more than that – plus, the shifts were better.
The Lepore family’s move to Nantucket was, for its islanders, one of the best things that ever happened.
Tim Lepore is the town’s Renaissance Man. He’s their doctor, first and foremost. But, because Lepore has such diverse interests, he’s become their protector, counselor, veterinarian, medical examiner, archaeologist, historian, and school board member. He prepares for some surgeries by reading books, is willing to find herbal “cookies” for chemo patients, and reluctantly does abortions.
He’s “Hawkeye Pierce” in the flesh. But not even he can stop corporate progress when it sneaks onto his island…
I had three parallel thoughts as I was reading “Island Practice.”
The first was that author Pam Belluck often made her main subject seem like a superheroic maverick-genius who irreverently flaunts the rules. That’s fine, but I really would’ve liked to see the gushing dialed down a notch.
Secondly, several of those maverick-y things gave me pause, particularly because there were so many. Yes, Belluck sometimes made me chuckle with her accountings, but some shared incidences were fairly disturbing.
Thirdly, despite thoughts one and two, this book isn’t all bad. It’s flawed, but it was adequately interesting and kept me reading - which is good enough for me and may be worth a try for you, too. If you can overlook its testimonial-like feel, you might find that “Island Practice” fits your reading tastes just super.
