Review "Maggie Dubris has saved a thousand lives, not only in the streets of Hell's Kitchen where we worked as paramedics, but in the breathtaking lines of this book.... Her poetry shines in the darkest places." Synopsis A JOURNEY INTO THE MYSTICAL UNDERWORLD OF A WOMAN WHO'S BOTH A PARAMEDIC AND A POET When Orlie Breton shows up in June of 1979 to work as a paramedic in New York City's 911 system, she finds herself plunged into a violent and magical world, populated by medics who are not terribly different from the homeless people - the "skels" - who comprise most of their patient population. Orlie draws parallels between her experiences to the stories and feelings represented in the works of her favourite writers, which include Jack London, Walt Whitman, Rimbaud and Mark Twain. SKELS was written with the question in mind of what would happen if the ambulance world really was permeated with the works of past writers, and the skels were carrying the consciousnesses of the writers themselves. What would the protagonist have done if she had met the greatest poet of all, dirty and covered with lice, and been granted the chance to save him? With SKELS Dubris shares what she saw during her own time as paramedic - not literally, but more importantly, how she felt in her soul, magical, violent, funny, filled with passion and like it contained some ancient element that was invisible from the outside.
G**S
A surreal look into "the bad old days" of EMS in New York City.
I read another book by Maggie Dubris - WEEP NOT, MY WANTON - years ago. In a recent discussion of books related to EMS, somebody mentioned this books - SKELS - which I had not previously heard of. I bought it, and I'm glad I did.This book will inevitably be compared to the book BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, by Joe Connelly. The similarities are not coincidental; the two authors were both paramedics at St. Clare's Hospital in New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which were the "bad old days" I'm alluding to in my headline. Both books have a paramedic as the main character, and in both cases that character at least superficially resembles the author. Which parts are real and which parts fiction is a really interesting question, in my mind. Both books are surreal; neither could possibly be the 100% literal truth.This book, however, is much less dark than Connelly's book, and the movie made from it. When I finished reading this one, I didn't feel a compelling urge to down a pint of scotch. I liked the references and allusions to poetry and literature, many of which I recognized. I also liked that they weren't as overwhelming as in the earlier book, WEEP NOT, which occasionally had me feeling like an unlettered barbarian.I give this book four stars, only because I reserve the 5-star rating for a very select few favorites. i recommend it heartily, especially to EMTs and paramedic students, and ideally those with a sense of humor.
R**1
AUTHENTIC
This is such a great read for anyone who experienced New York City before it’s disney like transformation. The author describes experiences in such detail so the reader could see smell and taste the scene. As a former EMS worker in NYC this bright back so many memories both fun and some sad. But nevertheless the book will transport you back to a gritty and special time in NYC history. A must read.
V**A
Amazing book
It's noir and hip and there's poetry and it made me laugh out loud. It starts out with the main character being thrown into the life of an EMS paramedic, dealing with co-workers' various schemes for escaping work, and supervisors' various schemes for catching them at it, amidst the murders and the "pick-ups" in the morgue truck. Then she stumbles upon an eerie plot, a sinister cop, and a source of poetry. It's a gritty, urban fairy tale but the scenes are realistic and sad, except for the drag queen, who is fabulous and not sad, and the details of NYC in the 1980s, which are very well done. The homeless encampments, the hipster hangouts, the smell of the subways. It's all here.
B**L
New York in the perpetual night
Skels tells more of miserable underground human creatures than about the persona herself. I was too engrossed to notice because the narrative line is extra strong and worth it!
3**3
Great for the curious.
How it's like working on an ambulance in NYC without actually doing so. Good fr the faint of heart who are curious but do not want to deal with blood or vomit!
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