Review: Black Flies

Black Flies by Shannon Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had this book on my list to read for several years - from a year-end NYT list I think. I liked it, but not sure it was worthy of a multi-year stint on the to-be-read list.

It was about a young man who becomes a paramedic in NYC. It follows him and his colleagues through their daily routines, making life-and-death decisions. What was most unique about this was the way it was written. There were short vignettes depicting different patients and situations, often without a lot of background and with indeterminate time lapsing between scenes. It forced me, as the reader, to focus on certain things and ignore other aspects of character or plot development I may have otherwise paid more attention to.

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