Pressure can be a lot to handle when something is expected out of you and you're well aware that you're not capable of meeting your expectations. Three nightly interns at a hospital face the same pressure, trudging along the ravenous water of medical area while trying to sustain themselves somehow. Their despair is stark and the arduous work that do almost keeps them on the edge. The writing was enjoyable from the beginning but somewhere in the middle it started to be underdeveloped. Nonetheless, still a good book to read if you love anything medical.

Oncologist Austin Duffy’s third novel follows three surgical interns, not long graduated from medical school, working the night shift in a large hospital where they’re expected to avoid calling senior medical staff at all costs, sometimes even to the patients. It’s brief but as is so often the case with novellas, it packs a very powerful punch.

Trudging through layers of fatigue, our narrator has little or no life outside the hospital. The dysfunction of this workplace where buck-passing, sycophancy and bombast are fostered by a hierarchical system based on patronage is both no surprise and jaw-dropping. Our narrator is often left confused as to what exactly his latest apparent misdemeanour is in an institution where gossip and barracking seem to be the favoured forms of communication. By the end of the novel, Lynda’s star continues in the ascendent, Stuart has gained in confidence if not in skill and our unnamed narrator knows exactly what to do with the dying woman he’s called to. Written in flat, stripped-down prose, making it all the more effective, it’s an unsettling piece of fiction which leaves you with renewed respect for doctors who manage to get through this punishing training but not for the ones who leave their humanity behind when they do.

As someone who works in health care I have a morbid fascination with fictional stories set within a medical setting. I used to really enjoy night shifts in particular, where management is minimal and you're generally just left to get on with things. The Night Interns definitely captures this feeling, as we follow three Interns tackling life and death often in a very lonely, yet incredibly intense, environment.

That said I wasn't a massive fan of the writing style. There's no chapters, which did lend itself to this intense and breathless situation, but also meant that the reader has no time to compress and think about what they're reading.

Interesting, and frightfully realistic but it didn't quite pack the emotional punch it was trying to land.

The Night Interns brilliantly portrays the excruciating stress of constantly feeling that what is expected of you may well be more than you are capable of achieving…. Compulsive, gripping and at times horrifying! Oh my goodness, I absolutely and totally loved this book. Outstanding and compelling.

Intravenous lines, catheters, bodies in distress, wounds: three young surgical interns working the night shift must care for - and keep alive - the influx of patients, while frightened and uncertain about what the night will throw at them.

The Night Interns beautifully conjures the alien space of the hospital wards and corridors through the viewpoint of one of the interns, as he comes to terms with the bodily reality of the patients and the bizarre instruments of healing. Equally unsettling for the inexperienced junior staff are the dysfunctional hierarchies of the hospital workplace. Under intense pressure and with very little sleep, the interns become inured to their encounters with sickness, all the while searching for the meaning in their work.

“The Night Interns” by Austin Duffy is a powerfully evocative story. As we follow the POV of a hospital intern we are introduced to a world where stress and tension are the driving factors, perhaps ahead of the altruistic need to help the sick and injured. Beautifully written, sharply witty and often dark, few of us actually realise the depth and range of emotions that medical staff, particularly interns, are often faced with on a daily basis from within the hospital’s hierarchy. I adore these ‘behind the scenes’ looks at places I normally don’t get to see and this novel is well worth reading for the experience of what interns actually face day to day in their quest to become healers. It’s eye opening and certainly gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of what they endure. A memorable book, one I’d highly recommend to everyone.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Not one you want to read before going into hospital.

Three night interns, who are for most part struggling with what they don't know, and how best to treat patients.
A good look at the pressures on the medics who can have everything thrown at them.

Interesting, but I felt it a bit flat.

The Night interns feels like it could be more of memoir but I liked it. The story about three interns that work nights and you see the pressure that they have to come with the demand of the job and the people in charge of them. I read this in two days, it’s quite short book. There was no chapters but I liked how the author did this. I found interesting to see what the interns where going though. I read it all the way through and I liked the author writing style.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I thought the content of this book was interesting and I enjoyed the premise, however the writing style wasn't for me I just couldn't gel with it at all and almost made me give up altogether.

The Night Interns by Austin Duffy reads more like a memoir than a novel. I started out enjoying reading about the experience of a young intern working in a hospital and the pressures and failings but I was left feeling that I wanted more from it and as a literary work it was a bit flat and underdeveloped.

Thank you Netgalley and Granta Publications for the ARC.

What an interesting look into the lives of three night interns. Very entertaining seeing what they have to put up with working in a hospital and all the drama that goes with it. I did not like Lynda or Stuart at all. One was backstabbing and self righteous and the other a coward, but it all made for a very interesting read.

I found this book hard to read. There aren't any chapters and it felt you couldn't really catch a breath. I did enjoy the story and the idea around it very much!