10/6/2023 0 Comments Im tyrone dadIn another scene, Mr Sincope ends up visiting the worst drinking hole in Manchester while visiting, Gerry, Mrs Sincope’s father. In one scene, Mr Sincope believes his wife will shortly give birth so dashes into a nearby pub for Dutch courage only to discover it’s a gay bar for older clientele who have a deeply troubling interest in long-dead footballers. Both of these stand out scenes take place in pubs. Tyrone’s humour comes through in various scenes but two stand out. The Patient is a different novel altogether. It was a very funny, madcap adventure that followed a policy wonk on a murderous spree, taking out various dreary middle-aged men from within the Westminster scene. Tyrone, who is a political journalist and policy specialist, was on home turf with that novel. I was a big fan of Nick Tyrone’s previous novel Politics is Murder. Once he enters the book, the loose ends start being answered. Only in the final few pages does the entire story come together thanks to a character called George. This is a book that really does have to be read until the very end. It says a lot that the only character to take pity and aid Mrs Sincope is a woman. In a pivotal scene, a female doctor, Dr Sharp, launches a failed rescue attempt so Mrs Sincope can be treated at another hospital. As his wife continues in antennal-ward limbo, he firstly returns to work before taking drastic action to avoid having to visit his wife in hospital. Mr Sincope eventually tires of the situation. Various nurses and doctors come in and examine Mrs Sincope, rarely asking for permission before inserting their fingers into her vagina to check on the dilation of her cervix, seemingly a comment on both her powerlessness as a woman but also a hint of what the final chapters of the book reveal. Much of the rest of the book takes place in the confines of Mrs Sincope’s hospital cubicle. He ducks in and out of the story as it progresses but in the final half of the book, his unhealthy interest in Mrs Sincope becomes clear. He is an odious character with the worst bedside manner of any medical professional. Soon after arriving at the hospital, the mysterious Dr Blots enters the scene, the man who ultimately takes responsible for Mrs Sincope’s care. The longer Mrs Sincope stays in this institution, however, it becomes clear this is no ordinary hospital. It seemed to be a dystopian place of Tardis-like proportions with odd features like one-way windows in the corridors. During the first few chapters of The Patient, I found Tyrone’s description of the hospital a little confusing. When the couple arrive at the hospital, the story really gets going. Over time, her union with Mr Sincope, a man who loves a cheap polyester suit, sucks the confidence out of her She overcame these difficulties to have a successful executive career, only to enter into a marriage with Mr Sincope because she thought he was the best man she could get. Mrs Sincope, meanwhile, is emotionally scarred by her alcoholic father and a mother who nearly killed her as a teenager. While on the way to hospital he promises his wife that he’ll read up on the subject “later,” which gives you a good measure of this pugnacious little man, a man who has simply assumed his wife will become a stay-at-home mum once baby Faith, as their daughter is to be called, has arrived. Mr Sincope hasn’t really given the birth or fatherhood any thought whatsoever. The novel starts as Mrs and Mr Sincope, a moderately successful, young London couple, make their way to hospital for Mrs Sincope’s induction. On the other, it’s a story that asks some serious questions about gender roles, fathers, how women are treated in society and the ethics of medical experimentation. On the one hand, it’s a very relatable novel for anyone that has visited a labour ward. The Patient by Nick Tyrone: What happens when a pregnancy never seems to end?
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