The Karma Suture

South Africa's deteriorating state hospital system and the stressful conditions under which staff work, is the basis of a début novel. The Karma Suture, by Rosamund Kendal, has been compared to Bridget Jones's Diary but set in a background that is too common to many South Africans. The main character is Dr. Sue Carey, 20-something, who shares a cottage with her friend Leah. She has broken off her engagement because her fiancé, who was in IT, found her work depressing and her long hours inconvenient. Sue is a registrar at a fictional hospital called Bellville, where she works long hours and gets frustrated by the lack of effective care for HIV patients. This book brings Sue's everyday stresses, failures and successes, her friends, and her developing relationship with a young doctor, to life. Thrown in are vivid descriptions of daily life in a hospital where things are crumbling or not available. It isn't a depressing book, there are some funny pieces in there. The author is a 30-something medical doctor in KwaZulu-Natal who has a MA in Creative Writing from UCT.