Black Flies: A Novel - Shannon Burke

148 pages

This is the story of life as a paramedic in Harlem in the 1990's. The story moves quickly like flipping through a stack of old photographs, each giving a quick, memorable scene then moving on to the next. In this case, each picture is horrifying and grim. Days filled with blown off heads, blood soaked clothes, mistrusting patients and unacceptable living conditions.

Altruism, bravery, heroism. These themes try to grow in sick soil from the beginning of the book and never come to fruition. They would have bogged this story down with what we hope from the world rather than what truly is. Instead, the question of the effects of daily trauma and violence takes root.

"Dirty streets, rundown subway stops, overflowing trash cans, rats, vacant lots filled with rubble. That was Harlem in the early nineties. The most violent precincts in the city were the 32nd and in West Harlem and the 34th in Washington Heights. That was exactly the area our unit covered and we were proud of this. It meant we were badasses, that we could handle anything. We were always understaffed so we learned how to do everything ourselves. We got out of date equipment that barely functioned, so we got really good at doing physical exams with just our hands, a flashlight, and a stethoscope. Half the time we were in abandoned, boarded-up buildings with no electricity or heat. And, very quickly, without realizing it, my manner changed. I smiled less. I talked louder, in a more authoritative voice. I became accustomed to giving orders to the techs and the firemen and the cops."pg 48

This early naivete and desire to fit in with the older, jaded medics leads the main character Ollie Cross to witness events that call into question his moral fabric, challenge his early idealism and explore the power of stress and violence on the human person and in the human body.