The Wandering Jew of St. Salacious

Ron Turker | 6Dog Press 282p, e-book, $11.99, ISBN 979-8-9875729-1-7

Turker’s debut is as sharp as the surgeon’s scalpel and jolting as a defibrillator. After he finds himself out of a job, Dr. Martin “Marty” Fischer gets accepted, of all places, into St. Salacious, a hospital that, in spite of its literal hall of nuns, is renowned for its scandals involving the staff’s orgies, wife-swapping, and other instances of passionate debauchery. As an agnostic Jew entering a Catholic institution, he’s trepidatious but finds himself befriending a staff that’s charmed by his compassion, wit, and “that cute Fischer smile, and those big-brown puppy eyes.” One woman in particular catches his eye—Sister Catherine, both nun and CEO. But after a blind night of passion and finding himself in the metaphorical crosshairs of both a mercenary medical group and the diocese, Marty is determined to let his morals rather than his faith speak to the masses.

Turker’s own experience in the American healthcare system shines

throughout, both in memorable detail and surprising-but-convincing plot points that center on the shark-like nature of donors, or hateful patients who demand providers work doubly hard on bedside manner. One scene finds Marty giving care to a neo-Nazi and discovering that his conception of the Hippocratic oath has limits; meanwhile, a bishop is eager to “rid St. Salacious of Marty’s ‘taco-crowd’ have-nots, [and] Sister Catherine’s meddlesome oversight.” This sometimes dark material is handled with a fiery wit that keeps the pages turning.

Turker’s own compassion powers the novel, the satire more outraged than outrageous. As he faces religious fervor, bigotry, and good oldfashioned greed in compelling scenes with whip-smart dialogue, Marty becomes a voice of compassion and courage in a system that prioritizes dollars over care. Readers of thoughtful literary fiction will find this polished novel’s observations darkly comforting—even hopeful—in the face of rising intolerance and a national health crisis.

Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Stellar novel of a Jewish doctor bringing change to a corrupt Catholic hospital.

Great for fans of Yan Lianke’s Heart Sutra, Kyle Bradford Jones’s Hospital!.