Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I requested this book because I work in the same city that Ben was working and writing from. While Ben does not specifically say which hospital system he is working for, it was clear it was the Catholic-based hospital. One of my siblings spent a year at the competing hospital, so it was interesting to compare. The journal entries were easy to read. A lot of the expected types of people were described. We had some of the same in the heights of the pandemic, although I work for a completely different type of organization. There were some reminders of how bad the infection rate was for awhile, and some of the wonky politics that were steering the ship.

Slight spoiler (?) : On the employment side of things, I noticed that Ben was having a hard time with his initial job placement. I’m in HR, so I was curious why they gave him trainer after trainer rather than handling it a different way, but things seemed to work out ok once they found a job he could be more successful.

I’m giving this 3.5, rounded up to a 4. I mostly found this interesting because I’m local. Not sure if it would translate the same to an outside person, but definitely a snapshot in time nonetheless. I wasn’t sure why there were —1 —0 marked throughout the pages. Sometimes it seemed like a marker for multiple thoughts, maybe markers for editing the book? Hopefully that is taken out in the final draft as it was distracting.

This is a fascinating book, but it is not for everyone. It is for the reader who is interested in digging deeply into one person's experience during the pandemic. And this is a unique person in a unique setting... in South Dakota. We have many accounts of the pandemic that take place in New York City, but not so many that tell the story of a small town in a very red state. There is culture here and that becomes apparent as one reads.
This is a highly detailed book and I found that cumbersome. I felt like I wanted less stream of consciousness and observation and more focus on the experience; it could have been a shorter book. But, I also think that many readers WILL be impressed with the detailed account, especially those readers wanting a literary experience. But I did wonder if this book had identity issues; what exactly is it trying to portray and who are its readers? That said, it is still an impressive work that could be the impetus for much discussion in a college class.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a nice addition to the the genre of Pandemic Lit.