The House of God

The House of God is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem (a pseudonym used by psychiatrist Stephen Bergman), published in 1978. The novel follows a group of medical interns at a fictionalized version of Beth Israel Hospital over the course of a year in the early 1970s, focusing on the psychological harm and dehumanization caused by their residency training. The book, described by the New York Times as "raunchy, troubling and hilarious", was viewed as scandalous at the time of its publication, but acquired a cult following and ultimately came to be regarded as a touchstone in the evolving discussion of humanism, ethics, and training in medicine.

Storyline

Dr. Roy Basch is an intelligent but naive intern working in a hospital called the House of God after completing his medical studies at the BMS ("Best Medical School"). He is poorly prepared for the grueling hours and the sudden responsibilities without good guidance from senior attending physicians. He begins the year on a rotation supervised by an enigmatic and iconoclastic senior resident who goes by the name The Fat Man. The Fat Man teaches him that the only way to keep the patients in good health and to survive psychologically is to break the official rules. The Fat Man provides his interns with wisdom such as his own "Laws of the House of God" (which amount to 13 by the end of the book). One of his teachings is that in the House of God, most of the diagnostic procedures, treatments, and medications received by the patients known as "gomers" (see Glossary, below) actually harm these patients instead of helping them. Basch becomes convinced of the accuracy of the Fat Man's advice and begins to follow it. Because he follows the Fat Man's advice and does nothing to the gomers, they remain in good health. Therefore, ironically, his team is recognized as one of the best in the hospital, and he is recognized as an excellent intern by everyone, even though he is breaking the rules.

The House

The House may refer to:

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The House (The Keys to the Kingdom)

The House is a domain that serves as the center of the universe in The Keys to the Kingdom series by Australian author Garth Nix. Anything in creation not in the House, such as earth (the solar system and indeed this universe), is part of the Secondary Realms. The House is divided into seven demesnes; each of which is ruled by a master named for a day of the week, the Trustees, or sometimes the Morrow Days. The demesnes are, in the order Arthur Penhaligon has claimed them: the Lower House, the Far Reaches, the Border Sea, the Great Maze, the Middle House, the Upper House and the Incomparable Gardens.

Description

The House's physical appearance in the Secondary Realms is described as a vast building featuring many different architectural styles, which often appear to be brought together at random. Its physical location differs; Arthur first sees it near his own residence, and his friend Leaf sees it above a hospital. Arthur, Leaf, and Leaf's ally Sylvie are the only mortals shown to see the House, each by a different means: Arthur can see it presumably because he is the Heir of the Architect; Sylvie requires special glasses given to Leaf by the House Sorcerer Dr. Scamandros; and Leaf appears able to see it without aid. It is her belief that she has inherited powers of extrasensory perception from her grandmother, whom she thinks to have been a witch, but this has not been confirmed. A possible alternative suggests that her immersion in the House (which occurred prior to her view of it from outside) enabled her to see it.

The House (1997 film)

The House (Lithuanian: Namai) is a 1997 French-Lithuanian drama film directed by Šarūnas Bartas. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

Cast

References

External links

House of God (album)

House of God is the ninth studio album by the heavy metal band King Diamond, released in 2000. The album was remastered by Andy LaRocque and was re-released in 2009.

Plot

The album's storyline is loosely based on the legend of Rennes-le-Château.

A man gets lost in the hills and is surrounded by wolves. Suddenly an old grey wolf with shiny eyes appears, makes all other wolves stay back and leads the man to a small church at the bottom of a hill. The man enters the House of God, in which everything starts to change. The wolf turns into a beautiful woman. They fall in love at first sight and love each other on different occasions in the church, but then the man recognizes the black devil in the church and must face that the girl is kissed by the devil. He starts discussing with "Angel" (the name of the girl) and she tells him her dramatic fate: Angel was chosen by supernatural forces to guard the church, and made a pact with the devil. She has one year's time to find a replacement for herself. If she's not successful she has to die. If she is successful she can leave the frightening place, but will lose her memory. The man sadly lets her go and nearly loses his mind out of heartache and isolation. In his desperation he starts to destroy the church and explores a hidden path which leads to underground catacombs. Spiders and rats reign there and everything is full of human bones. The man hears a scream from the inside of a mummy. He runs back into the church and a mysterious being tells him that there exists no God or devil but everybody's just marionettes. The man's shocked and starts to doubt the sense of life. He desperately asks himself: "Why am I here? Where does life begin or end? Is the universe just a grain of sand on a huge beach?". The man loses his faith in life; he can't accept what he has seen and hangs himself in desperation and pain.