The Monsoon Diaries: A Doctor’s Journey of Hope and Healing from the ER Frontlines to the Far Reaches of the World

Sun’s account of his efforts to save lives in New York City at the height of the pandemic doesn’t quite land in this off-balance memoir. At the start of his career, Sun chose to work as a per diem doctor who wasn’t affiliated with any hospital, which allowed him “to pick up shifts whenever and wherever I choose and when there is the greatest need.” That came in handy in March 2020, when Covid overwhelmed New York hospitals. Sun describes his and his colleagues’ improvised response to the relentless waves of patients—wearing N95 masks as long as possible, sharing messages about overworked staff on social media, and using protective gear donated by friends. Sun lost his grandfather to the disease, which he recounts vividly: “Just as I would have done, his team called the code and began CPR. But to no avail.” But such heartfelt passages about loss are too often alternated with recollections of Sun’s exotic foreign travels, and the florid prose tends to distract (“My hometown lies asleep under the tender maw of an Henri Rousseau lion”). This one doesn’t quite come together. Agent: Trinity McFadden, The Bindery. (Sept.)