Dustfall – Michelle Johnston
This book was mentioned by a friend and then I received an email about a literary high tea (where Michelle would be speaking), so of course I had to read it. I even bought a paper copy.
Here is the blurb …
Dr Raymond Filigree, running away from a disastrous medical career, mistakes an unknown name on a map for the perfect refuge. He travels to the isolated town of Wittenoom and takes charge of its small hospital, a place where no previous doctor has managed to stay longer than an eye blink. Instead of settling into a quiet, solitary life, he discovers an asbestos mining corporation with no regard for the safety of its workers and no care for the truth.
Thirty years later, Dr Lou Fitzgerald stumbles across the abandoned Wittenoom Hospital. She, too, is a fugitive from a medical career toppled by a single error. Here she discovers faded letters and barely used medical equipment, and, slowly the story of the hospital’s tragic past comes to her.
Dustfall is the tale of the crashing consequences of medical error, the suffering caused by asbestos mining and the power of storytelling
This book has a wonderful sense of place – in particular Wittenoom (and the Pilbara). I could feel the heat, see the red dirt and the blue sky.
I also learnt quite a bit about Wittenoom and the criminal mining practices – I like to learn history through fiction. As a Western Australian, I know about Wittenoom and Asbestos (and all of the health issues), but I thought the mining company was incompetent not criminal (you know no one paid attention to safety in those days).
Personal responsibility is juxtaposed against corporate responsibility – both doctors make a mistake (of attention more than negligence) – feel terrible remorse and have the career paths altered. Whereas the mining company denies, deflects and delays.
I couldn’t find any other reviews, but I found this …