Bloodletting and miraculous cures

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures welcomes readers into a world where the most mundane events can quickly become life or death. By following four young medical students and physicians � Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen � this debut collection from 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Vincent Lam is a riveting, eye-opening account of what it means to be a doctor. Deftly navigating his way through 12 interwoven short stories, the author explores the characters� relationships with each other, their patients, and their careers. Lam draws on his own experience as an emergency room physician and shares an insider�s perspective on the fears, frustrations, and responsibilities linked with one of society�s most highly regarded occupations. �I wanted to write about the way in which a person changes as they become a physician � how their world view shifts, and how they become a slightly different version of themselves in the process of becoming a doctor,� Lam explains. �I wanted to write about the reality that doing good and trying to help others is not simple. It is ethically complicated and sometimes involves a reality that can only be expressed by telling a story.� In the book�s first story, �How to Get into Medical School, Part 1,� students Ming and Fitz wrestle with their opposing personalities and study techniques, while coming to terms with a growing emotional connection that elicits disapproval from Ming�s traditional Chinese-Canadian parents. Lam�s exceptional talent for describing scenarios with great precision is showcased in �Take All of Murphy,� when Ming, Chen, and Sri find themselves at a moral crossroads while dissecting a cadaver. Throughout the book, readers are treated to the physicians� internal thoughts and the mental drama involved with treating patients, including Fitz�s struggle with self-doubt in �Code Clock� and Chen�s boredom and exhaustion in �Before Light.� From delivering babies to evacuating patients and dealing with deadly viruses, the four primary characters in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures are made thoroughly human by Lam�s insightful detail, realistic dialogue, and expert storytelling. The medical world is naturally filled with drama, but it�s the author�s ability to give equal weight to the smaller moments that really brings this book to life. From the Hardcover edition.