Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures: Stories

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures: Stories

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 â€“ Ming, Fitz, Sri and Chen â€“ 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 charactersâ€™ relationships with each other, their patients, and their careers. Lam draws on his own experience as an emergency room physician and shares an insiderâ€™s perspective on the fears, frustrations, and responsibilities linked with one of societyâ€™s most highly regarded occupations.

â€œI wanted to write about the way in which a person changes as they become a physician â€” how their world view shifts, and how they become a slightly different version of themselves in the process of becoming a doctor,â€ Lam explains. â€œI 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.â€

In the bookâ€™s first story, â€œHow to Get into Medical School, Part 1,â€ 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 Mingâ€™s traditional Chinese-Canadian parents. Lamâ€™s exceptional talent for describing scenarios with great precision is showcased in â€œTake All of Murphy,â€ when Ming, Chen, and Sri find themselves at a moral crossroads while dissecting a cadaver. Throughout the book, readers are treated to the physiciansâ€™ internal thoughts and the mental drama involved with treating patients, including Fitzâ€™s struggle with self-doubt in â€œCode Clockâ€ and Chenâ€™s boredom and exhaustion in â€œBefore Light.â€

From delivering babies to evacuating patients and dealing with deadly viruses, the four primary characters in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures are made thoroughly human by Lamâ€™s insightful detail, realistic dialogue, and expert storytelling. The medical world is naturally filled with drama, but itâ€™s the authorâ€™s ability to give equal weight to the smaller moments that really brings this book to life.

Country	USA
Author	Vincent Lam
Binding	Paperback
EAN	9780385661447
Edition	0
Format	International Edition
ISBN	0385661444
Label	Anchor Canada
Manufacturer	Anchor Canada
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	355
PublicationDate	2006-09-26
Publisher	Anchor Canada
ReleaseDate	2006-09-26
SKU	14674
Studio	Anchor Canada

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures: Stories

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