Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: Stories by Vincent Lam

Lam's book, BLOODLETTING AND MIRACULOUS CURES, winner of the 2007 Giller Award tells the story of four individuals, Ming, Fitz, Chen and Sri, bound for a career in medicine. We follow them through their preparations for medical school, their training and ultimately their practices. We are introduced to the lab, where students dissect a human cadaver. We experience the impossible world of the emergency room doctor and begin to understand the juxtaposition of traditional and modern medicine. The pressures of the training and the practice of medicine colour the lives of each of the doctors. This is a gripping read that keeps one turning the pages.