Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures

by Vincent Lam

An astonishing literary debut, this collection of mature and intricate stories introduces a powerful new voice in fiction.

‘A STUNNING DEBUT’ Margaret Atwood

‘IRRESISTIBLE’ Alice Munro

In this beautifully written collection, Vincent Lam weaves together black humour, investigations of both common and extraordinary moral dilemmas, and a sometimes shockingly realistic portrait of today's medical profession. Twelve interlinked stories introduce us to a group of medical students over ten years, as they make the transition from medical school to hospital life.

The stories span the unique challenges faced by young, inexperienced doctors – having to decide during a first human dissection whether it is more important to follow the anatomy textbook or keep a tattoo intact – but also delve into their private lives, their relationships and family histories, their fears and motivations.

Riveting, convincing and precise, ‘Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures’ looks with rigorous honesty at the specificities of the lives of doctors and their patients and brings us to a deeper understanding of the challenges and temptations that surge around us all.

• ISBN10: 0007263805
• ISBN13: 9780007263806
• Publish Date: 3 March 2008 (first published 26 September 2006)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 11 January 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Fourth Estate Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I thought this was really interesting. It’s more a collection of short stories than a novel, and each story focuses on a different member of the core group of doctors. Despite being in medical school together, they don’t always travel in the same circles. But, practicing in the same city, their paths cross from time to time, often in very interesting ways. There’s love and death, success and failure.

I listened to the book on audio, and was amused by the production. The narrator portrayed each character with their expected accent, and it walked the line between useful and overdone. I’m still not quite sure what to think of it. I almost felt like I should be offended on someone else’s behalf. Despite that, I enjoyed the listen.