Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures has as its subtitle: Stories, although the 12 stories in the collection are interlinked, and the book also works as a novel. The author is a doctor in Toronto, Canada, and his writing is so evocative and seamless it is hard to believe this is his fiction debut. The first story, ‘How to get into Medical School, Part 1’, introduces Fitz and Ming, studying for a molecular biology exam together. Ming finds herself interested in Fitz, despite family expectations she will date only within the Chinese community. This taboo relationship becomes even more difficult when Ming gets into medical school in Toronto, but Fitz does not.

‘Take all of Murphy’ introduces the other key characters – male medical students Sri and Chen, who are teamed with Ming in first year Anatomy. The following stories explore the experiences and relationships of the four, over the next ten years. There are stories about patients and procedures that take the reader into the fascinating world of doctors, hospitals, and the motivations of each complex character. This book is beautifully written and won Canada’s top literary award, the Giller Prize.