Part of something I’m doing for work is reading books from loads of other publishers and reviewing them. I picked Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam because he wrote an introduction for another book the company I work for published, and I corresponded with him very briefly over email a number of months ago.

Yes, I’m a bit of a star-struck loser that way.

I’m glad I read it, in any case. I’m a recent convert to short story writing and perhaps this would be a gentle introduction to short stories for someone who’s never been into the format. It’s a great collection of inter-connected stories, stories of young adults looking to get into medical school through to their lives mid-career.

It was easy to relate to Ming, Fitz, Chen and Sri’s trials and tribulations. I’m not sure if it’s being part of the Chinese diaspora and its obsession with academic achievement that I felt I understood the most! I recommended the book to my rellies who’re in the medical profession (of which there are a fair few — I’m the under-achiever of the family), and my cousin in Canada told me that she also really enjoyed it and it’s been adapted into a teevee series — how cool!