Reading Response #1

Only a few pages into Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam, I was immediately engrossed into the high-stress, high-stakes novel. Straightaway I found myself captivated and intrigued by Lam’s detailed, yet elegant, imagery and descriptions. I was able to identify with many aspects of the first story, How To Get Into Medical School, Part I, especially the examination that takes place at the very beginning. Lam’s illustration of snow stung noses, buzzing lamps, rummaging for pens, and the “minimum requisite distance” (2) between desks instantly transported me to a tense exam room, which allowed me to emphasize with both the struggling Fitzgerald, and the excelling Ming. The relationship between Ming and Fitz is quickly established as a close, strictly platonic friendship, that longs to become something more. Ming’s rigid education and success based upbringing leads her to resist Fitzgerald, fearing that her parents would reject him for being white. Ming is now faces an internal struggle as she is forced into choosing between the realistic idea of what she should do, and the romantic dream of what she wants. We are presented with what we believe to be Ming’s answer, when she calls Fitz and exclaims, “You’ve been honest, so I should be. I am attracted to you, and now that we both understand this problem, we shouldn’t study together or even see each other” (12). The development of the seemingly, stereotypical female Asian Ming continues, as she balances her medical school interviews and reluctantly tutoring Fitz. Lam however, adds a new and unexpected layer to Ming, by revealing an incestuous relationship she had with her cousin and tutor, Karl, while in high school. Through the description, Lam masterfully inserts allusion and symbolism, culminating with the profound line, “when he slid the condom off, it looked exactly like a snake shedding its skin” (28). Snakes, used in the medical symbol, represent revival, and the shedding of one skin for a new one. This moment triggers the rebirth of Ming, and a drastic change in her characterization. The reader’s and Fitz’s opinion of Ming is fully shattered when she declares, “You thought I was so perfect” (29).

The next story, Take All of Murphy, fast forwards Ming’s life, where she is now in anatomy class at medical school in Toronto, with her partners Sri and Chen. This section is primarily an expansion of Ming’s character. The reader is given insight into her sterile, textbook methods, as she constantly contradicts Sri’s sanctimoniousness. Throughout this passage, the group is dissecting their cadaver - Murphy. This act is paralleled through a reference to the bible, Mark 16, in which Jesus’ body is cleaned and prepared with spices. Sri paraphrases this story, and provides the true meaning to Take All of Murphy when he tells Chen and Ming (while speaking of Mark 16), “Don’t be scared, says the shining angel who’s there. Jesus has rise, so tell the disciples that he will comfort and lead them . . . [Jesus] says that his followers will be healers by putting their hands on people” (51-52) - doctors.

How To Get Into Medical School, Part II contains the break-up of Ming and Fitz. Fitz is unable to let go, and his true devotion and infatuation with Ming is exposed. Ming on the other hand, fully rejects Fitz, ignoring his calls, and letters. Having been accepted to med school at the University of Toronto also, Fitz is desperate to be close to Ming. The two have a dramatic confrontation, and it seems as though their relationship is finished forever, painting the duo as start-crossed lovers. Though Ming seems reluctantly comfortable with never seeing Fitz again, “he felt a lingering temptation to turn around and gaze at Ming, close or distant, just to prove that he could do it and it would be okay, but he decided not to” (88). Evidently, Fitzgerald still cannot let go of Ming, and I suspect their relationship will be highlighted again in future stories.