Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. In this book, it might not seem that medical school is designed to foster individualism. When are there moments in which the doctors, the professionals, reveal their personal self?
2. What events root these stories in a particular time? Do you see references to outside news? What about SARS? Does the intense focus of the stories capture the funneled lives of physicians, especially in the E.R. and obstetrics?
3. What does it mean to be Chinese in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures? Is it even relevant most of the time? The characters are doctors and people with little sense of their immigrant background. However, when are the few times that being Chinese is made explicit?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Weinstein Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.