Monday, November 3, 2008

Apologia

The book Bloodlettting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam should be considered great Canadian literature for more than one reason. Not only does it demonstrate Canadian themes and culture, but it was written by a Canadian author who was born, raised and schooled in Canada. The fact that the author is the son of two immigrants also demonstrates the wealth of cultures found within our borders.

The author, Vincent Lam, is a new Canadian novelist but very well accomplished in his area of writing. Unlike many authors, he doesn't thoroughly research a topic before writing about it he actually experiences it first. Before writing Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, Vincent Lam gained experience as a doctor and continues to practice medicine to this day. He graduated from the University of Toronto, a great Canadian university, and many of the stories within his book are anecdotes from his own medical career. Anything that the characters in this book felt was felt first by Vincent Lam, and are an exaggerated version of his past. This writing method is consistent, his new novel (which will be published soon) focuses on aspects of his Vietnamese and Chinese backgrounds which are also touched on by some of the characters from Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures.


Vincent Lam has said more than once that he'd never give up practising medicine for writing. He loves doing both and this makes him not only a great Canadian author but also a genuine Canadian author. He fulfills both an important professional role in aiding Canadian citizens as well as entertains people who don't even necessarily have to live in our country.

The fact that this novel won The Scotiabank Giller Prize illustrates that it is a landmark in Canadian literature to more than just me. The book and its author were recognized by a panel of Canadian judges and awarded a Canadian prize, sustained with Canadian money, honouring a Canadian citizen. The Scotiabank Giller prize alone is proof enough that this book is true Canadian literature.

The Canadian television industry is not very big and because of this networks are selective. Only 37% of what Canadian citizens watch on television is Canadian content (ie: created by the Canadian television industry). Also, the industry itself is heavily influenced by the American television industry, although most Americans will never see or hear of Canadian television their entire lives. The fact that a TV show will debut about this book shows that it has made waves in more than one form of Canadian media and culture. This television show will air on the Movie Network here in Canada, and a spokesperson for the Movie Network has said "ER is a medical drama for conventional television. Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is a medical drama for pay television." The air date and cast for the show has yet to be released, but it is currently in production.

This book is not only written by a Canadian author but focuses on contemporary Canadian life. It talks about life in Ottawa and Toronto in modern times and gives people from outside of our country a good understanding of our culture and way of life. It gives an insight into the Canadian medical system and the trials that seemingly perfect doctors have to go through. It shows us that the people we see in our culture as being "perfect" and "flawless" actually have flaws of their own. This isn't only demonstrated through showing flaws with doctors, but also with police officers at one point. This book is essentially a reality check for Canadians and an informative piece for those who do not live within our borders.




Word Count: 610

5 comments:

dAkBaiK said...

hello :)

E.Perin said...

I know this will seem silly because you've already got to solve world hunger and do gallons of homework this semester but I think it would be really interesting to see a chart linking all of the characters. I assume their lives are intertwined, be it through work or personnal reasons so it would be really interesting to be able to trace those links, sort of like a lineage chart.
I know, in your spare time right?

Terran Shaver said...

This is looking very good so far! I'm impressed with the abstract, but flawless, reasons you give for his being a great Canadian author.

Just on a writing note, are you planning on bulking up the first paragraph (I assume so because this is a rough draft), just because it seems a little sparse.

Marc Wilson said...

You have done well in stating reasons to why attention should be paid to Vincent Lam. In my opinion, the simple fact that he tries to give a “good understanding of our culture and way of life” provides a good enough reason to pay attention to his works.

Nancy Stotts Jones said...

This is a spirited defense of Mr. Lam. In particular, the multicultural argument is persuasive.
Some problematic elements: the phrase "an exaggerated version of his past" is misleading--exaggerated implies misleading; whereas, I'm sure you mean it is a fictionalized version.
I fail to see the logic in para 3 which equates genuine with having more than 1 job.
How can foreigners gain a "good" understanding of our culture and way of life by looking at Ottawa and Toronto. Seems like an unreasonably small sample size.