Cutting for Stone (urspr publ 2009; utgåvan 2010)

Beautifully written. ( )

Although it's only September, I know that this book will make my top 10 list of 2010. Already selected as Fiction Book of 2010 by the Northern California Independent Booksellers, this is one of my favorite novels, and I will be recommending it to EVERYONE.

The story is about Marion and Shiva Stone, twin boys born of an Indian nun and a British doctor in Ethiopia. They are orphaned when their mother dies in childbirth and their father, unable to handle the shock of fathering twins and the death of his love, flees. The boys are raised by two Indian doctors who have dedicated their lives to helping the poor in Addis Ababa. The story follows the twins from birth to adulthood as Ethiopia struggles under the unstable government of Emperor Hailie Selassie. As Verghese introduces each major character, he takes a plot detour and describes their background and who they are. This makes the book an epic - almost 24 hours long in audio - but as I finished the last track, I was sad to see it end. This beautiful book is a story of love, forgiveness, courage and "owning who you are". 5 Amazing Stars. ( )

Book was well written but I thought it got going mostly at midpoint. My eyes would sort of glaze over all the detailed medical facts but I still found it enjoyable. ( )

Elegant writing. ( )

Not a book that would have normally piqued my interest but it was given to me as a gift; and we should never turn down gifts, especially when they are filled with words: 667 pages of them!

First, the negatives: In between the covers, there is a lot of blood, sweat, filth, and bodily excretions. There is also sadness, deceit, death, and struggle. 300 of the pages describe in-depth medical procedures. The other 300 tell the miserable life stories of twin brothers who became doctors. There were a few chuckles and smiles in it but most of them stemmed from unpleasantness and misery, such as the rhyming and aphorisms used by a doctor in his operations: "When in doubt, cut it out," etc. This is supposed to be a journey of discovery and becoming but I honestly can't say that I found anything joyful within it.

The positive: There was however, just enough excellent writing in the book that kept me going to the finish. Example: (p. 589) "This is my life, I thought, as my taxi slogged through the heavy traffic and inched through the tunnel to Logan airport. I have excised the cancer from my past, cut it out; I have crossed the high plains, descended into the desert, traversed oceans, and planted my feet in new soil; I have been the apprentice, paid my dues, and have just become master of my ship. But when I look down, why do I see the ancient, tarred, mud-stained slippers that I buried at the start of the journey still stuck to my feet?" Verghese seems to have a natural gift for telling a story and it almost seems effortless, as if he could have gone on for another 600 pages if you'd distracted him with further questions or pressed him for details; you can hear his narrator's voice within it for the entire read.

So in summary, I thought the approach to the subject matter and the nihilistic world views exposed within it were depressing, typical I think of modern literature - 1 star. The story wasn't particularly exciting nor were the characters very interesting. Perhaps I could see how it would be attractive to medical professionals - 3 stars. The mastery of the art of writing was top rate - 5 stars. 3 stars total and I think I'll go back to some light reading after this. ( )