(50) Medicine, Mystery, Love, Betrayal, Forgiveness

Title: Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
Publisher:Vintage
658 Pages
Genre: General Fiction

Synopsis: Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.

Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Review: I almost didn't read this because the synopsis made it seem boring and not very intriguing, boy am I glad I didn't judge a book by its blurb!  This book grabbed my attention from page 1 and didn't stop.  I couldn't put it down and didn't want to do anything but read.  Verghese has created an amazing extremely readable but complex book, two things that don't usually go together.  I've read books that are extremely readable and some that are complex but never have I read one that was both until now.

Set in Ethiopia it tells the story of family secrets, betrayals, political unrest and among all of that Verghese manages to make medicine come alive as if it is a character all its own.  The story begins at the beginning with the meeting of Marian and Shiva's mother and father to their birth, their childhood, their family drama, eventual forgiveness and everything in between. I forgot several times that these weren't real people but just characters in a story.  Verghese's story is so rich in detail and flavor I felt like I was there. I really can't say enough about what a wonderful surprise this book was to read.  Every character came to life on the page and I felt like I knew them.  Verghese is a fabulous story teller I can't recommend this book enough.

Comments

  1. I had the opportunity to buy this in a 3 for 2 offer and went for another book instead - I'm disappointed now after reading your review!

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  2. Believe me I almost passed this one by as well..the write up is just terrible...it is not compelling at all I couldn't figure out why so many people liked it until I decided to give it a go.

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