Cutting for Stone: A novel
by Abraham Verghese
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Book Reviews of Cutting for Stone: A novel
Book Review: A Beautiful Dissection
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a lovely and insightful family saga, narrated by one of a pair of twins born to a doctor and a nun in Ethiopia in the 1950s. Marion and Shiva Stone are the twins, whose mother dies in childbirth and whose famous father absconds for America, unable to deal with the sudden and unexpected arrival of his sons - Sister Mary Joseph Praise had kept her pregnancy hidden. The boys are raised by two other doctors at the Mission (`Missing') Hospital, the gynecologist, Kalpana Hemlatha, called Hema, and the general surgeon, Abhi Ghosh. Their childhood in Addis Ababa is rich in detail, both of their personal development and of the political upheavals of the time, which come to play a part in every character's life.
Hema and Ghosh are wonderful parents, both honored and delighted to have the boys' upbringing in their charge. Since both parents are doctors, Marion and Shiva begin their medical education while quite young - a profession that seems innate to both boys. Marion and Shiva are very close when young, practically feeling each other's pain and able to communicate without words, as are many twins. When the boys reach their teen years, however, they begin to drift in different directions, with one disastrous thing left in common. Both the sexually precocious Shiva and the reticent virgin Marion are attracted to the housekeeper's daughter, Genet.
When the political unrest reaches even the Hospital, and Marion is betrayed on two fronts, he is forced to leave Africa and finish his formal medical training in America. Settling there does not end his torments, however, and eventually his past finds him, first in a meeting with his surgeon father, and then in a health crisis that involves Genet, his father and the far away Shiva. The family becomes joined again in the goal of saving Marion, and the climax of the story is painfully beautiful.
This book is rewarding on several levels: the orphaned boy's upbringing, the richness of the created family's life, and the subtext that runs throughout of loyalty and sacrifice. The book jacket also mentions "the curious beauty of the work of healing others," and it must be said that the medical procedures described so matter-of-factly in the book are indeed curiously beautiful. I found myself fascinated by the artistry and humanity of medicine portrayed here again and again. Verghese is an admirable storyteller.
Book Review: Allow yourself the luxury of reading this book
Summary: 5 Stars
This big, gracious chunk of a book does what only the best books can do, it invites you in to stay for awhile and saddens you when it ends. The story centers around twin boys born in Etheopia to a nun and a surgeon. The mother, Sister Mary Joseph Praise dies in childbirth--a graphic scene that is played out as if the reader was right there in the room. The children, Marion and Shiva are conjoined at the top of the head by a small blood vessel. After great trauma, the babies are successfully separated physically, but never when it comes to matters of the heart.
The babies are abandoned by their father, Thomas Stone, right after their birth. It was as if Dr. Stone suddenly felt as if his sons had killed their mother--the only woman, perhaps the only person that he had ever loved. It's not like the kids were left to their own devices in this time of great civil unrest. They were fostered by a whole group of wonderful people at Missing Hospital where they made their home. Hemma and Ghosh head this clan. Shiva and Marion are able to grow up in a loving atmosphere, where they are also given the opportunity to nurture their natural talent in the medical field. Marion learns from his adoptive father Ghosh to become a self-taught, disciplined and caring surgeon. Shiva, who perhaps is mildly autistic learns from Hemma, the twins' adoptive mother to become a talented doctor in the field of women's health.
This book is largely about healing what is broken (faith, trust health, love understanding.) The cast of characters is so real, they practically shimmer and jump off the page to join you for conversation in your living room. There are certainly tragedies and sadness throughout this expansive novel, but in the end, things come full circle. It's not that things are wrapped up and tied with a pretty little bow at the end, but things are thoughtfully resolved. The only thing I regret about reading this book--and it is absolutely no fault of the author's--is that I did not allow myself the luxury of time to read the book in larger chunks. When I wasn't reading, I wondered what was happening with my friends. Take this book, read it, inhabit the time and place as the writing begs you to do and enjoy your stay, but know that you will be sad when you leave.
Book Review: Powerful and moving story, well-told
Summary: 5 Stars
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese tells a powerful and moving story of a family of surgeons who are good at caring for other people, but can't seem to fix their own lives. Verghese's novel has a very strong beginning as he deals with the forbidden love affair betweem British surgeon, Thomas Stone and nun, Sister Mary Praise. Both characters have a very loving, passionate relationship at a mission in Ethiopia that results in the birth of twins and the death of Sister Mary. A grief-stricken Stone abandons the mission and his sons to two colleagues.
The twins' story takes them through their childhood all the way into adulthood when both seek medical careers. Marion, the narrator, recalls his relationship with his brother, Shiva, in a very deft observation like how they were known as "ShivaMarion" as children, because one was never seen without the other.
The middle part drags as it deals with real world crises in Ethiopia combined with young love between Marion, Shiva, and a young woman who is clearly not good enough for either of them (which neither realize until it's almost too late). It picks up after Marion is forced to flee to America and reunites with his father and restore and amends his relationship with Shiva, who betrayed him as a child.
The story comes to a moving climax as Marion, Thomas, and Shiva, three very flawed and brilliant characters, come to terms with each other. Stone and his boys are arrogant, judgmental, and quick to actions that they regret later. But, they are also ultimately very dedicated to their craft of medicine and have a love for each other that finally reveals itself in the end.
Note: Verghese is known for his non-fiction work, including My Own Country, which was based on his experiences as an AIDS physician in Johnson City, Tennessee and became a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. His second book, The Tennis Partner, was a New York Times notable book and a national bestseller. He is board-certified in internal medicine and in pulmonary and infectious diseases.
Armchair Interviews says: Abraham Verghese created strong characters that hold your interest.
Book Review: Captivating, Colossal
Summary: 5 Stars
You know how some novels just possess you? Grab you by the hair, the head, the heart, the teeth, the gonads? Well, this epic family saga is one of those. It takes a little while--you need to have a little patience as it introduces the numerous main and supporting characters, the place, and the twines of the story. At about page 80, ballast is apparent. You are fastened. Momentum increases and you are completely absorbed.
The narrator, Marion Stone, a 50 yr-old surgeon, recounts his life from inception and of his twin, Shiva, and the lives of the people that loved them; raised them; abandoned them; permeated them. They were born conjoined at the head (successfully separated), sons of a Carmelite nun (and nurse), Sister Mary Joseph Praise, and an extraordinarily talented surgeon father, Thomas Stone, who had worked together for seven years. The place is Abba Adaba, Ethiopia, at the fictional Mission Hospital (pronounced "Missing" by many Ethiopians), where much of the story takes place.
These characters will inhabit you as you inhabit them and this staggeringly beautiful and moving story. They shimmer. They resound. You will see them as you go about your day--the deep color of their irises, the creases and folds of skin, the texture of their hair, the resonance of their voices. And you will feel the spirit and nature of them as they surround you.
Missing (Mission) becomes a powerful symbol in the story--the lacunae of memory, of narration, of events. All will eventually come together stunningly. Additionally, the title of the novel gathers not moss but succor, essence, and context as the story deepens and disparate pieces of the past become a whole. By the time you get to the end of the novel, those three words become the poignant portal to the denouement and the thrust of its theme.
At turns playful, comic, adventurous, distressing, shocking, tragic, and tender, Cutting for Stone has an unbearably beautiful soul. Edifying, supple, exuberant, and enduring.
Book Review: A bit melodramatic, but a good read (to read all my book reviews, go to beansbookblog.wordpress.com)
Summary: 3 Stars
There's no question that this is a compelling story, but at times, it just felt like Verghese was trying to do too much-too much drama, too much heartache, too many side stories. Told from Marion's point of view, we are immersed in his character and his sometimes overwrought emotions. It's not so much what he feels, but rather what he says and how he says it. A few times I wanted to tell him to buck up and get over Genet and get over his disappointment in his brother, Shiva (the more interesting character as far as I could tell). But at other times, I sympathized with him. The relationship between Marion and Shiva too often reminded me of Kiterunner, the death of their mother and abandonment by their father reminded me too much of Greek tragedy, and the ending reminded me too much of My Sister's Keeper. That said, there was lots that I did like about this book. I was particularly fascinated by the Ethiopian and Eritrean history, the Italian influence, the emperors, the coups. While I know it wasn't all historically accurate, I still found that I learned a great deal, and reading this forced me to look up information and fill in gaps. I also really liked the medical aspect of the book (which is a good chunk of the text). I'm not sure the detailed medical information helped much with the flow of the story--in fact, it interrupted it fairly often--but I loved gleaning so much information about surgery, gynecology, and internal medicine. It showed how three facets of medicine are so different and require vastly different personalities and skill sets. Perhaps my avid interest stems from a dear friend and a niece who are planning to go into medicine; all I know is that I soaked up those aspects of the story, and I loved seeing the differences (and similarities) between practicing medicine in a third world country and practicing it in a top US hospital. So for anyone who is interested in Ethiopia, medicine, or dramatic family sagas, you'll like this book. It's long, but a good summer read.