Cutting for Stone: A novel
by Abraham Verghese
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Book Reviews of Cutting for Stone: A novel
Book Review: One of the best books ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished reading this book and I cried towards the end. It is full of drama and you become so involved as a reader. I will always remember this question, "What medicine do you give to the patient as he is rushed to the emergency room?" The answer, no amount of money that can buy - Words of Comfort.
This is a kind of book that makes you think of what you have contributed to the people around you and what would you want people to remember you when you are gone.
For me my heroes are Hema and Ghosh. They imparted love and wisdom to Shiva and Marion unconditionally. For Thomas Stone, he is what he is, married to surgery. In the end, I find it just right that the author Abraham Verghese chose that he abandoned his twins. I don't think Shiva and Marion will become who they are if Thomas acted as their father.
My sorrow is for Marion, the narrator of the book, who is cursed to fall in love with a girl named Genet. Is it really possible in real life that he could continue to love a girl like that? He only realized his actions upon the death of Shiva. But then I wouldn't changed the sequence of events because this is what makes the book one of the best books I have ever crossed upon. Thank you Abraham Verghese. You make reading a passion!
Book Review: A monumental achievement. Bravo!
Summary: 5 Stars
The only thing better than a great novel is a great novel that goes on forever! "Cutting for Stone" is one of those novels for which a reader is grateful that the end is still hundreds of pages away. For the three weeks in which I read this book I was completely living within its pages, fully absorbed into the lives of the characters. As a physician, I enjoyed the medical parts, appreciative that Abraham Verghese remains a teacher of medicine, even when he writes fiction. As a writer, I was impressed (no, staggered) by the accomplishment of this literary work. To wrap one's hands around such a voluminous tale as a reader is hard enough, but to conceive of it and then execute it as a writer seems nothing short of miraculous. And to do it with finely chiseled prose and exquisite detail is simply astonishing.
I finished the book at 1 am last night. As soon as I awoke this morning, I grabbed the book and did the only thing possible--start again at the beginning. The first few chapters took on a whole new light, and were well worth rereading.
(A warning to new readers: don't read the plot summary on the inside jacket. Allow yourself the pleasure of letting the plot unfold as you wend your way through this remarkable book.)
Book Review: Three Books in One!
Summary: 4 Stars
This novel is a compassionate glimpse into Ethiopia and its culture and history, and is crafted so well that it transforms surgery into art. The first page immediately plunks the reader into Addis Ababa. "In the meadows around Missing the sedge won its battle over mud, and brilliant carpet now swept right up to the paved threshold of the hospital..." Culture, history, medicine and plot meld together nearly seamlessly. Verghese's use of nature throughout his novel reminded me of one of my favorite authors, Thomas Hardy.
For example, as the surgeon narrator began the tale, I was immediately caught up in the character's lives and barely able to wait for the next development, when the story shifted to Operating Theater 3 and immersed me in riveting surgical details that gave the characters even more depth.
The novel also introduces the reign of Emperor Selassie with an insider's view and a gritty, at times, frightening living history lesson as seen through the eyes of his subjects. This book will keep you up late at night. Pick it up and you can't put it down; get on the stationary bike and read while you spin - don't worry about burning out - this book grabs you and won't let go.
Reviewed by Pat Cole
Book Review: Best novel I've read this year.
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a short list of novels that I can recommend to people without fear or reservation. "Cutting For Stone" has gone to the top of this list. It entertains, enlightens, captivates, provokes, draws out your emotions and pulls at your heart not letting you put it down when it is finished.
My only concern in recommending this novel is that there is a lot of medical terminology that is discussed throught the novel and considerable effort might be required for a lay person without a medical backround to stay as absorbed as somebody more familiar with these concepts. For the lay person willing to make the commitment and stay with the novel through the more technically demanding segments that are woven throughout the story as part of the plot the rewards will be great.
There is a great deal of "convenient irony" in the plot mechanics but this can be forgiven because of the strength of this novel on so many other levels. The quality of the writing and imagery is exceptional and the understanding the author has of the places and things he is writing about is deep and well conveyed.
This is now on my all time top ten list and the best book I've read this year.
Book Review: Profound, powerful, deep, moving. A must read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Powerful, profoundly deep, and moving. A superb new novel (a first novel at that). Difficult to put down. Difficult to describe without spoiling the plot, which the reviews and publisher's summary do, so I provide key excerpts from the publisher's summary:
"A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel - an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home. An unforgettable journey into one man's [I would say of a group of connected people and their] remarkable life [lives], and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others." [and of love, forgiveness, human frailties, third world living and suffering, and life.]
The book is so realistic that I kept having to remind myself that it was fiction. When the book comes to a crucial point that I knew was eventually going to happen, it is done so well and surprisingly that I exclaimed, Oh, my God, sat up, and stopped the audio so that I could savor the moment. I am in awe of this author.
There is a lot of medical detail, but I think even the squeamish will find it acceptable. If not, skim those portions.
[...] and Kindle versions available