Cutting For Stone (original 2009; edition 2009)

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. ( )

A book with great heart. I wish more contemporary fiction writers loved their characters and cared about social issues the way Verghese does. Unfortunately, this book was done a disservice by its editors; it should be 200 pages shorter. Ah, well. ( )

I found this book to be one of the most beautiful books I've ever listened to. The reader completely captured each character. This was a book I just didn't want to read, wasn't interested in Ethiopia. However, since I drive for a living, I always listen to audiobooks while in the car. This was available and thank goodness I got it. I hate to think that I easily could have missed a book this good. It will take me a while to completely recover and be able to do a better review. Whether you read or listen, you don't want to miss this book ( )

I shed tears after the last sentence. So sad that the book was over, overwhelmed by the humanity that poured out of Verghese's pen. Everyone should read this and savor every twist and turn.

( )

I couldn't get through this book - it was just too slow to hold my interest. I know I'm in the minority here. Maybe I couldn't get into it because I'd just finished "Unbroken" which was remarkable.

I might go back to this one later and try again, so I'll save the star rating until then.