This is a masterly debut novel, visceral in its power, heartbreaking in its tenderness. Transporting the reader from the 1940s to the present, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for the Yemen, from a tiny operating theatre in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx, "Cutting for Stone" is a thrilling epic of conjoined twins, doctors and patients, temptation and redemption, home and exile - and a riveting family story, irresistibly charged with strange happenings, humour and pathos, that grabs you from its harrowing ...
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This is a masterly debut novel, visceral in its power, heartbreaking in its tenderness. Transporting the reader from the 1940s to the present, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for the Yemen, from a tiny operating theatre in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx, "Cutting for Stone" is a thrilling epic of conjoined twins, doctors and patients, temptation and redemption, home and exile - and a riveting family story, irresistibly charged with strange happenings, humour and pathos, that grabs you from its harrowing opening and never lets go. Marion and Shiva Stone are twin sons of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon at 'Missing' hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and their father's disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the brothers come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics - their passion for the same woman - that tears them apart and forces Marion to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as a surgical intern at an underfunded, overcrowded hospital. When the past catches up with him, Marion must trust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him, and the brother who betrayed him. "Cutting for Stone" is both an unforgettable story of lives cut in half and a gripping evocation of the power, intimacy, danger and curious beauty of the ancient art of medicine.
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Add this copy of Cutting for Stone to cart. $12.77, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2010 by Vintage.
Interesting characters, especially Gosh. Way to technical and medical for my reading taste.
My opinion, a better read if about half the pages. Became redundant and the story not that believable.
Author is definitely a brilliant writer!
Paul T
Jan 16, 2014
Fascinating story.
A story of the life of a Physician.
A boyhood spent in a mission hospital in Addis Abba and his early career as a doctor in the U.S.
This is a really good read.
The times in the mission hospital are well described and interspersed with clinical histories.
Life as a junior physician (intern) in the poorer end of New York and the characters he works with are well defined .
The writing is excellent. I enjoyed this book!
calexom@gmail.com
May 30, 2013
Excellent book
Superb writing. Gripping reading especially for those with some medical background since the author often uses medical terminology.
Robert M
Dec 15, 2011
Excellent Novel
This is a very well written, educatonal and interesting novel. Excellent character development. One the best novels I've read in years.
My only negative has nothing to do with the book itself, but with it's condition discription by the seller. Every paragraph is marked with an X in pencil, and ocassional comments. The discription indicated the book was in excellent condition with no mention of the markings.
deanie t
Dec 8, 2011
Didn't care for this long drawn out story. Could have been told in half the pages. Had to read first half of book before the story got somewhat interesting. Took everything I had not to toss it aside before finishing.
