This effort is both the making and the unmaking of cutting for stone. Vergheses skill at intertwining so many stories is awesome and prohibits simple description of the novel as a whole. The novel opens with sister mary praise leaving india to travel to africa as a nurse. The book s climax unfortunately marks a further major misstep on vergheses part. This book isnt really written for the person that just ready to cut their first stone but after youve been cutting awhile get this book, its very well written. Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon. Marion and shiva stone are born one dramatic afternoon in. An epic novel which starts out in addis ababa and ends in new york, cutting for stone is one of those books that stays with you long after youre done. Nobody big except me is the dream world of holden caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab english of the precollegiate.
Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon at a mission hospital in addis ababa. It is a beautiful novel because it succeeds in creating endearing personalities. Narrated by marion the first born twin we are told of every influence on his and his brothers existence. Twin brothers born of a forbidden union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon in a mission hospital in ethiopia. When first published, the novel was on the new york times best seller list for two years and generally received well by critics. It is a saga of twin brothers, orphaned by their mothers death at their births and forsaken by their father. Everything you need to know about cutting for stone movie. Haunting, moving, richly detailed summary from publisher. Best books to read when getting started in faceting. A series of catastrophic events occur during their births, leading to their fathers abandonment and lifealtering changes to the staff of missing hospital.
But it has lingered on the bestseller list for weeks. The long narrative, setting, characters, conflicts, and quotations that read as invocations all set out to prove this. Cutting for stone s medical content increases as marion goes on to an internship in new york, and robs the novel of a little of its magic. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese 330,204 ratings. Orphaned by their mothers death in childbirth and their fathers. Jun 02, 2009 stone is the shared name of the three main characters but cutting for stone is the name verghese bestows upon the equally important character that medicine and surgery personify in the novel. Cutting for stone 2009 is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor. Cutting for stones medical content increases as marion goes on to an internship in new york, and robs the novel of a little of its magic. An epic novel that spans continents and generations, cutting for stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, compassion and redemption, exile an epic novel that spans continents and generations, cutting for stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, compassion and redemption, exile and home that unfolds across five decades. Cutting for stone questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on cutting for stone. Many readers will tell you that cutting for stone is the epic story of two. Many readers will tell you that cutting for stone is the epic story of two conjoined twins fathered by a brilliant british surgeon and an indian nun. His writing and work continue to explore the importance of bedside medicine, the ritual of the physical examination in the era of advanced technology, where as he notes frequently in his writing, the patient in the bed is often ignored in favor of the. Cutting for stone is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor and author abraham verghese.
Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon at. May 08, 2009 cutting for stone the phrase is from the hippocratic oath is about twins born joined at the head, in a mission hospital in addis ababa half a century ago. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel an enthralling. Feb 08, 2009 this effort is both the making and the unmaking of cutting for stone. The story begins with an intense, anatomical description of the birth of marion and shiva, twin boys born to sister mary joseph praise and her lover, a brash english surgeon, dr. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese reading guidebook. Sep 24, 2011 dennis carter, founder and owner of deer isle hostel in maine uses a 2pound hammer to cut a 26,000 pound block of lovely deer isle granite into two equal parts. Cutting for stone is abraham vergheses big, bloated panorama of 20th century ethiopia, where medicine and religion meet, and surgeons and carmelite nuns procreate. The characters live apart from the societies that their hospitals serve.
The plot of this big, dense book is fairly straightforward. The book is a roller coaster ride of agonies and ecstasies that too often relies heavily on coincidence to move the plot along. Ethiopian physician abraham vergheses 2009 novel cutting for stone, a publishers weekly best book of 2009 selection, tells the story of twin brothers marion and shiva stone who are born conjoined but are separated at the time of their birth. It is a work of fiction that blurs the fine line between imagination and reality. With colin fox, kathleen munroe, paulette sinclair, dominic zamprogna. It is without question a book to be read, discussed and remembered. The book includes a deep description of both medical procedures and explores the human side of medical practices.
Cutting for stone, abraham vergheses debut novel, is nothing less than an epic in prose. But beyond rhetoric the title does not resonate emotionally throughout different levels of. Complete summary of abraham vergheses cutting for stone. Cutting for stone follows the lives of two boys from birth to adulthood. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese hardcover, 560 pages knopf list price. In 2009 verghese published cutting for stone, bringing him both critical and popular acclaim. The title cutting for stone is a pretty on the nose, but it can take a while to figure it out if youre not a doctor whos memorized the hippocratic oath.
Dec 12, 2010 the book leads up to a dramatic ending which i cant give up here which challenges their need to be physically united again. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of cutting for stone by abraham verghese. Each character is so fully developed from start to finish that the reader becomes deeply involved with each and every one. What was easy to like was the easy, accessibility of the medical jargon and hospital life that abraham verghese depictsthe boys live on a hospital campus in addis and are raised by two doctors. Stone is the shared name of the three main characters but cutting for stone is the name verghese bestows upon the equally important character that medicine and surgery personify in the novel. The writing was spectacular, but the story was also incredible. Orphaned by their mothers death and their fathers disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of. Cutting for stone kindle edition by verghese, abraham. Cutting for stone is a very engaging and satisfying novel, despite the quantity and depth of medical detail. Abraham verghese has said that his ambition in writing cutting for stone was to tell a great story, an oldfashioned, truthtelling story.
Cutting for stone abraham verghese, 2009 knopf doubleday 541 pp. Cutting for stone is a gorgeous epic tale, suffused with unforgettable grace, humanity and compassion. Vergheses carefully drawn characters are compelling and unforgettable this is a book you will have to share with others, if you can bear parting with your copy. John burnham schwartz, author of the commoner and reservation road cutting for stone is a tremendous accomplishment.
A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novelan enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and patients, exile and home. An indian nun and an english doctor have conjoined twin babies in ethiopia. Almost all of the action of cutting for stone takes place within one of two hospitals. The latter is, in its way, as hard to take as an equivalent amount of attention given to, say, battlefield strategy and combat or the particulars of researching and restoring a painting, if you dont find it inherently fascinating. Cutting for stone 2009 is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor and author abraham verghese. Feb 06, 2009 a violent surfacing of adolescence which has little in common with tarkingtons earlier, broadly comic, seventeen has a compulsive impact. Marion and shiva stone are born one dramatic afternoon in 1954 in addis ababa, the.
The writing is vivid and thrilling, and the story completely. The novel opens with sister mary praise leaving india to travel to africa as a. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese reading guide. But beyond rhetoric the title does not resonate emotionally throughout different levels of meaning in the novel. Set primarily in addis ababa, ethiopia, during the midtwentieth century, cutting for stone opens at the missing hospital with the unexpected and miraculous birth of marion and shiva to sister mary. To read the first page of cutting for stone is to fall hopelessly under the spell of a masterful storyteller. Cutting for stone is the complex story of the praise family, focusing on twin brothers marion and shiva as they negotiate the hidden histories of their past while working hard to make medical advances for the future. Complete with very clear instructions, easy to read diagrams, and this book covers all of your basic shapes. An epic novel that spans continents and generations, cutting for stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, compassion and redemption, exile and. Cutting for stone the phrase is from the hippocratic oath is about twins born joined at the head, in a mission hospital in addis ababa half a century ago. Reading guide for cutting for stone by abraham verghese.
It is impossible to fully explore the incredible depth of cutting for stone within a few paragraphs. Dennis carter, founder and owner of deer isle hostel in maine uses a 2pound hammer to cut a 26,000 pound block of lovely deer isle granite into two equal parts. The interest in the novel does not hinge upon the suspense created by dr. The boys, marion and shiva are identical twins orphaned at birth who are raised by a surrogate family and grow up on the grounds of missing hospital in ethiopia. Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian. Dec 06, 2011 cutting for stone has the power to evoke cathartic reactions, much like greek tragedies. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese book club discussion. It begins with the lines from gitanjali, the celebrated poetry collection of the nobel laureate, rabindranath tagore and because i love this life. Thats the professional promise that doctors make first do no harm when they first become legit doctors, and one of its vows goes a little like this. While outside there is chaos, danger, and poverty, inside of both missing and our lady, the world is regulated by science and medicine. Cutting for stone is a novel written from the firstperson perspective of marion stone, one of the identical twins born of a secret affair between a beautiful indian nun and a british surgeon.
Cutting for stone is a work of literature as noble and dramatic as that ancient practice medicine that lies at the heart of this magnificent novel. When the pull quote on the cover is from usa today, well, its not a big selling point. I absolutely adored this book and i just know its going to be one of my favorites for 2010. The books climax unfortunately marks a further major misstep on vergheses part.
Thomas stones book with a bookmark inside that has a note from sister mary joseph praise. In what ways is cutting for stone an oldfashioned storyand what does it share with the great novels of the nineteenth century. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese 330,204 ratings, 4. 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 miraclesand two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined. I will not summarize the plot here, merely comment on my reaction to this book.
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