As required reading for my English class, I read Abraham Verghese’s Cutting For Stone . While reading the novel, I became wrapped up in the passion and thrill of a medical family during the chaos and disorder of the Ethiopian Revolution.
The book begins with Sister Mary Joseph Praise as she travels from her home in India to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During this voyage, Sister Mary encounters a British surgeon by the name of Stone. For eight years, Stone and Sister Mary have been inseparable partners at the hospital they worked at known as Mission (Missing) Hospital. One afternoon, Sister Mary Joseph Praise dies from pregnancy complications due to her hidden affair with Dr. Stone. Bereft and ashamed of Sister Mary’s death, Stone flees Addis Ababa, leaving his newborn sons, Marion and Shiva Stone, in the hands of two doctors named Dr. Ghosh and Dr. Hemaltha. As both the Stone children grow, an interest in medicine eventually leads them to a whirlwind of experiences and emotions.
Readers will be in awe as they travel through the vivid pages of Mr. Verghese, who skillfully captures the universal experiences of hope, despair, love, and loss. So many components of this novel make it a worthwhile read, such as the affair between a nun and a doctor, abandonment, love triangles, and a stirring revolution. Mr. Verghese truly presents superb literary talent with his focus on intricate characterization.
I have fallen under the spell of this book. Putting it down was the hardest thing of my life; when I did, I missed the novel terribly. I found myself daydreaming for many days about the characters and wondering where their roads would lead. I sometimes wished that this thrilling novel was true. Every scene played in my head like a movie on numerous occasions. Hands down, this is absolutely one of the best books I’ve read in the last several years. I hope everyone gets the chance to read this captivating novel!