Fiction
2009 Random House Audio
Narrated by Sunil Malhotra
Finished on March 29, 2023
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
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. 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 twins 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 will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him - nearly destroying him - Marion must entrust 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.
An unforgettable journey into one man's remarkable life, and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others.
It's been a dozen years since I first read Cutting for Stone, and not surprisingly, I had very little recollection of the book other than that I loved it. My current book group chose to read the novel, so I happily downloaded the audio and spent the past six weeks listening whenever I got a chance. Sadly, Verghese's debut failed to wow me this second time around. I liked the sweeping epic tale, but I can't say that it's one of the best books I've read this year. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to reading the author's upcoming release, The Covenant of Water, which is due out on May 2nd. Clocking in at 20 hours on audio, it's not quite as long as Cutting for Stone.
You can read my original review here.
