This effort is both the making and the unmaking of cutting for stone. At 500 pages it certainly is a long book, but worth every second, earning five stars rating from this reader. Cutting for stone is a beautifully written comingofage novel weaving family, hospital and house staff, patients, community, disease, and country into a complex tapestry. Abraham vergheses 2009 novel, cutting for stone, is a compelling story of a surgeon in ethiopia who, during his childhood, medical training. Shows how history and landscape and accidents of birth conspire to create the story of a single life. An epic novel that spans continents and generations, cutting for stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, compassion and redemption. Feb 08, 2009 this effort is both the making and the unmaking of cutting for stone.
Definitely cutting for stone, even though the title reference was explained to me by a doctor after i finished the book, was the most memorable book i read in 2011. Feb 03, 2009 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 is one of the best books ive read which is saying a lot. There were itinerant stone cutterslithologistswho could cut into either the. 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. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese book club discussion. May 09, 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. 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. Hijos del ancho mundo cutting for stone by abraham verghese.
These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. A sweeping, emotionally riveting novel with over one million copies soldan enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and. Abraham verghese, quote from cutting for stone we come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we forget, is the common lot. A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel an enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and patients, exile and home. The novel opens with sister mary praise leaving india to travel to africa as a nurse. The first edition of the novel was published in 2009, and was written by abraham verghese. The main characters of this fiction, historical story are thomas stone, sister mary joseph praise. It is a saga of twin brothers, orphaned by their mothers death at their births and forsaken by their father.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 541 pages and is available in hardcover format. Dec 29, 2010 cutting for stone by abraham verghese. Reading guide for cutting for stone by abraham verghese. 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. Published in 2009 the book become immediate popular and critical acclaim in fiction, historical books. Hijos del ancho mundo cutting for stone by abraham. In 2009 verghese published cutting for stone, bringing him both critical and popular acclaim. 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. Dec 06, 2011 cutting for stone has the power to evoke cathartic reactions, much like greek tragedies. I learned so much but mostly, i felt so much for the characters, for their stories and for the author. Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union be. Cutting for stone pdf book by abraham verghese 2009. The babies, conjoined at the head, are successfully separated immediately after birth.
The novel opens focusing on sister mary praise, the mother of the novels narrator. Cutting for stone kindle edition by verghese, abraham. In cutting for stone, renowned physician abraham verghese has given us a remarkable reading experience that explores the lives of a memorable cast of characters, many of them doctors. 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. A series of catastrophic events occur during their births, leading to their fathers abandonment and lifealtering changes to the staff of missing hospital. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese the guardian. Cutting for stone paperback the elliott bay book company. Pdf cutting for stone book by abraham verghese free download. 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.
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. May 05, 2015 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. What are 2 popular metaphors in the book cutting for stone two of the popular metaphors in cutting for stone are the story of abu kassem, in which the old merchants slippers represent the deeds. Though she only appears in the first part of the book and is basically unconscious throughout, sister mary joseph praise is one of the most important characters in cutting for stone. A sweeping, emotionally riveting novel with over one million copies soldan enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and patients, exile and home. John burnham schwartz, author of the commoner and reservation road cutting for stone is a tremendous accomplishment. Although its also a play on the surname of the characters, the title cutting for stone comes from a line in the hippocratic oath. Cutting for stone 2009 is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor and author abraham verghese. 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. About cutting for stone a sweeping, emotionally riveting novel with over one million copies soldan enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and patients, exile and home. 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.
Cutting for stone pdf book by abraham verghese read online or free download in epub, pdf or mobi ebooks. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese, paperback barnes. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese nook book ebook. 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. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest.
Readalikes for abraham vergheses cutting for stone. It incorporates love, lust, trust, betrayal, commitment, emigration, faith, poverty, life, death, hope, dreams, fears, and just about every other big theme you can imagine. Most of cutting for stone takes place in addis ababa, the capital of ethiopia. Orphaned by their mothers death and their fathers disappearance, bound together by a. Cutting for stone resists easy categorization it is just as much the chronicle of a bond between twin brothers and family as it is a book about medicine, or a story of grace. Sister mary joseph praise in cutting for stone shmoop. Cutting for stone anesthesiology american society of. An epic tale about love, abandonment, betrayal and redemption, abraham vergheses first novel, cutting for stone, is a masterpiece of traditional. Verghese has said that this line comes from ancient times, when bladder stones were epidemic and painful.
Cutting for stone march 8, 2011 throughout the month of march, npr books will be running an online discussion about abraham vergheses novel cutting for stone. If you like abraham verghese s cutt ing for stone by seattle librarians a staffcreated list. The writing is vivid and thrilling, and the story completely. Something of a bildungsroman, cutting for stone focuses on a pair of twin boys who are born and raised in an african missionary hospital. The book includes both a deep description of medical procedures and an exploration of the human side of medical practices. Cutting for stone by abraham vergese book club discussion. I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art. But beyond rhetoric the title does not resonate emotionally throughout different levels of meaning in the novel. The plot of this big, dense book is fairly straightforward. 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 is a sweeping family saga which draws you in and transports you to a small missionary hospital in ethiopia. 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 in india, ethiopia, and america. 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. Set in africa with indian characters worthy of bollywood and the enigmatic american doctor whose name gives double meaning to the title, there are enough plot twists in this novel.
Marion and shiva stone are born one dramatic afternoon in 1954 in addis ababa, the. The washington post book world absorbing, exhilarating. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese bookworm hanoi. Feb 06, 2009 cutting for stone by abraham verghese. Verghese creates this story so lovingly that it is actually. Pdf cutting for stone book by abraham verghese 2009. The interest in the novel does not hinge upon the suspense created by dr. Cutting for stone follows twin brothers marion and shiva stone, born of a secret union between an indian nun and a brash british surgeon.
Feb 03, 2009 cutting for stone resists easy categorization it is just as much the chronicle of a bond between twin brothers and family as it is a book about medicine, or a story of grace. Cutting for stone is very simply one of the best books ever written and read. So its fitting that they all take refuge in the hospital they call missing. Marion and shiva stone are born one dramatic afternoon in 1954 in. Abraham verghese is a doctor, an accomplished memoirist and, as he proves in cutting for stone, something of a magician as a novelist. Even so, the majority of the characters are considered ferengi, foreigners, and thats because most of them were either born elsewhere or were born to immigrant parents. Free download or read online cutting for stone pdf epub book. Jan 14, 2015 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.
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. In what ways is cutting for stone an oldfashioned story and what does it share with the great novels of the nineteenth century. The main characters of cutting for stone novel are thomas stone, sister mary joseph praise. 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.
This sprawling, 50year epic begins with a touch of alchemy. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of and is available in ebook format. This study guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of cutting for stone. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese reading guide. 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. 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.
The story was captivating, traveling through times and places and experiences with which i was unfamiliar but came to love. Cutting for stone has the power to evoke cathartic reactions, much like greek tragedies. Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon. Pdf cutting for stone book by abraham verghese free. The writing is vivid and thrilling, and the story completely absorbing, with its pregnant indian nun, demonridden british surgeon, siamese twins orphaned and severed at birth, and narrative strands stretching across four continents.
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