Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. What does cutting for stone tell us about the roles of compassion, faith, and hope in medicine. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Cutting for stone 2009 is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor and author abraham verghese. It is a saga of twin brothers, orphaned by their mothers death at their births and forsaken by their father. Each character is so fully developed from start to finish that the reader becomes deeply involved with each and every one. If you like cutting for stone you might like similar books hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet, state of wonder, the invention of wings, the poisonwood bible, snow flower and the secret fan.
Those words provide an epigraph partway through abraham vergheses first novel, cutting for stone, and also explain. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese a story of ethiopias past halfcentury. 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. The book includes a deep description of both medical procedures and explores the human side of medical practices. Cutting for stone 2009 is a novel written by ethiopianborn indianamerican medical doctor. There are a number of dramatic scenes on operating tables in cutting for stone. These book discussion questions are highly detailed and will ruin plot points if you have not read the book. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required.
The novel works as a family saga, but it is also something more, a lovely ode to the medical profession. This first novel involves the trials of a medical family caught up in the turmoil of ethiopia. Discussion of themes and motifs in abraham vergheses cutting for stone. To read the first page of cutting for stone is to fall hopelessly under the spell of a masterful storyteller. About this guide the introduction, discussion questions, and suggested further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of abraham vergheses acclaimed first novel, cutting for stone. Cutting for stone has the power to evoke cathartic reactions, much like greek tragedies. This summary of cutting for stone includes a complete plot overview spoilers included.
While writing that book i found myself living through an intense personal story of friendship and loss that led to a second nonfiction book, the tennis partner. Another canonical book in medical anthropology, one that provides a more cultural spin on health disparities. The novel opens with sister mary praise leaving india to travel. An indian nun and an english doctor have conjoined twin babies in ethiopia. But it was only now, near the end, and far too late, that the pieces suddenly dreadfully clicked into place.
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. However, the books title cutting for stone may indicate the danger and risk inherent in familiar love. An epic novel that spans continents and generations, cutting for stone is an. My wife is currently reading cutting for stone by abraham verghese after hearing my very favorable. But after that, i passed up on an offer to write a third nonfiction book. The books climax unfortunately marks a further major misstep on vergheses part. Marion and shiva stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful indian nun and a brash british surgeon at. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cutting for stone. But if i enjoyed cutting for stone, i am also obliged to put a ringedfence around my appreciation for it. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese, paperback barnes. Cutting for stone paperback copperfields books inc. I will not cut for stone, runs the text of the hippocratic oath, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest.
A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novelan enthralling family saga of africa and america, doctors and patients, exile and home. I will not cut for stone, runs the text of the hippocratic oath, even for. Those words provide an epigraph partway through abraham vergheses first novel, cutting for stone, and also explain the surname of its narrator, marion stone. Fadiman tells the story of lia lee, a hmong child in california, whose severe epilepsy illuminates the cultural clashes between her hmong family and western doctors. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese nook book ebook.
I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese 329,142 ratings, 4. Cutting for stone is a gorgeous epic tale, suffused with unforgettable grace, humanity and compassion. In the ancient greek hippocratic oath for physicians there was a line about not cutting for stone gall stone, kidney stone, etc because of the danger to the patient. You may even be delighted by the ethiopian terms, which are all clearly explained, and you may feel like youve learned a lot after you finish this climb. Its straightforward and actiondriven, itll keep your feet moving one in front of the other, and itll entertain you along the way. Advanced ancient stone cutting that shouldnt be possible full video.
Verghese uses twice in his book the fragment of the hyppocratic oath i shall not cut for stone which puzzled me because it seemed to me something negative that a physician would not want to do. The interest in the novel does not hinge upon the suspense created by dr. The novel opens with sister mary praise leaving india to travel to africa as a. If no one in hollywood has bought the rights to thisbelieve me, it is coming. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. Furthermore, the author alludes to the term cutting for stone when describing shivas fistula repair procedure. But it was only now, near the end, and far too late, that the pieces suddenly dreadfully clicked.
I was keen to get back to fiction, to explore that kind of truth. Cutting for stone abraham verghese, 2009 knopf doubleday 541 pp. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real. 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. Almost all of the characters in cutting for stone are living in some sort of exile, selfimposed or forced, from their home countryhema and ghosh from india, marion from ethiopia, thomas from india and then ethiopia. Verghese has the rare gift of showing his characters in different lights as the story evolves, from tragedy to comedy to melodrama, with an ending that is part dickens, part greys anatomy.
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. Reading guide for cutting for stone by abraham verghese. To what degree is he able, by the end of the novel, to forgive them. The book leads up to a dramatic ending which i cant give up here which challenges their need to be physically united again. 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 the stone, also called the extraction of the stone of madness or the cure of folly, is a painting by hieronymus bosch, displayed in the museo del prado in madrid, completed around 1494 or later the painting depicts the extraction, by a man wearing a funnel hat, of the stone of madness, a keye modern dutch. You conserve pages because you dont want it to end. Cutting for stone and millions of other books are available for instant access. Verghese is of indian descent but was born and raised in ethiopia, went to medical school in india.
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. Advanced ancient stone cutting that shouldnt be possible. Cutting for stone kindle edition by verghese, abraham. Complete summary of abraham vergheses cutting for stone. Vergheses skill at intertwining so many stories is awesome and prohibits simple description of the novel as a whole. It is impossible to fully explore the incredible depth of cutting for stone within a few paragraphs.
Cutting for stone paperback queen anne book company. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Voted best debut author of 2009 by bookbrowse subscribers an unforgettable journey into one mans remarkable life, and an epic story about. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese a story of ethiopias past half century impresses aida edemariam. Cutting for stone by abraham verghese reading guide.
1044 1379 1060 1053 410 572 1083 1454 1455 1446 709 550 604 240 1075 1457 679 1047 1054 359 269 1291 409 945 798 1516 175 202 1099 1108 1545 795 1083 1564 1526 872 4 501 660 548 191 1383 1243 763 1334 1174 144 271 626 942 889