Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

reviewed by Arlene Martin



Twin brothers are born to Sister Mary Joseph Praise. The delivery is successful, but the twins are co-joined (and soon separated), the mother dies and the father disappears. The mission hospital community in Ethiopia is shocked because no one knew that the babies were on the way especially considering that the mother was a nun. Two caring individuals guide the twins as they come of age while the country of Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. This is the story of their lives told in the first person by one of the twins.



The twin boys, Marion and Shiva, grow up very close to one another, both of them fascinated with medicine and surgery. Each becomes renown for his expertise as a doctor but in different areas of medicine. It is Marion's profound love and fascination for a woman that finally separates them. Marion moves to America where he unintentionally reunites with the father that abandoned him and with the woman he still loves.



It is hard to capture this epic story of 533 pages in just a paragraph or two. The cover flap has a good summary. Ultimately, I suppose, the story is about forgiveness. But getting to it takes many pages. The book contains graphic depictions of surgery, many "doctor" terms, sex, murder, envy and prejudice. This book was reviewed in THE BANNER and I surmised that it was Christian in context. Now that I've read it, I'm not sure it belongs in a church library. In his acknowledgements, the author assures us that it is a work of fiction. It seemed pretty real to me! I predict that this will be a best-seller if it's not already.