Cutting for Stone

A Novel

By: Abraham Verghese

Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of The Covenant of Water: A beautifully written, page-turning family saga of Ethiopia and America, doctors and patients, exile and home. • “Filled with mystical scenes and deeply felt characters.... Verghese is something of a magician as a novelist.” —USA Today

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death 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.

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 miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

This sweeping, emotionally riveting novel that "shows how history and landscape and accidents of birth conspire to create the story of a single life" (Los Angeles Times).

©2009 Abraham Verghese (P)2009 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Abraham Verghese is a doctor, an accomplished memoirist and, as he proves in Cutting for Stone, something of a magician as a novelist. This sprawling, 50-year epic begins with a touch of alchemy: the birth of conjoined twins to an Indian nun in an Ethiopian hospital in 1954. The likely father, a British surgeon, flees upon the mother’s death, and the (now separated) baby boys are adopted by a loving Indian couple who run the hospital. Filled with mystical scenes and deeply felt characters–and opening a fascinating window onto the Third World–Cutting for Stone is an underdog and a winner. Shades of Slumdog Millionaire.”–Jocelyn McClurg, USA Today

“A novel set in Africa bears a heavy burden. The author must bring the continent home to help the reader sit in a chair and imagine vast, ancient, sorrowful, beautiful Africa. In the last decade I’ve read books narrated by characters homesick for Africa; books by or about child soldiers; books about politics; books full of splintering history.... Lush and exotic . . . richly written.”–Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times

“Any doubts you might harbor about a 534-page first novel by a physician in his 50s will be allayed in the first few pages of this marvelous book. Abraham Verghese has written two graceful memoirs, but Cutting for Stone, his wildly imaginative fictional debut, is looser, bigger, even better.... The doctor in him sees the luminous beauty of the physician’s calling; the artist recognizes that there remain wounds no surgeon can men. ‘Where silk and steel fail, story must succeed,’ Marion muses. This one does.”–Jennifer Reese, Entertainment Weekly; Grade: A

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I would give CUTTING FOR STONE twenty stars if I could. Every so often a book comes along that you just know will stay with you and this is one. The story unfolds in hospital in a burgeoning town somewhere in Ethiopia. The cultural aspect of the story is absolutely a masterpiece, Indians, Africans, Italians, Americans come together in a confluence where each is distinct, yet move freely in and out of each other's lives. The story of Ethiopia in itself is a heartbreaking one, but described lovingly. The medical aspect of the story is almost a character in itself, extremely engaging and easy to follow. There was a great deal of medical technicality, but some of the most interesting descriptions I've ever come across. Very impressive. I'm trying to get my MD sister in law to read it so she can tell me how accurate it is! As for narration, excellent, excellent, excellent, except for Dr. Stone, his accent is just a riot. Overall, this is a book you could practically eat, smell, hear, it comes alive.

Well written

This is a solid novel, very well written. It is long, and I see that some say it is too long, to which I disagree. This is a story that is rich in detail, but not too verbose to keep the reader/listener engaged throughout the story. Admittedly it did take a while for me to become emotionally involved with the characters, but that might simply be my own perspective.
There are a good deal of medical terms and it is apparent that the author is either a physician or solid researcher. However, this does not detract from the story but only adds to the credibility.
Perhaps the ending is a bit predictable, although I found it fitting and satisfying.
The reader, Sunil Malhotra is PERFECT. All in all a very good book.

My first Audible book

A colleague gave me a gift certificate to Audible, so I joined and started looking at the titles. I've made a 45 minute-each way commute for many years and had just about heard everything at my public library. The reviews for this book caught my attention, so I got it. WOW - what a great book. I had to go buy it in paperback for my husband and my daughter to read while I was still listening to the Audible recording. The book is a sweeping epic story that is captivating on all levels. The narration is excellent. The author is a doctor, so some of the medical procedures are described in great detail, but it is not overwhelming.

Loved it!

Probably one of my new top 10 books of the past few years. Engagingly brilliant book and wonderful narration....couldn't stop listening to it...

Powerful, Moving

A love story in which the protagonist stays single and almost celibate, this book will move you with its message of not only romantic love but also love for family, friends and God. Detailed but in the way that medicine is detailed, comes across as very authentic. Readers or listeners afraid of the length of the book or level of detail would be best sticking to Oprah's Book Club. This book offers far, far more.

Loved it!

Best book I have listened to or read in a few years. Perfect narrator. I highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.

Fantastic read!

Wow, this book was amazing. I listened to it... about 25 hours worth... and enjoyed it from the very beginning. By the end, I felt like I was one with the characters. Verghese is SUCH a good writer... the characters were amazing and the what a great STORY. By the end, I was sobbing. Well, actually, I cried multiple times throughout the book because the author had a way of telling the story or the philosophy or whatever, that felt very emotional. It is strange driving along the freeway sobbing... just absolutely sobbing...toward the end. It became difficult to pull myself away from the story and hard to fathom that my friends around me didn't know of all the sadness or the excitement that was going on in my head due to the book! Now, to me, THAT is a good book! The author is a doctor, and he included quite a bit of medical info; I found that interesting and not overdone. I'd say there were a few of the little subplots that could have been shortened, BUT they were still interesting enough.

Surprised me after Pt I

It took a while before it got very interesting. Once it got going it was very interesting. Just hang in there, it's worth it.

Worth the time!

Like other reviewers, it took me a while to get going with this, but I was always interested enough to return for more, and am very glad I did. It was never boring - just that such a long saga left a lot of possibilities. Wonderfully written with humor, pathos and fascinating facts and focus of another time and another place. Well worth reading. I'm going to check on what else the author has written!

Epic story

I could not stop listening to this book. It gave insight into the colonial/political/ethnic history of Ethiopia and also told a a human story that touched on faith, forgiveness and determination.