Cutting for Stone

A Novel

By: Abraham Verghese

Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra

Length: 23 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

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

So detailed!

Wow!! Absolutely amazing!! I was not ready for the end, but I LOVED IT!! The author did a magnificent job in painting a picture of Ethiopia

History, Emotion, Religion, Medical Education - All in One!

The performance was spectacular - voices of all characters so well done - helped create the scenery and paint the portraits of the characters. An addictive read for sure.

A beautifully written story with the perfect narrator.

I’ve attempted to read this book a couple of times but time constraints made it impossible to do so. So beautifully written I finally gave in to load the audible. I’m so glad I did. The narrator Sunil Malhotra did such a beautiful job that I was completely transported every time I listened while I worked in my vegetable garden. His telling made this book come to life in a way that I could not do it justice reading it myself. I felt the story deeply. Thank you Abraham Verghese for such a beautiful book!

wow, slow start but amazing story

beautifully written and great character development. the story is great and does a good job of themes the pop up at different times in the story. wrapped up perfectly.

One of my new favorite tales.

Every so often, once a year perhaps, I find a massive 900 page book that totally transforms the next week and ultimately my life.
This was absolutely one of them!
This novel is a fantastic narrative..you feel as though you are right there inside of every single page listening and speaking with every character.
I'm a retired RN, therefore I appreciated all of the medical references, however, anyone can read this book and just be transported to all of the wonderful places that this novel describes. It's like a trip around the world... India, Ethiopia, Italy, the United States and ultimately back home. Absolutely fantastic !! Read it.
If you are an Avid Reader and always looking for something that will let you escape into a fantastic story and visit places you may never visit.. this is one of those books. The only other author that transports me this way is Carlos Ruiz Zafon. His novels are also extraordinary.
Enjoy THIS tale 1st!
It's over 40hrs of listening time and I could have listened to another 40! I will definitely look into other novels by this author.

Lynda M.

What a story!

Superb. Brought tears to my eyes. Being a Malayalee, brought so many emotions. The author and narrator have created a masterpiece.

Beautiful

A story so well told that you find yourself in it. I loved the book and have another of his ready to start.

Loved this book! Best I’ve come across in a long while. The narrator is excellent as well.

Loved this book! Best I’ve come across in a long while. The narrator is also excellent.

What a treasure!

I have had this book since it was first published and just now read it. Oh my goodness what a treasure. And as a retired healthcare executive, I think every physician and especially surgeons should read this. Rarely have I been so captured by a book and its characters. I know these people. And the narration was exquisite……Bravo!

WOW!

I got this book because the authors other book, Covent of Water was spectacular.
If I hadn't read that book 1st I would have given up on this book by chapter 3.

I am so very glad I forced myself to stay with this book.
It is confusing and I was lost for the first few chapters, but then it picks up and you learn who is who ... AND THEN .... It is a captivation of a beautiful story. A story that makes you think about the footprint you will leave on this Earth. Shows you how even the worst of times have and serve a purpose.