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

This book has it all

This is a must read. I was truly pleased with this choice. The story introduces the reader to many exotic locales bringing them and the people who occupy the landscape to life. Characters are well developed and one comes to care about them. Mystery, love, struggle, family friction - it's all here. And the reader is perfect for this book. He brings you in and holds you. If I had a criticism, it would be that some of the medical descriptions were more than I thought was needed but it never detracted from the many positive aspects of this novel.

A Great Story

This is one of my favorite books. The story is so well written, intricate and captivating. It is filled with life lessons and some humor; engaging, flawed characters and pathos. Highly recommend.

awesome book

loved it! couldn't put it down. a must read!! love the scientific aspects to the book.

One of my favorites of all time

This book I read for no reason other than I saw it listed on many “100 books to read in a lifetime” type lists. I had no idea what it was about, just went in blind to see what the hype was.

This is by far one of my favorite books of all time. The story is so beautifully written, you get so invested in the characters that you never notice it is a “long” book because you are too busy enjoying the story. The story is captivating, the writing is flawless and beautifully executed, and the plot line is so original, it compares to nothing I’ve ever read.

The audio performance is amazing. The narration is beautiful, with just the right amount of various accents and voices to give each character clear distinction without being over the top. He has a beautifully soothing voice that still remains captivating rather than putting you to sleep.

If I could give both the story and the audio performance 10 stars, I would. Everyone needs to read this book. Seriously, everyone. And if you have an appreciation for medicine, it is even better.

Gripping and Compelling

An amazing story that carries the listener (or
reader) with anticipation from each chapter to the next. The medical aspects are authentic and add to the riches of the story. Definitely recommended.

Compelling, epic, novel.

A sweeping tale against the backdrop of Haile Selassie's reign, this book of 2 brothers brought up in a hospital, is absorbing, thought provoking, hilarious and heart wrenching. I wondered, all the way through, if this was based on real people, as the characters are so fully developed ~ their idiosyncrasies, mannerisms and personalities are beautifully defined by a compassionate, sympathetic writer. Medicine, and love, are at the heart of the novel and I found it illuminating and profoundly moving.

Intense and beautiful

Amazingly original story, intricate characters, and the narrator was so fluid in the way he switched characters, accents and genders. I absolutely loved it. Read it!

Amazing

The best book I have read in decades. I did not want to say goodbye to any of the characters. I plan to read all of Verghese's books.

brilliant and amazing

What made the experience of listening to Cutting for Stone the most enjoyable?

this story kept me hooked through the whole thing. the characters are well written and read. the story is nothing less than spellbinding. i rarely write a review but this one, i felt deserved special acknowledgement

What does Sunil Malhotra bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

being able to fulfill the characters dialects helps

Read this book.

If you could sum up Cutting for Stone in three words, what would they be?

Well designed story which was believable in every depiction. I want to see a good movie of this one...

What other book might you compare Cutting for Stone to and why?

Life of Pi but I could not tell you why...