 |
Technical Details
- ISBN13: 9780375714368
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Product Description
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.
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Exclusive: John Irving Reviews Cutting for StoneJohn Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times--winning once, in 1980, for the novel The World According to Garp. In 1992, Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules--a film with seven Academy Award nominations. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of Cutting for Stone:
That Abraham Verghese is a doctor and a writer is already established; the miracle of this novel is how organically the two are entwined. I’ve not read a novel wherein medicine, the practice of it, is made as germane to the storytelling process, to the overall narrative, as the author manages to make it happen here. The medical detail is stunning, but it never overwhelms the humane and narrative aspects of this moving and ambitious novel. This is a first-person narration where the first-person voice appears to disappear, but never entirely; only in the beginning are we aware that the voice addressing us is speaking from the womb! And what terrific characters--even the most minor players are given a full history. There is also a sense of great foreboding; by the midpoint of the story, one dreads what will further befall these characters. The foreshadowing is present in the chapter titles, too--‘The School of Suffering’ not least among them! Cutting for Stone is a remarkable achievement.--John Irving
(Photo © Maki Galimberti)
Similar Products
Customer Reviews
2010-10-31
By Amy E. Graham
this was simply put the best novel i have read in 15 years. absolutley beautiful.
2010-10-29
By Amanda Matti (Ohio)
I have no idea how this book got such rave reviews. My only guess is people figured that since it's so long and boring it simply MUST be a masterpiece. Or perhaps since they wasted their time and money on this snorefest they wanted to make sure they weren't alone - misery loves company. I suffered through over 100 pages and still had absolutely no desire to find out 'what happens next'. The characters are like robots the author tries desperately to breath life into with a massive amount of words. All in all, SLOW....BORING...YAWN....SNORE....DROOL.
2010-10-27
By Alan A. Elsner (Washington DC)
This novel has enjoyed tremendous success which to a large degree is deserved. It has the sprawling ambition of a real epic. Although the setting is Ethiopia, a country that is brilliantly evoked, for some reason it reminded me of "Gone with the Wind." It has a biblical aspect to it -- the characters are all broadly drawn and their actions often seem to carry epic consequences.
We meet the protagonists early. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, an Indian nun, is sent to Africa to minister to the poor and bring them to Christ. On a terrible sea voyage she meets the socially inept Dr. Thomas Stone, a brilliant surgeon who has no talent for human relations but is a veritable Toscanini with the scalpel. She follows him to Ethiopia where they work as partners for seven years --until she suddenly dies in childbirth. Stone, the presumptive father, flees in confusion leaving two twins to be brought up by a couple of Indian doctors.
The twins are Marion, the narrator, and his brother Shiva, who appears to be some kind of savant able to memorize whole pages just by looking at them, do complex math problems in his head and seduce woman but who lacks human warmth or perhaps a fully human conscience. I must say I found Shiva to be one of the weakest aspects of this novel. He never fully convinced me as a character.
The book is full of riveting descriptions of medical procedures, some not for the squeamish, and memorable descriptions of the city of Addis Abbaba. There is also a doomed love, a few odd martyrdoms, some great deathbed dramas, a couple of revolutions, suppressed sexuality, a great love never properly requited, expected and unexpected encounters and sundry other stuff.
In other words, for much of its length, it's a great read.
To my mind, the book lost its way when the scene changed to America and the last 50 pages were just too melodramatic and manipulative for me. I won't give away the denouement of course, but it left me feeling a little disappointed that such a great novel should fall short of delivering the ending it deserved.
2010-10-27
By A. Shanbhag (Seattle, WA United States)
I loved this book ! I fell in love with all the characters and the moving descriptions of every place and individual. The author's keen understanding and love of humanity, as well as the art and science of doctoring clearly comes through. His storytelling is superb and had me spellbound. Just like his description of the senior dr. Stone's ability where every surgical action was precise, the author's every word and sentence achieves it's purpose of filling our mind and heart with his people. Made me want to enroll in medical school and minister to the world!
2010-10-27
By Can't Stop Reading
This book was so wonderful it hurt my heart. The minute I finished it, I wanted to start reading it over again
No comments:
Post a Comment