is a physician's wet dream of an epic, a tale of twin brothers raised by doctors in a missionary hospital in Ethiopia. Don't let the dramatic setting dissuade you from picking up this book. It's really a story about passion, shame, ambition and sex and the consequences of actions driven by such intense emotions.Cutting For Stone opens with a nun and a surgeon who share their denial of a love affair that evolves in the operating theater and is consummated in a fiery lust that produces twin boys, conjoined at the head. The nun dies in childbirth and the father flees to America, unable to come to terms with his inability to save his lover, with the gruesome reality that he was willing and able to kill his children in a desperate bid to save her.
But he doesn't kill the boys. They survive and are adopted by another doctor couple whose love blooms under the stress and strain of parenting twin boys. The story follows the tale of one brother, Marion, as he matures in the politically unstable Ethiopian environment, as he falls in love and his brother crassly fucks the girl of his dreams. That betrayal eventually prompts Marion to leave Ethiopia for the US so he can pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. And while he's in the states, his lover reappears, fucks him and gives him an STD that nearly kills him.
There's an excellent twist in the tale that I won't reveal here that makes the last 150 pages fly by. It's a fabulous read, made more excellent by the time and care Verghese takes in developing his characters and allowing significant moments of their lives to unfold in a patient and deliberate way. The arch of the story is beautifully constructed and expertly executed to maximize reading pleasure. This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time.
I highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment