Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese

Cutting for Stone has been on my to-read shelf for such a long time. It's a book that came highly rated from a friend of mine who I casually stalk as to what she is reading. If she likes it, it goes on my to-read shelf. And I was not disappointed. I don't give out a five-star rating casually. I would say this wasn't quite as good as The Goldfinch (you can read that review here), but four stars just wouldn't be enough for this engrossing tale of two twin brothers, Marion and Shiva, growing up in Ethiopia during turbulent times.

Marion and Shiva are the children of a love affair between an English doctor and an Indian nun, working together at Mission hospital in Ethiopia. Their mother dies in childbirth and they are adopted by another physician at the hospital after their father's hasty departure. 

The characters in this book are so richly drawn, flawed, human. Marion and Shiva grow up on the doorsteps of the surgery and patient rooms at the hospital. It's inevitable both would pursue medical professions. A teenage rift unspools resulting in Marion's departure to the United States to complete his medical training. 

I admired the depths explored into various subjects, Ethiopian politics, surgery, Christian evangelism, the state of American medicine and safety-net hospitals. There were so many background facts that informed just who Marion and Shiva were as themselves and to each other. Beautifully written and painstakingly laid out, this book was a real pleasure. The audio version was wonderfully narrated as well.

5/5 Stars.