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Cutting for Stone
 
 
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Cutting for Stone [Kindle Edition]

Abraham Verghese (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
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Hardcover, Large Print £22.43   -- --
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Product Description

Review

`richly entertaining novel'
--Sunday Times

Skilful storytelling and fluid prose. -- Irish Times, review

`There is a gravity and beauty in his writing that sets it apart from much contemporary fiction'
--Daily Telegraph

`A dense and satisfying family saga...is a rich rewarding read.' -- The Independent on Sunday

`An incredibly detailed history of two surgeon brothers who grow up in Ethiopia and live through the revolution...it opens your eyes to another world.' --Daily Express

Review

"Verghese, a doctor, has an affinity for unstinting detail and unscientific intuition...a poetic perception of the outside world."
See all Product Description

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1652 KB
  • Print Length: 667 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; 1st edition (3 Feb 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B001NLKV7C
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Abraham Verghese Page
Abraham Verghese
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent storytelling 7 Feb 2010
By Lovely Treez TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
At 560 pages, this isn't a quick read but you won't regret investing your time in reading this immensely rewarding story. It is a very readable novel, almost family saga-like in its style and one which I was very sorry to finish.

Not for the squeamish, some sections are a bit like a busy night at ER, although obviously in a less Westernised setting. Ethiopia is vibrantly described and you really feel immersed in its culture and history. Somehow the story of the twins and their perhaps far fetched, almost Thorn Birds like conception doesn't impinge on the intense realism of this epic story which covers 50 years and several continents. The characters are all well developed and three dimensional and although the story is never overly sentimental you may need some tissues. The author doesn't overdo the twin theme but there is something so intriguing about twins and their relationships and I'm thinking more along the lines of Kane and Abel, Romulus and Remus rather than John and Edward of X Factor fame/infamy!

An intelligent and gripping story which will remain with you long after the final page has been turned - striking in its orginality and one which I will hope capture the imagination of a lot of readers.
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160 of 163 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful novel, a great political study, and a vivid medical narrative 27 July 2009
By Mr. P. Robbs
Format:Paperback
Verghese brilliantly brings to life the Addis Ababa of the 1960s,'70s and '80s,a time of horrific political convulsions that transformed the ancient hidden Christian African empire of Haile Selassie's day into a Stalinist revolutionary hell under Mengistu, and to his regime's final collapse. Yet this is just the background, to a convincing and beautiful saga of passions and of family upheavals and torments, woven well into accounts of how a group of doctors are connected by relationship, rivalry and skills into a collective of dedicated men and women fighting to save life in a poor and war-torn third world country. It held me to the last full stop. Surprisingly, the book has attracted less attention in Britain than in the US. It deserves better from UK readers.
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61 of 62 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cuts deep in every way. 21 Jan 2010
By Pen pal VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I have never been to Ethiopia, but such was the writing I felt that I was there. Verghese makes the characters in his book come completely alive, and you begin to really care about them. It is the tale of twins, born in unusual circumstances, not least because their mother is a nun. Their subsequent childhood, in which they are raised within a very loving family by Hema and Ghosh, not their natural parents, sets the scene for all that is to come. Marion falls in love with a childhood friend, as good as a sister, but is ultimately betrayed by the two people he least expected. The betrayal has deep ramifications that ring out through the rest of time. This is an extremely moving novel, and I was not surprised to learn that the author is himself a surgeon, as he gives some fairly detailed accounts of various operations that take place. Needless to say, all the key characters in this book are surgeons or become surgeons. The skilled writing made me feel very involved in these medical procedures, and it was a genuinely fascinating journey into an area I have never read about in any detail. All I can say, is this book was an incredibly moving one, well-written and stays with you long after you have turned the last page.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars The pages flash by
This is a long novel, but it is written so well that the pages flash by. It is the story of twins who are born to an Indian nun and a British doctor in Ethiopia, and tracks a... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Blogpiper
5.0 out of 5 stars GReat book
Excellent book
Great storyline
V V interesting as Ive been to Ethiopia so a lto of it made sense to me!
Published 22 days ago by John Canice Bowe
2.0 out of 5 stars A difficult read
We had chosen this book for my book club's next meeting, and I found it difficult to summon the energy to finish it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Campbell
2.0 out of 5 stars too heavy!
this book came highly recommended from friends. my partner started on it and moaned about its over-flowery verbosity , tales of endless trauma and gynacological detail. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sue
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have read in years
I find it harder and harder to be transported and completely absorbed by a book but this did it from page one. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Anno
4.0 out of 5 stars Good story
I enjoyed this book because it was a good saga. Interesting setting and surroundings; family history and development of characters in the book but I didn't warm to any of them... Read more
Published 1 month ago by HB
5.0 out of 5 stars Sculpturing
I knew someone, once, who said that everything you were seeking was already in the materials you were using-whether it be clay, words or stone. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Euphemia
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!
A classy read! - well written, well researched, gripping and very moving. I couldn't put it down and found the medical background fascinating.
Published 1 month ago by Joberger
5.0 out of 5 stars passionate story brilliantly told
Orphan twins arriving in the most unexpected of circumstances - love, pain, excitement and trauma are mixed expertly and believably against the backdrop of Ethiopia, it politics,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by judywele
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, inspirational
This is a great story, and inspirational especially for medics considering doing some work in the 3rd world. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Susan
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