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

Loved it!

I have been an audible member for several years and have "read" many, many great books. I cannot get into the car and drive, even a short distance, without a book. This book is right up there on my list of favorites. Great story, great narration. Many hours of enjoyable driving!

LOVED it!

This was an amazing book. As a nurse I found the medical parts fascinating and the story was engrossing. The characters were well written and so REAL. The only negative on this book was the length. I did feel that it was a bit too long and could have had better editing, overall, however, it was absolutely one of the best books I have listened to in a long time!

Incredible!

This audio book is definitely in my top 5. Moving, compelling, clear...fantastic writing and narration! Highly recommend this one!

simply perfection!

An exquisite read, a beautiful story. One of the best books I've read in years. I was completely taken by this book. Both Verghese and the reader, Malhotra, do a wonderful job bringing this rich tale--and its complex, kind, funny, honest, troubled characters--to life in vivid detail.

Spectacular!!

the narration and narrator for this long and satisfying novel were unparalleled! The narrator has the most pleasing and clear diction and ideal for this story. i will look for his narration in the future.

Cutting for Stone (Unabridged)

Excellent! I could not put it down and when I did I could not wait to pickup and continue. This is a book that I would like to revisit again.

GET IT NOW (n.b.Description Doesn't Do It Justice)

My recommendation: Go download this book immediately!

In the past, I had come across this book, read the description, and passed on it. Then my co-worker insisted I would love it, so I got the audiobook... and I AM SO GLAD I DID.

I had trouble putting this one down. I laughed, I cried, I learned about medicine and Ethiopia. The characters and their relationships are richly developed and even lovable, despite some horrific actions; the surrounding culture (whether Addis Ababa, New York, or Ethiopians in Boston) plays a very important and fascinating role in the story; some of what I believe are realities of life in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa are eye-opening/gut-wrenching; and most of all, it is incredibly well-written. There are several different threads, which all are easy to follow and end up tied up neatly (but not too neatly).

The cherry on top is the fact that the narrator is fantastic.

Beautifully writte

This is the best book I have read in a decade. Beautifully written, with multi-dimensional characters. I learned a lot about Ethiopia, as well. One of the best descriptions of an immigrant's first experiences entering this country. Impeccable narration.

My Award for Best Book of the Year

This was a stunning story, beautifully written and plotted, and well narrated. The narrator captured a wide range of character voices and made the story come alive for me. This rich novel is multi-layered, dealing with themes of finding love and family amid trauma and difficulty, crafting a career, living through a violent time in Ethopia, and searching for identity and connections. I learned much about medicine, surgery, the history of Ethopia and Eritrea, and Christian missionaries. I have recommended this book to many friends and have encouraged them to try the audio version because it was so well done.

Great Book

Loved the story and the reader
such an intelegent story teller, and a story starts very good, and constantely gets better.