Cutting for Stone

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese; Vintage Publishing, 2010

Reviewed by Macy Mullarky

I highly recommend Cutting for Stone, a complicated story of twin boys who live very different lives, but share a common heritage. This is a far-sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies giving birth to twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers story. I also recommend Hilary Spurling's nonfiction book Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth, which is a fascinating accounting of Pearl Buck's life, with an emphasis on her early years. Buck had a harsh childhood which affected her future writings. Another great read is Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, by Helen Simonson. This is a charming story of a cross-cultural relationship between a middle-aged Englishman and a Pakistani woman.