After reading so many average novels, it is wonderful to read a truly extraordinary novel, and that is just what Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is.

Cutting for Stone takes the reader on a journey from India to Ethiopia, to NYC and back to Africa. It is an epic tale of twin brothers born on a fateful night when their mother died in childbirth and their surgeon father fled the country in distress.

What follows is a richly detailed tale of medicine and how it is practiced in different environments. It is a story of the history and politics of Ethiopia, a story of twins, seperated by thousands of miles, yet still deeply connected. It is a deeply engaging family saga.

Verhese, an accomplished doctor and writer, thoroughly researched this novel. Cutting for Stone is a poetic, spiritual, majestic, truly extraordinary novel. One that you won’t soon forget.