GREAT READS

Cutting for Stone

Abraham Verghese.

This moving story starts out in a poor mission hospital just outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, an Indian nun who works at the hospital, has a secret relationship with a brilliant British surgeon, Dr. Thomas Stone. She conceals her pregnancy from everyone, including Dr. Stone, who only discovers it when she dies tragically during childbirth. She leaves twin boys, Shiva and Marion, who end up being raised by two other doctors in the hospital. One of the boys, Marion, grows up to become a doctor and travels to the United States - he narrates the tale, telling about his life, his birth parents, the couple who raised him, and the many mysteries of their intertwined relationships. The story is complex, beautiful and even more enjoyable if you listen to the CD-book read by Sunil Malhotras, who won an award by AudioFile Magazine for his reading of this book. He brings the characters to life with his Indian and Ethiopian accents. I was so fascinated with the story that I didn't want it to end. The images of Addis Ababa, the hospital compound, the staff who contribute to the raising of the boys, and the confusion of the country during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie - all this pulls you into another world you won't want to leave.

Recommended by Mitzi Fields