Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese is one of those books that you read more slowly as you approach the end, because you don’t want it to stop. My first impression of it was not positive, because I found the prologue pretentious, but as soon as I started reading the story, I was hooked. Don’t be put off by my description of the unusual plot.
Marion Stone is an identical twin. He and his brother Shiva are the sons of a nun from Kerala, India–Sister Mary Joseph Praise, who dies giving birth in the hospital in Addis Ababa where she works. Dr. Thomas Stone, their father, is so distraught by her death that he runs off, never to return.
Marion and Shiva are so close that they call themselves ShivaMarion. The boys are raised by Hema and Ghosh, two married Indian doctors at the hospital. Hema and Ghosh are delightful characters, and the story of their romance is charming.
The children are raised at the mission that runs the hospital during Emperor Haile Selaisse’s reign. The novel is about their upbringing in this colorful, tempestuous setting. The story of Marion’s life, his relationship with his brother, his love for a rebellious woman, and his search for his father is beautifully told. The novel is sweeping, in both time and place, beginning in India, moving to Ethiopia, and finishing in an inner-city hospital in New York City over a series of decades.
A doctor and author of some nonfiction books, Verghese has been criticized for the amount of medical detail in this book, but I found that fascinating as well. The characters are lifelike and interesting, the scope of the novel impressive, and the story drives you along.
What? Me Read? 
I agree about the medical information. Only once did I find it over done and, hell, if I were a writer and a doctor I’d probably show off a little too.