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Alex's Reviews > Cutting for Stone
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese
by Abraham Verghese
But it was only now, near the end, and far too late, that the pieces suddenly - dreadfully - clicked into place. Like a long Tetris piece slamming down, making a whole block of mystery blink and vanish. Only now did he realize what suddenly seemed so obvious: everyone who had suggested this book to him – every single one – was a middle-aged woman. This book…it was about the importance of family.
A wave of cold horror washed over him.
It would take months of porn and comic books to counteract this book’s effect. Months.
A wave of cold horror washed over him.
It would take months of porn and comic books to counteract this book’s effect. Months.
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Comments (showing 1-44 of 44) (44 new)
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Oh Alex you are such a loser. If you want a book about the importance of family, suffer through Freedom. How about: this book is about medicine in Africa, about African cultural practices, about the immigrant experience, about twinness. -To name a few themes.
A couple of neighbors who've read it came to a similar conclusion. They thought there were three stories: one about family, one about medicine, and one about Ethiopia. I liked the Ethiopia parts a ton; the medical bits made me think the guy really wanted to write about surgery and came up with a plot so that people would put up with the medicine bits; the family stuff, I thought, was pretty schmaltzy and predictable.And yes, thank you, I most likely will suffer through Freedom. After which I'll probably come back and upgrade my rating for this book.
Maybe it's because middle aged women read more. Sorry, that ruined any desire I have to review this one. Why do online reviews always turn to little personal tirades instead of actually looking at the literary aspects.
I found the discussion thought-provoking. Why do people read certain books? The subject matter may be only a small part of the reason. All books about the major themes of Cutting for Stone wouldn't interest me. How the author handles the story line, the language he uses and whether or not you care about the charactersare part of the equasion.
Trudy wrote: "I found the discussion thought-provoking. Why do people read certain books? The subject matter may be only a small part of the reason. All books about the major themes of Cutting for Stone wouldn't..."I think whether or not you care about the characters is a very interesting aspect of why you like, don't like, or even finish reading a book. I personally usually don't like books/movies/TV shows where I think the characters are totally unlikeable. In the case of C4S, I liked the twins a lot. Didn't like the doctor -- Stone. What did you others think of his character?
Case in point: The new film with Harrison Ford and I think her name is Amy Mc Adams. I have no idea whether the story or the dialogue is exemplary...I don't intend to wach a souped up woman interacting with a zombie-like HF.I read C4S so long ago I don't recall Stone's character
I thought Stone was interesting and well done. He certainly wasn't likable, of course, but I thought he was compelling enough that I enjoyed reading his parts.I know what you mean, though: there are people who're awful in interesting ways, and folks who're just annoying to watch, so it lessens the experience.
Ummmm - I am a "middle aged woman" (42) and I would have suggested you run screaming from this book - warning the towns people to beware. I find the fact that you think this a book liked only by middle aged women offensive. NO ONE should like this book!
Don't take offence with Alex' remark about middle aged women. It could be considered complimentary since that group of the population are more likely to be avid readers and bring a lot of experience to the process of reading.
And it's all tongue-in-cheek; I'm just ribbing on real-life friends Trudy and my mom, both of which are on here with me. :)
Opps! Now I see middle-age was meant humorously. Sometimes we middle aged women go off half-cocked :)And I agee with your assessment of the book and I gave it 3 stars as well. Though I think political upheaval in Ethiopia, the state of medicine in Africa, and female multilation were also issues raised in the book that gave me pause.
I'm a middle aged woman reading this book, I like this book and I also laughed when I read Alex's review - it was funny...lighten up people!
I cant say I like the book, not yet, but I busted out when I read Alex's comment. Thanks for giving me a guffaw at the end of the day!!!
This book is the next one at my bookclub, and when i read the plot synopsis, i thought, okay I'll get it from the library but may not waste my time. Definitely one of those schmaltzily written books for the low info citizen to read about another culture.
Diane wrote: "Definitely one of those schmaltzily written books for the low info citizen to read about another culture." That's hardly a fair assessment, especially since, by your own admission, you haven't read the book! (Talk about low info). I'd say it's flawed and even unevenly written in parts, but the descriptions of life in Ethiopia, and especially the parts describing what it's like to be a doctor under difficult conditions, shine. And believe me, I have low tolerance for schmaltz!
I think you're funny. I am not groovin' on it either & I am the demographic it was written for. It needs some serious editing. I'll finish but I can already see that 3 stars will be generous.
Yes, Amy, whatever happened to the intrepid editors of past days? Really miss 'em. Have read more than a few books that were just okay and could have been GREAT with proper editing.
Love your comment. But it points out that being able to divide the ratings into sex and age groups as they allow on IMDB would be a very welcome addition to goodreads.
Your dislike for this novel must not be too severe. Three stars? I wanted to hate you, mock you even. Then..I checked out your page and reads and found that you had some semblance of intelligence. Needless to say, I have thoroughly relished this book. Have a great summer.
Ha...some semblance of intelligence. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me! Thanks Suzie, you too. :)
I too find the middle aged women stereotype offensive. I am a middle aged woman and I LOVE porn and comic books! I however hated this book.. ;)
From reading these comments, I've just learned that I'm middle-aged at 40. But I didn't love the book, though I thought it was good. Definitely could do w/out the LONG medical descriptions.
thoroughly enjoyed the boo AND your review. this middle aged (that may be generous) will check out your books for some reading suggestions. I read eclectically, and enjoy almost everything
Hey man, I don't know who you are; but I found this review hilarious. You have a very wry, Farside-esk delivery. Your review was a perfect counter-weight to the 3 female recomendations I received for this book. Well done Sir.
When exactly will I be considered 'middle-aged'?!? 50? I thought the book was a fantastic read. Ghosh, what a wonderfully developed character. Maybe because I'm married to a surgeon, I don't remember feeling overwhelmed or bored by the medical 'jargon'. The terms and procedures were actually,familiar. I imagine that would make a difference in someone's experience.
--39 year old mother of two, ages 3 and 18 months
Enjoy.
Trudy