Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, A Book Review by Rebecca Moll

"If the beating heart is pure theater, a playful, moody, extroverted organ cavorting in the chest, then the liver, sitting under the diaphragm is a figurative painting, a stolid and silent."

One of the million reasons I love this book, the beautiful and oh, so on-the-spot imagery, the metaphors that stop you in your tracks and add new dimension to understanding.

This is my second reading of Cutting for Stone, one I waited for with relish, patiently leaving ten years in-between. A natural storyteller, Abraham Verghese weaves a wonderful and lasting story between, within, and a part of two twin brothers, conjoined at birth - ShivaMarion. Told in first person, Marion roots the reader like a willow without water, his voice searching, reaching, grabbing for that elixir of life, what we all want - love and happiness.

If you love stories that bring characters to life, make you laugh and cry, cheer and jeer, and wish for more, much more than the 658 pages you have turned, then this is a story for you.

Cutting for Stone is one I will hold upon my permanent shelves.