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What book did you just start?
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
last updated Feb 27, 2024 08:11PM
What Members Thought
I think I am one of the last to read this; I had caught the exasperation in Ann's voice on one of the recent podcasts about those among us who had not read this great novel. I had it on my TBR pile for a long time, but it was so well worth the wait. The story of twins born in a mission hospital in Ethiopia in the 1950s, losing their mother at birth and their father soon after made for gripping reading. Abraham Verghese is a wonderful writer who evokes time and place as you read their life story
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This book took my breath away. Verghese spun a beautiful epic tale of love, loss, family, betrayal, forgiveness, medicine and healing. The story spanned the globe, from India to Ethiopia to America. The characters were well developed and came alive to me. It was an amazing saga of compassion that I can't wait to pass along to my friends.
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It is a little hard for me to rate this book. There are so many things I loved about it- I am a huge fan of coming of age stories, stories about medical issues, political issues, culture, and family so it's natural that I should like this book. Plus, I read it immediately before a trip to Addis Ababa, so I could really place some of the events and I really appreciated learning about the political landscape. The problems I had with the book were (sigh, again) with the somewhat flat female charact
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I should have loved this book. It hit on so many points that are of great interest to me; African history, cutural diversity, etc. It was obviously well written or I would have never finished those 500+ pages. Unfortunatley I found that I just didn't like the protagonist, Marion. It was probably due to the fact that it was written in the first person (not one of my favorite POVs) but after a while I really wanted him to just shut up and let someone else speak. I was particularly bothered by the
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This is absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. The story is thick, rich, and detailed and it takes a commitment from the reader to stay with the story through the beginning (thick descriptions of medical procedures). However, the story is beautifully rewarding. It is a story about life, love, and the beauty of death. It is a story about anger and forgiveness and the awkward paths that our human frailty leads us on in our journeys. This book is a true gift.
My favorite book of 2009. Abraham Verghese is an incredible write. Ethiopia really comes alive. The characters were well developed.
I loved this - a little slow in the beginning, but then I couldn't put it down.
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Feb 16, 2009
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Laura Ellis
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Julie
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Belinda Burkhart
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Feb 23, 2011
Rosie
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