Cutting for Stone

I wouldn't have heard of this book, at least not anytime now, had I not casually walked in for a foot massage the other day, near the farmer's market. The massage therapist was a very chatty old lady, a Czech communist, who said she was very interested in religions! We spoke about some books we had read. She spoke about how bad dairy is for your body and I spoke about turning vegan. A half hour full of yack-yack, and she had so much to say!

But one thing she told me was, I just had to read 'Cutting for Stone'. And she said that if I liked Life of Pi, I'd definitely like this one.

She was right, I loved it. About 600 pages, I finished in 6 days in between work and other stuff. It was hard to put down. But I wouldn't have likened it to Life of Pi. This is not magical realism, but is an epic nonetheless.



Abraham Verghese takes you through the life of twin brothers Marion and Shiva. It's a touching story of love, deceit, lust, disease, hope, and purpose, spanning at least three generations, in three continents. It is made colorful by historical, religious and medical references. It is the story of doctors in different generations and contexts.

The characters are still so real and alive and endearing in my  mind, as if they were always a part of my life, even though they came into my life just 6 days back.

The book made me ask myself the question of why I didn't pursue the medical field like I'd wanted to for a large part of my childhood. I think as I grew, I started viewing biology as not a "cool" field, like engineering was. Just because it seemed to be just about remembering facts. But more than this, I think my basic tendencies are to empathize and understand human suffering. I can sometimes even have an understanding of people at an almost psychic level. This would've helped me had I pursued career as a doctor. But I think at some level, I also wanted to do the harder thing of conquering my intrigue and the distance I felt with machines. That, coupled with a strong sense of wanting financial and social independence early in life (the voice of the feminist in me) naturally led me towards engineering, and specifically the technology field. It was not love or passion, really. And I didn't feel strongly that it was the best choice for me either. But I just went with the flow. Anyway, not that I really regret it now. But the book rekindled my interest in medicine. May be it is destiny that's led me to work in the healthcare field now, however indirect. We'll see how long it lasts...

Anyway, coming back to the book, I'd say, it's a must-read!