Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Throwback Thursday or Past Reads

Before I started this blog, I kept notebooks of the books I’d read.  I began years ago in order record my thoughts as a book group member and then later just so I wouldn’t purchase or (yikes) re-read the same books.  Don’t smirk, you’ve done it too!  I thought I would share some of my top good reads on random Thursdays.

Today it’s Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese.

From the publicity blurb:

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.
 
Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles–and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Most of my reader friends disliked this novel, could not get into it, or found it dull and overwritten.  As a member of the minority I was swept away into this brilliant and powerful saga.

Yes, it’s a Saga with a capital S – an epic tale that follows twisty, messy lives   The tale takes the orphan twins from their birth in a medical clinic–through the frightening coups in Ethiopia — to New York City where they become successful surgeons in their own rights.

The twins come of age at the Ethiopian medical clinic where they were abandoned at birth and they suffer the consequences of their youthful carelessness and their unreliable makeshift family. The twins’ (twin’s?) lives are complicated yet enriched by these fascinating and crooked characters — a misguided, often drunk, but good-hearted doctor, a female OB who is overly sentimental, yet cruel and unforgiving not to mention the various thugs and manipulators who draw the boys in and out of trouble

The author is a surgeon and his professional insight is throughout the book.  The medical scenes are extremely graphic and eyeopening – there are plenty of mishaps, botched surgeries and the genital mutilation scenes are not for the queasy.  But Mr. Verghese also did some fine research.  The history and culture of Ethiopia is one of the highlights of the story — both fascinating and horrifying.   The author writes with both beauty and harshness and I guarantee you will stop in the middle of reading to marvel at his remarkable prose.

Yes, this book is sometimes slow going and there are many side tracks. Other readers found the detail overwritten – whereas, I found that the many-layered descriptions enriched the remarkable story.

You’re on notice – Cutting for Stone is messy, appalling and sometimes confusing.  This is not a light novel and, at 670 pages, this is a demanding read.  Nonetheless, I found it, like life itself, full of love and cruelty — joy and sadness.   A Saga with a capital S.

The Moment of Everything by Shelly King

I really must expand my repertoire, but, like the Halloween candy lurking in my cupboard (Reese’s PB cups if you must know), I just can’t resist yet another book about books and bookstores. Better yet, The Moment of Everything is set in Silicon Valley (check), takes place in the present (check) and, yes — centers around a used bookstore (check check).

From the publicity blurb:

Maggie Duprès, recently “involuntarily separated from payroll” at a Silicon Valley start-up, is whiling away her days in The Dragonfly’s Used Books, a Mountain View institution, waiting for the Next Big Thing to come along.

When the opportunity arises for her to network at a Bay Area book club, she jumps at the chance — even if it means having to read Lady Chatterley’s Lover, a book she hasn’t encountered since college, in an evening. But the edition she finds at the bookstore is no Penguin Classics Chatterley — it’s an ancient hardcover with notes in the margins between two besotted lovers of long ago. What Maggie finds in her search for the lovers and their fate, and what she learns about herself in the process, will surprise and move readers.

I found much to enjoy in this novel. The Dragonfly bookstore is wonderfully formed — its haphazard used book selection, an OPEN sign where the letters slide to read NOPE when closed, a mean tempered cat, and its fair share of quirky customers.

Ms. King beautifully captures Silicon Valley and, having been in high-tech for many years, I kneel to her bulls eye observational skills – she perfectly captures high tech geeks seeking obscure science fiction paperbacks, gaming parties and especially the snooty meeting of the “Silicon Valley Women’s Executive Book Club” in a pristine home with its state-of-the-art kitchen.

The mystery of the love notes written in the margins of a battered old copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover is enchanting.

The plot is multi-layered and fast paced — there’s lots going on.  Maggie only half-attempts to find another job and spends her days reading romance novels.  She tries to fend off her narcissistic mother and is having a torrid love affair (or is it?).  To try and stay sane, she starts to volunteer at the Dragonfly – attempting to bring it into the 21st century and the red in order to compete with big book store across the street.   On top of all this, she is obsessed with mystery of the love notes in the book.  Sometimes Ms. King loses control of these story lines and they become disjointed — but keep reading by the next chapter you’ll be back on course…and I’ll caution you, the ending is a tad predictable.

But in the end, I found the best part of The Moment of Everything was Ms. King’s engaging and witty voice.  I found myself both grinning, and at times giggling throughout this book.  Given the realm of grim novels out there (Dystopia anyone?) a novel that makes you smile is perhaps the best recommendation.

My favorite quote

“The kind of people who come to the Dragonfly don’t just own books, they need them, crave them, find it impossible to breathe without them. They come because they are in love with the store itself, with its handled wares and their untold takes. They come because they are wondering about about the people who owned all these books before. The come because the people whose paths they cross are like the books they find, a bit worn around the edges, waiting for the right person to open them up and take them home.”

Review copy provided by Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley.

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

Here I am again, recommending another intelligent and well-written mystery series.  This time by a Canadian writer.   These (as with Deborah Crombie) shall and should be read in sequence (Still Life is the first).

Louise Penny is a former CBC journalist and her well-honed story telling craft makes each of her novels a gem.  The series largely focuses in and around the picturesque Canadian village of Three Pines, filled with idiosyncratic inhabitants — but these are no typical “cozy” mysteries.  The characters have  depth, humor and pathos and the plots are often intricately complex and psychological.  I eagerly await each and every one of her novels.  So I blissfully delved into The Long Way Home, the 10th in her series.

The Long Way Home finds Chief Inspector Gamache now retired in Three Pines hoping to relax and recover from the horrors he experienced (yes you must read the earlier novels to truly understand the context).  He and his wife, Reine-Marie, are enjoying village life – breakfasts at the bistro, browsing at the bookstore, dinners with friends – when one of their friends, Clara, asks Gamache to help locate her estranged and now missing husband.  Clara and Gamache are joined by Reine-Marie, Myrna, the bookstore owner, his ex-Sargent De Beauvior, and the ever-cranky poet Ruth.

This unlikely crew of investigators find themselves in the Canadian region of  Charlevoix, a place of harsh beauty along the St. Lawrence river, which has attracted artists for centuries.  The mystery orbits around paintings of the beautiful landscape and Canadian artists.  You can see some of the artwork here.   This novel is fairly steeped in art – even the cover of the book feels and looks like a canvas. Part of the mystery also refers to a place in Scotland dubiously named “The Garden of Cosmic Speculation”, it really does exist and looks fascinating – check it out here.  As always, with Ms. Penny’s novels, I find myself making a list of things to Google.

Back to the story —  this is a markedly more philosophical and somber novel which deliberately mirrors Gamache’s introspection since his retirement from the force. Much of the book is psychologically driven and I grew tired of Clara’s tormented artist self pity. The artistic process and angst is discussed ad nauseum and is used as motive where it really doesn’t make sense.  There is some repetition and reiteration  — OK-OK we get the Balm of Gilead reference already! Basically, I longed for the plot to step more lively, if you please.

There were moments of the old charm and humor (nearly not enough for this reader):

“Ergo, he painted them on his return to Canada,” said Clara.

“Ergo?” asked Myrna.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to use it,” said Clara.

“Not now that I hear how it really sounds.”

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this book and it retains Ms. Penny’s gorgeous writing.  I was happy to revisit the Three Pines, its characters (including one foul-mouthed duck), glimpse into Gamache’s new life (he reads each morning on a bench overlooking the village) and share in the non-stop cozy tea breaks and good meals – does that Bistro ever close?

The Long Way Home is still an excellent read, just not on par with Ms. Penny’s previous novels. I remain a steadfast  fan and will eagerly await Ms. Penny’s next installment in this smart, original series.

One big rant: Come on Ms. Penny you’re better than this book’s melodramatic ending!

(I am hoping Ms. Penny doesn’t fall into a series black hole ala Elizabeth George —  whose mysteries, in my opinion, lost their way after she killed off Helen.)

To Dwell in Darkness by Deborah Crombie

I have followed this series from the first installment, A Share of Death in 1995, and have eagerly awaited each new installment in Ms. Crombie’s intelligent, well-crafted British mystery series.

Now if you are unfamiliar with Deborah Crombie  – you will enjoy this latest mystery in her series, but I urge you to go right now to your library and check out a Share of Death. Then read each of her series in order… I’ll wait right here until you do so.

OK now you’re with me on the series and her latest, To Dwell in Darkness, does not disappoint.

From the Back Cover:

Recently transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland Yard headquarters, detective superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras International Station. By fortunate coincidence, detective sergeant Melody Talbot, Gemma’s trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the facts, he finds that every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.

The bombing isn’t the only mystery troubling Kincaid. He’s still questioning the reasons behind his transfer, and when his former boss continues to avoid him, those suspicions deepen.

—————————————

Ms. Crombie does her research and always chooses a lesser-known London area site to center her mysteries – in this case, St. Pancras train station.  As a special treat, the hard copy books include hand-illustrated maps of said location.  Here’s a sample – click to view larger.

St. Pancras is the setting for a very current and news-worthy event – a public bombing…and the perpetrators aren’t who they seem.  Duncan Kincaid has been demoted from his high-powered post with Scotland Yard and transferred to Holburn.  D.I. Gemma Jones is investigating the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 12 year old girl.   Melody Talbot plays a key role in this case, while jugging  a new relationship,  and there are kittens!

Sounds like a mess, but as in all Ms. Crombie’s novels the pacing is superb, while she builds tension yet gives us breaks with glimpses into the loving family of Duncan and Gemma.  Their relationship continues to delight and I just adore the descriptions of their home life  – so chaotic (did I mention a litter of abandoned  kittens?) yet warm.

In the previous installment (Sound of Broken Glass) we were left hanging on why Duncan was demoted and transferred  —  this installment does not resolve that or even shed any light on that question.  That’s twice now, where I’ve turned the last page/last chapter only to face the “about the author” blurb…totally surprised there wasn’t more .

I fear Ms. Crombie may be using the television series trick – stringing us along to her next new book — but that’s alright with me. I’ll go anywhere she wants to take me.

“Doorways to Wonder”

This will make you smile.  About the magic of reading and imagination…

The Book of You by Claire Kendal

 His name is Rafe, and he is everywhere Clarissa turns.   What could have been a formula stalker thriller, is luckily so much more.  It’s a creepy, often graphic read, and with my husband out of town, I checked the door was locked and read with several lights on in the house.

Clarissa, as the main character, develops as the book progresses.  She hides, cowers and seems vulnerable , but the reader will cheer the bravery in her relentless gathering of evidence against Rafe.  Upon police advice, she keeps a small journal “The Book of You” detailing every stalking move Rafe makes.  And while repulsed, she also keeps all his “gifts” and lurid photos – all in the hopes of gathering enough evidence to have him arrested.  The story is told interspersed between her journal entries and current time. 

The stalking soon becomes part of her everyday as she attends jury duty, meets another man and tries to carry on a normal life.  She keeps Rafe’s stalking, her journal and her fear a secret from everyone – adding to the suspense of the book.

Most compelling was how the author, little by little,  lets the reader fall into the mind and feelings of a stalking victim, how they try and maintain normalcy, how their lives are turned into a mine field of psychological terror, and how even the simple things that brought them joy (Clarissa’s sewing) can be made dirty.  This is what sets this debut thriller apart from the standard.   The ending was so good, I raced through the last few chapters and then  the next morning re-read them to savor the twists of the plotting.

In several instances the narrative breaks down and defies logic, and the dialogue can be stilted and poorly crafted – especially from the neighbor lady  — “You think I’m just a sweet old lady, Clarissa, a kindly spinster who knows nothing and has experienced nothing….”  arghhh.

But those two minor critiques did not stop me from devouring this chilling read and it still lingers in my mind.

Advanced Reading Copy provided by Harper Collins