A critical analysis of the novel ‘Cutting for Stone’ by Abraham Verghese

This blog is dedicated to my boss who is a diligent anonymous follower of my blog, and who recommended the book below to me, which I have read and have the following criticisms:

A critical analysis of the novel ‘Cutting for Stone’ by Abraham Verghese

1.            The backdrop does not really reveal much

This book revolves around twin brothers born (allegedly) mysteriously to an Indian nun and a British doctor (always remember, there is no such thing as an immaculate conception, it’s only a matter of time before such stories are revealed as mere fiction not unlike Hang Tuah and gang), set against the backdrop of tumultuous events in Ethiopia, including an attempted military coup.

However, I feel that the backdrop does not really address the history of Ethiopia both from an international perspective as well as from the main character’s perspective. At the end of the novel, I had no idea what Ethiopia’s history was, and had to Google the same to get some answers.

In this regard,  Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ and ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ provide excellent reads both in terms of plot as well as the history of Afghanistan.

2.            Medical jargon

The author, Abraham Verghese, is a doctor. And like most doctors I know, they tend to forget that some, if not most, of their listeners / readers do not have medical background or knowledge, and (surprise, surprise) are not interested in medical stuff, otherwise they would be in the medical profession.

The author spends too much time writing about medical conditions, surgeries and the like in some detail which does not interest me at all. There is only so much medical jargon that one can take. I may condone it if it was actually important to the plot, but most of it was not. At times I felt like I was reading a medical text book. Not fun.

3.            Talk about the Ramayana!

If there was ever a competition on who can write longer than the Ramayana, this book will surely be in the running. The plot is fairly simple. But it just went on and on and on and on for 541 pages! Brevity is the soul of wit? Certainly not for this author!

4.            Conclusion

As long winded as the writer was, he did write well at times, but unfortunately the well written verses do not really stand out in light of the tedious and lengthy phrases  that seem to go on forever with no end in sight. On a scale of 1 to 10, (1 = sucks, 10 = must read) I’d give it a 3.

By comparison, books that I have rated as 9 include ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘The Sense of an Ending’ by Julian Barnes.

Sorry boss!