ethiopia

Abraham Verghese uses a fictional setting to explore medicine in a third-world country going through revolution and change.  Twin boys are born to a resident doctor and Catholic nun.  Cutting for Stone tells a very lyrical story covering a span of 60 years; it describes the lives of the twins, essentially abandoned at birth, the doctors who raised them, and the father who could not deal with their birth or the loss of their mother.  This is a beautiful story that explores parental love, sibling love, and first love. It's also a must read for new and tenured doctors alike, reminding us of the

“A good story about flawed people” is a simple, concise but understated way to describe this tale of love abandonment, betrayal and redemption. It begins with the birth of twins to a beautiful Indian nun and a brilliant, but brash surgeon in an Ethiopian hospital for the poor. The mother, who kept her pregnancy secret, dies at childbirth and the father, devastated by the tragedy, disappears. The twins, Marion and Shiva, are raised by two Indian doctors. The story is told by Marion, who must escape his homeland after finishing medical school because of a false report of his involvement in a