Cutting Through Writer's Block

I must confess, I'm struggling to write this review. Last night I stared at the blank screen for a while, eventually setting aside my Mac and flipping on a movie rather than facing the task at hand. Tonight I'm committed, and I suppose my writer's block is the best place to start. 

I'm having writer's block not because I have nothing to write but because I'm undecided about how to review this book. This is a strange predicament. Usually I read or watch something and know immediately how I feel about it, but that's not the case with Cutting for Stone. I was terribly unengaged for the first 30% of this book and felt like the book could have benefited from some judicious editing. I just couldn't get through it. I found myself coming home from work and watching old reruns of Law and Order rather than picking up my Kindle. Then, after the initial hurdle, which in a 541 page book was significant, it got really good. I found myself wanting to come home just so I could slip back into Marion's, the main character's, life.

The story begins when Sister Mary Joseph Praise falls in love with the young and brilliant surgeon, Thomas Stone, on a cargo ship from India to Africa. They work together for years at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and one day, to everyone's (including Stone's) surprise, Sister Mary Joseph Praise turns out to be pregnant. I did question how even a nun's habit could conceal 9 months of pregnancy weight, but I guess suspension of disbelief is sometimes necessary for a good book. Anyway, she delivers conjoined twins Marion and Shiva whose bodies are separated from each other at birth, but who will always remain as one, ShivaMarion. Cutting for Stone is their story. 

The twins are raised by adoptive parents Hema and Ghosh, Missing's other two doctors, after Sister Mary Joseph Praise dies in childbirth and Thomas Stone flees the scene, abandoning his sons. The book explores Marion's childhood, the love he develops for a woman who will ruin him over and over again, his passion for medicine, and most importantly, his relationship with his other half, Shiva. Once Verghese gets his readers out of Operating Theater 3 on the day of ShivaMarion's birth, the story is captivating. It just takes him a while to get there. 

Addis Ababa looks much like I pictured.

And, the writing is terrific, no question. Verghese is a master of character development. My favorite character was Ghosh, Marion's jovial and wise adoptive father, and Missing's internal medicine specialist turned surgeon. I suspect that he is  everyone's favorite character. He is the voice of reason, the one who always seems to intuit how other people are feeling, and a hero for stepping into the role of surgeon and father almost simultaneously when Marion's birth father and Missing's only surgeon runs away. Verghese also seemingly effortlessly transports his readers to Addis Ababa and Missing Hospital, and in a way, these places are like characters in the book, they are so alive. I particularly loved learning about Ethiopian foods, music, politics, and history through Marion's eyes. I suspect that as I think more and more about this book, I will like it increasingly, and perhaps that is a hallmark of a great book....