Because Ideas Matter...
The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences presents
Recommended Readings
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese, Vintage 2010
Reviewed by Anne Wilson
A coming-of-age story about a young man who
grows up in Ethiopia and his unusual family is not a story that
would normally capture my attention. The blurb on the back of the
book did not inspire me either, but it was a gift from my mother so
I opened the front cover and began to read. I was delighted by the
rich imagery, distressed by the realistic portrayal of human
suffering, and enchanted by the complicated characters of the
story, both male and female. The author is a physician deeply
influenced by the humanities, and he views doctors as part of their
patient's stories. While Cutting for Stone does have physicians in
key roles throughout the book, the focus is not medicine but the
humanity of the characters. I found myself having to look up some
key characters from Ethiopian history and remind myself of other
world events that were at the time represented in the book, but the
storyline does not require this except for those who are more
historically curious. I found myself hungry for Ethiopian food
multiple times while reading, so be sure to line up your supply of
injera and wat before you begin!
- Anne Wilson is professor of chemistry at Butler
University.