It is with a touch of reluctance that I bestow a fourth star upon this book, but in the end, I felt it was merited.

Cutting for Stone is the story of two twin boys growing up in Ethiopia. Their parents are physicians, and the boys follow in their footsteps in terms of their love of medicine. It is hard to describe the plot without giving away spoilers, but let's just say that the relationship between the brothers is a tale of betrayal and redemption.

Unfortunately, this tale begins about halfway through the book!

Seriously, this book started off incredibly slowly for me . . .and then, suddenly, around page 400ish or so - - it takes off like a rocket. The back half of this book is really quite excellent. If I were the editor, I would have started the story in a completely different place - - which would have avoided the need to give the backstory that was provided. In fact, even after reading the whole book, I still think the backstory was by and large unnecessary - - as you really didn't get to KNOW those particular characters until much later in the book anyway.

However, the prose is well done, and the main character, Marion, sympathetically drawn. There's a whole lot of medical stuff in the book - - descriptions of operations in gory detail - - and I found that to be interesting, but I can see some people being put off by it.

All in all, as Marion's story unfolds, the book gathers incredible momentum, and I tore through the last 200 pages. Which is why I think people have mostly been raving about it - - by the time it does end, you don't really want it to. ( )

Mientras la India celebra su flamante independencia, la abadesa de un convento de carmelitas en Madrás hace realidad uno de sus sueños más audaces: enviar a África dos jóvenes monjas enfermeras con la noble misión de transmitir el amor de Cristo ayudando a mitigar el dolor de los que sufren. Siete años más tarde, en el modesto hospital Missing de Adis Abeba nacen dos varones gemelos, Marion y Shiva Stone. El hecho no tendría nada de particular si no fuera porque su madre es una monja que muere en el parto y su padre un cirujano británico que desaparece sin dejar rastro. Así, los primeros años de los hermanos Stone transcurrirán en el feliz microcosmos del hospital misionero, criados por un pequeño grupo de personas que, con escasos medios y recursos, se afanan en curar a los enfermos. Con el transcurrir del tiempo, sin embargo, ese mundo cerrado y protegido en el que Marion y Shiva comparten su pasión por la medicina se resquebraja ante la presión de los acontecimientos que sacuden Etiopía y que arrastrarán a los hermanos Stone por caminos diferentes, poniendo a prueba su inquebrantable amistad.

This book completely exhausted me. It was chock-full of medical terminology and background details. If I had to sum it up in two words: too much! ( )

The world turns on our every action, and our every omission, whether we know it or not.

Wow, doesn't that just smack you in the face? This quote occurs near the end of the book, and perfectly summarizes the main theme of the story. I loved reading it. I was completely absorbed in the culture and people of Ethiopia and India, in how Hema and Ghosh did so much good in the "Missing" clinic with only the barest of equipment and supplies. Only once did I think maybe there were just a few too many pages in the book.

Another quote worth sharing:

“God will judge us, Mr. Harris, by”—her voice broke as she thought of Sister Mary Joseph Praise—“by what we did to relieve the suffering of our fellow human beings. I don’t think God cares what doctrine we embrace.”

This one will stay with me awhile, so it definitely earned 5 stars. ( )

3.5 stars. I read this for book club and it was a great discussion book. It was a long and intricate story. There were parts I enjoyed, and others that upset me. ( )