2013-05 - Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

05 - Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Alexis
ELAPSED TIME: 2 weeks
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Marion Stone is born in Ethiopia - the son of an Indian nun (who is a nurse) and a British Surgeon.  Born ahead of his brother, Shiva, only because the need for a C-Section switched the birth order... and "orphaned" immediately, as their mother passes away during child birth and their father disappears.  Adopted by two Indian doctors in the hospital of their birth.

This is a compelling story, told on the backdrop of Ethiopia's revolution.  This book came to me at an interesting time, when two Oscar-nominated movies (Lincoln and Argo) are being accused of taking liberties with history.  What responsibility does an artist (be it an author or a director) have in maintaining historical accuracy when telling a story?

When so much of us learn our history from novels and movies, isn't there a responsibility to the Truth?
Conversely, can you truly cover the entire Truth conveniently; and even if you could, isn't it inherently biased anyways?  Verghese addresses this concern by highlighting historical liberties that he took in his acknowledgements... a decent compromise, I would think.

These characters are warm and aspire to greatness, despite their natural limitations.  I highly (highly!) recommend this book.