A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

I just finished reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Wow! I repeat, WOW.  Once I started reading it I really didn't want to put it down.  Who needs to sleep and eat when you have a good book?  Oh, yeah, I have a family, responsibilities, etcetera.  In between taking care of them I really did very little else but read this brilliant book, and since finishing, I haven't been able to stop thinking about.


I know I am not the first to hop on the Cutting for Stone/Abraham Verghese train, but for those who haven't yet read the book, it is the story of Marion and Shiva Stone, Indian/British twins growing up in Ethiopia.  Did I mention their mother was a nun?  And she died at their birth?  And their genius British surgeon father ran away in grief? Sound soap opera-ish? Not to worry. This story is woven like an exotic tapestry, each thread blending into the next and creating an incredible work of art.  


I think a good book is the best way to learn something new.  I really knew nothing about Ethiopia, but now I feel a little more informed, and not in a textbook way.  More in a from-the-heart kind of way.  As a reader I could tell how much Verghese loves the Ethiopian people and the place where he grew up.  He made me want to learn more.


Whatever you do, READ Cutting for Stone, NOW!  It is a perfect circle of a story.