Wish I had more time...

How much I wish I could sit somewhere peacefully and read something...But I think I will need to wait a bit more to make it happen...I was amazed that I didn't read anything much in November...But that statement is also not very true.

Cutting For Stone made an impact on my reading habits. I realized that I should read the best literary works existing in this world rather than waste my time reading books that I may never appreciate. So that thought put me in a confusion as to what to read next after Cutting For Stone.

I picked up Love and Marriage by Bill Cosby to start off. I enjoyed reading this hilarious description of Bill's encounter with the female species. I am almost near completion, but left it aside when I had to stay away from my place for a few days. The book is incomplete in some ways;there are only very less detail about his experiences after marriage...but it is definitely fun to read.

I think I started off with The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold..Somehow even after 30 pages into the story I was not able to accept the theme of a dead girl's narration about her life in heaven...I read a few bad reviews about the book too. So I abandoned that mission for the time being...probably will read it later.

I got some spare time while travelling to office. I used that time to listen to the audio version of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell which is read by the author himself. I have been keeping this book on my reading list for a long time, but never got a chance to read it. I am happy that I listened to it. I am almost done with it and should say that I plan to listen to many more audio books in the future.

I wanted to read something while I was travelling over the weekend. Hence started with Dog Stories by James Herriot.But the truth is the I never got past the lengthy introduction, but am surely looking forward to reading this book.

Guess that is all about my reading in November...hope to read more in the coming times as I am shifting to a new accommodation which may provide me more opportunities and free time to read and of course to write too...Don't know..

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - Book Review

Literary Awards for Cutting For Stone

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2009),
Indies Choice Book Award for Adult Fiction (2010)

Amazing!!! That is what I want to tell about this book. Coming from a non-medical background, one of the first things that intrigued me was the title of the book - Cutting for Stone. It took me some time to realize that it is taken from a phrase "I will not cut for stone" from the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take when they start their profession.

Cutting for Stone is a story around the Missing Hospital, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Marion and Shiva Stone are twins who were born out of a secret union between Sister Mary Praise Joseph, an Indian nun and Thomas Stone, a British surgeon. Sister Mary dies during childbirth and Stone has no recollection of how this happened. Thomas Stone is not able to accept the dead of his first assistant in surgery for 7 years; neither is he able to accept his kids. Hence the kids are left under the responsibility of Hema, the gynaecologist and the Matron sister of Missing Hospital.

The story is a narration by Marion Stone, a surgeon about the life of Marion and Shiva Stone from their birth; it also includes a bit about how Sister Mary and Thomas meets each other.

My Thoughts

I loved this book. It is true I put this aside after reading the initial 60 pages. It was not because I didn't like what I read, but it was more due to the fact that the subject looked a bit "heavy" at that point of time. But I reread most of those portions and couldn't put this book until I finished it. I felt a sort of restlessness until I finished reading this great novel by Abraham Verghese.

Abraham Verghese who is a doctor by profession has done a remarkable work in his research about life in Ethiopia; some of it would have come from his own personal experience. I don't think I have read any other book in which there is so much celebration of the medical profession. He has taken so much pain to describe most of the surgical procedures in big detail, without boring the readers. It is true that at times, I didn't have the patience to read everything as I was restless to know what happens next in the story.

I actually don't want to talk much about the story so that whoever read this book will get to know things when they actually read it. I don't want to spoil the suspense for you all. But I felt that I should mention one profound person in the story - Dr Ghosh who stands out through the story. I will not write anything more about this book or its characters.

Cutting short my review, Abraham Verghese has created an amazing literary work which in my personal opinion didn't get much popularity in India. I would recommend Cutting For Stone who is looking out for a great read. This book will always be one of my favorite books.

Rating: 4.75/5  - Highly Recommended
Source: JustBooks Library, Bangalore
Year of Publication: 2009

Amazon Affiliate Link To Buy:Cutting for Stone (Vintage)

Angel by Colleen McCullough –Book Review

I very badly wanted to read ‘The Thorn Birds’ by Colleen McCullough, but couldn’t find it when I went to JustBooks library. Hence I decided to read Angel since I had read a good review somewhere on the net. I am not able to locate that page, but will add the link as soon I can locate it.

Plot

Harriet Purcell is a 21 year X-ray technician working in Queen’s Hospital Sydney in the year 1960. One day her co-worker Pappy(it’s a nickname) invites her to the house of her landlady Mrs. Delvecchio Schwartz.Mrs. Delvecchio Schwartz is the  owner of “The House” in a not so respectable locality in Sydney. When she meets Harriet, she offers her an apartment in the House. Harriet accepts and moves in despite protests from her family and long term boyfriend David.

Harriet develops an instant bond to Flo who is the four year old daughter of Mrs. Delvecchio Schwartz She is a fortune teller and she introduces her to the world of tarot cards and crystals. Harriet soon gets bonded with other inmates and she becomes a part of the House, a connection which she can no longer break. Moreover her bond with Flo who is a mute is something similar to what people feel about next to kin & she refers to as the Angel.

The rest of the story is all about different incidents in the life of all the inmates of the House – Toby who is an artist, Harold the lover of Mrs D, Bob & Jim who are a lesbian couple etc and Harriet’s deep love for Flo.

My Review

This book left me with mixed feelings. It was one of the books that I didn't want to put down without finishing it, but the tarot cards and crystals didn’t go well with me. Somehow I just couldn’t digest the fact that Mrs D could see what was coming by using her crystal ball and that she arranged things based on them.

The first person narration by Harriet Purcell is very nice, fully of humour. All the characters looks very genuine and true. More than that the author lets you have a non-judgemental look on lesbians, prostitutes and so called people. They are pictured as human beings with all so much love and care for their loved ones.

Midway through the story I liked the character of Harriet very much. Initially she was pictured as someone lacking courage, but she turns out to be someone who can look out for herself and her loved ones much better than most women in the world. She is funny, courageous and genuine. Her love towards Flo is not connected with any maternal instincts though she is very protective towards her loved ones.

Overall I liked reading Angel, though the theme of the story was not one of my liking. All I can see is that Angel is not a story that is anywhere near your expectation when you hear the title Angel.

Rating: 3/5

Source: JustBooks Library, Bangalore

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