Review by anniekg - Cutting for Stone

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anniekg 's review for:

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

4.25

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I really enjoyed reading this book and it didn't feel that long despite its length. I was still sad when it was over and wanted to keep accompanying the characters. I found the explorations of family, identity, grudges and forgiveness, surgery and health, inequality, politics all super interesting. It was a fascinating way to learn more about the history of Ethiopia which I knew next to nothing about. I liked the way the stories wove together.

However, my main complaint, and why despite really enjoying the book I'm not rating it higher, is around the treatment of Gennet as a character. I know that a just because a protagonist thinks a certain way or behaves a certain way doesn't mean the author is condoning it, but I hated how Marion treated and thought about Gennet.

And while Marion goes on to forgive men who hurt him, namely Thomas Stone and his brother Shiva, I don't recall him really forgiving Gennet. And it sort of implies it's her fault he almost died from Hep B but he raped her! And that isn't addressed at all. Like she tried to stop him, at least maybe she was going to suggest a condom or something, but he just starts having sex with her, which to me is not consensual.

In general the Gennet storyline felt a bit misogynist to me, and maybe that was the author's point, to show how Marion's attitude was not ok, but I would have liked

a less tragic storyline for Gennet, full of so much trauma and just a pitiful end

Content Warnings