Finally, I finished Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I had read a review in 2010 by a book blogger who loved this book, so I went in with high expectations. It took me three weeks to read, which is a long time for me to spend on one book. The book wasn’t bad enough for me to abandon but not good enough for me to devour, which is quite frustrating. It’s not poorly written, but the character development is weak, especially the development of one of the main female characters (Genet), and the plot moves from tedious and plodding to rambling and implausible. The author, quite obviously, is a surgeon, and an excessive amount of the prose is dedicated to (often gross) details of medical conditions and surgical procedures, which was a problem for someone who reads while eating. If Verghese had omitted all of the medical school informataion, I might have finished the novel in a week and actually enjoyed it. I’m glad I finished the damn thing, but I won’t be recommending it to friends. Now, on to January, my month to read the Russians. First up, Crime and Punishment; Raskolnikov, here I come!
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4 comments:
Oh, wow! I had high hopes for that book, too, but have been reading mixed reviews on it. I gauge books that way too! If it takes too long to get through, chances are it's not a must read that I would recommend to people...perhaps to those that like a certain genre, but not everyone. Some books I plow through and wish there was more at the end...leaving me thinking about it for days...now those kinds of books are real treats :) Here's hoping you find some better reads in January :D
I feel I don't have a lot time to read anyway, so if I'm going to spend weeks on a book, it's going to have to be a classic. Maybe if I were retired and getting to read all the time, my attitude would be different.
I used to think that, too. However, (and I'm not retired) so I am guessing, that my attitude won't change then either. I just feel there are way too many books out there to torture myself to finish a book, even for review. I had to do plenty of that in college and if it's not for a grade, then I simply pass. ;) I appreciate your honest review, too!
You are so right about the amount of books versus the time to read!
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