Yesterday evening I fell walking the Boo, and got to spend the evening in the ED being monitored. Woo!
While I was there, I read some more Cutting For Stone. And I have to say I'm having a really hard time getting into it.
It sort of feels like it's trying to be this big epic involving a health clinic, the coming of age of two boys, with the backdrop of Ethiopia. Kind of like Salman Rushdie did with Midnight's Children (except there was no health clinic pretext, and Midnight's Children took place in India).
Only Cutting For Stone is just not as good as Midnight's Children. I find myself not giving a crap about any of the characters, or what happens to the health clinic or to Ethiopia. Pretty much the only parts I've found interesting have been the medicine and surgical references. Kind of like, "Ooh! I know what that is." And then we move back to the twins or Hema and I find myself not giving a shit again.
The only issue is that a number of people have told me that this book is The Best Book They Have Ever Read(TM) and I feel somewhat obliged to at least try and finish it (I'm at 37% now).
Not sure why I care.... after all I think I'm basically the only person alive who liked "Look at Me" by Jennifer Egan or "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood, and that doesn't make me like those books any less.
So this morning I downloaded a bunch of books off of Project Gutenberg, which at very least, even if I don't like a single one, at least were free. And I bought "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which, hey -- I know it's not high literature -- but at least it isn't trying to be.
Hopefully I'll find at least one of these books to be enjoyable.
7 Pearls of Wisdom:
I feel like I just had this conversation with one of my friends- she hated Cutting for Stone and I loved it. She also has great literary taste and I happen to think I do too (maybe not?) but we differed on this book. She cited all the same reasons that you did, whereas I found the story compelling and loved his style of writing. To each his own!
I'm halfway through Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi. Enjoying it. You may also want to check out TED talks, which at 20 or 30 minutes each, would be just the right length for a new mom's schedule. You will find many topics of interest, and I thought of you after I watched one last night: http://www.ted.com/
I often find that I don't like the same books as other people, so I've given up trying to read the latest new book that everyone is reading. I personally loved Cat's Eye, so there are at least two of us in this world who like it.
I started cutting for stone the other night because i too heard it was really good- I'm at 13% and I agree it's hard to get in to. FWIW, the shopaholic series is one of my faves- I've read them all twice, at least.
I read to my children everyday of their childhood and often guided their choices of reading materials. As a result, all of my children are voratious readers and often give me books to read that they enjoyed. I find that I often don't care as much for the book as they did. But it is nice to have proof that I did at least that part of the job correctly.
I enjoyed Cutting for Stone, but did find it got better further into the book. I read his autobiographical account of his practice during the start of the AIDS crisis (My Own Country) to be spectacularly good, and I enjoyed it better than Cutting. YMMV.
Congrats on the Orals!
I finished Cutting for Stone and while there were parts that I enjoyed, overall I think that it is a book that can be skipped. The most amazing book I have read in a very long time is Unbroken about a WWII POW. I'm not usually a big fan of books involving war but this man's TRUE story is simply amazing.
Also, congratulations on the baby. Hope everyone goes well for you. I don't comment much but I do enjoy your blog. I am currently a SAHM and love reading about someone who is doing something totally different and awesome.
Post a Comment