Return to Missing
Return to Missing (original title: Cutting for Stone) is the debut novel of the Indian-American doctor Abraham Verghese from 2009. As in his two autobiographical non-fiction books, Verghese allows personal experiences, here his youth in Ethiopia , to flow into the family saga, if he also emphasizes that the work is not entirely autobiographical.
action
In 1954, twin brothers Marion and Shiwa were born in a missionary hospital in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia , called "Missing" by the locals. Their Indian mother died in childbirth. The British father has fled and they are adopted by doctors Gosh and his wife, ethnic Indians. The protagonists experience a largely carefree childhood in the desperately poor country of Haile Selassies , but develop apart despite a common interest in medicine. Their relationship then breaks up completely due to their rivalry over the girl Genet. After the death of their adoptive father and forced emigration, however, they are forced to come to terms again.
reception
- FAZ: "... even if the book could pass as a medical textbook over passages and the agglomeration of anatomical details sometimes strains the limits of patience and pain, the reader is compensated for everything: with great emotions, with clever thoughtfulness and with pictures of melancholy Beauty."
- The book sold very steadily over a long period of time and was # 2 on the NY Times bestseller list two years after it appeared, with over 1 million copies sold.
- It was on the extended list of candidates for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards and won the 2010 Indies Choice Book Award.