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This is a beautifully and confidently written book, which I found refreshing. The author knows exactly what he wants to say and says it briskly and directly. It is full of minutiae that I found engrossing. The overall story is genuinely moving if a little meandering. Verghese takes his time in the mind of each character and they are alive and believable.

But I can’t shake my discomfort at the treatment of the Genet character. She’s the closest thing to a villain here and yet her supposed crimes don’t ring true. So many writers use the autonomy and sexual freedom of young women as a proxy for evil. Here it seems to be the primary motivating evil of the plot. I understand why Marion is hurt but the blame does not rest on Genet. At least not in any significant way. The author seems to forget that Genet is as alive, free, and human as his protagonist. Anyway this bugged me early on and only got worse in the final act.

Still though a powerful touching book.

I'm glad I started the year with this. I spent my weekend on this and have no regrets. ShivaMarion had me invested in their story through and through. It was emotional without being melodramatic. The writing is poignant and poetic in places. I'd seen some people complain that medical procedures and ailments were described in an unnecessary amount of detail, but as someone interested in human anatomy, I found these details captivating. The only minor complaint I have is about not getting to see more of the twins' birth mother's perspective, but then this is not her story, anyway.