- Why do you think that the book is divided into four parts?
- What do the multiple epigraphs have to do with each part of the book?
- In Cutting for Stone, what is Genet's role? Is she really her own person, or more of an invention for Marion?
- Most of the novel's characters are living very far from their places of birth. Why do you think that the author focuses on outsiders?
- What is the effect of the in-depth description of medical procedures?
- How would the novel be different if Shiva were the narrator rather than Marion?
- How do the historical events of the novel relate to the characters' personal lives? What's the effect of their inclusion on the reader?
- If you were to cast the movie version of Cutting for Stone, whom would you choose to play Marion and Shiva?