One of the major themes in Cutting for Stone is that life is full of pain and suffering. Oof.
Well, the good news is that it manages to be a pretty uplifting story, anyway. No, suffering can't be avoided, but the characters in this novel just find a way to live with it. The key is in compassion: in fact, a number of characters say that they believe that relieving others' suffering is their purpose in life.
There's plenty of suffering to relieve, too, considering that the novel takes place in a hospital.
Questions About Suffering
- Why do you think that the author spends such an enormous chunk of the book telling about Sister Mary Joseph Praise's suffering and death?
- What does suffering have to do with medicine in the novel? Can suffering and medicine be separated?
- Is there a difference between the suffering depicted in Ethiopia and the suffering depicted in the U.S.?