Mad love within Cutting for Stone

I believe in fate...but I've always worried that when fate kicks in somehow I'd get screwed.  Kind of like Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" lyrics.  I worry that when I finally find love something will go wrong & I'll only experience it for a short amount of time.  A tease.

I just finished reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  I enjoyed this 600+ page book.  SPOILER ALERT for anyone planning on reading it.  It took me a while to get past page 10, but once I did, the book was well written and kept me going with new things happening over the course of some one's life.  While there are many things that I can talk about, the story has so many layers of interesting things - I am choosing to write about the main character's love for a girl - since that is something I can relate to.

Growing up, Marion loves Genet - a neighbor who at times is more like a sister - and expected to marry her and love her forever.  As they reach adolescence, Genet becomes more curious about sex and wants to loose her virginity but Marion says not until they are married (what a gentleman!).  So what does Genet do?  She sleeps with Marion's twin brother!  A few other things happen...Genet screws Marion over again.  All this while Marion has a love-hate feelings for Genet (and his brother).  When she shows up at his door much later on - what happens? He takes her in - he finally has sex with her - in a demeaning kind of way at first (also looses his virginity to her - as he always promised). She stays for 3 days I think and leaves.  Six weeks later Marion is close to death from Hepatitis B that he contracted from Genet.  On his death bed, his twin who he still had ill feelings towards decides to help save Marion by offering part of his liver - it works, it saves Marion, but a week later his twin died.

Marion was a stand-up man and had a lot going for him.  He feel in love with the wrong girl that ultimately affected the rest of his life.  Just as something good happened, something bad also happened.  You sit there reading wondering if Marion can overcome these hurdles.  Why is fate so crazy?  

I was able to relate to having the love of your life show up and not knowing what to do (not that it has happened, but it is one of those things you always think about).  After so much time has past - do you forgive them or continue to harbour ill feelings?  Marion handled it close to what I would have done, no doubt about that.  When someone you once loved comes to you in need - you help them regardless.  Towards the end of the book Marion said "I wasn't angry with Genet.  She was consistent, if nothing else.  I was angry with myself because I always loved her, or at least I loved that dream of our togetherness.  My feelings were unreasonable, irrational and I couldn't change them. That hurt."

How perfect is that statement? That summarizes everything I have thought about SI.  I have felt that people don't understand my way of thinking or understand the kind of hurt.  While this is a work of fiction - I feel that Abraham Verghese was able to capture that emotion that I can relate to while so many others have not.  To me SI wasn't just some chap I dated; but to find the words, if any exist, to convey my feelings is difficult.