Lee's Library

When I started this book I had no idea that it would end up being my favourite book of the year.  It was so unexpectedly moving and brilliant that I am still shocked it's over.  Abraham Verghese writes the kind of story that makes you a part of his world.  A hospital
compound in Ethiopia inhabited by an eclectic but warm cast of characters who form a tight knit family and who experience all sorts of upheaval from failed political coup attempts to extreme medical emergencies. 

I found the amount of medical detail quite fascinating but I imagine not everyone would.  It does create very vivid pictures and sometimes uncomfortable reactions while reading but for me, it made sense, as every main character in the book is a physician.  The story took me to the very edge of life and death, love and suffering and then left me in a place of peace.  A really wonderful reading experience. 

Reviewed August 2009