A portion of the Hippocratic Oath reads: "I will not cut for stone", meaning a doctor was not to take on the menial task of performing surgery on a kidney stone, a role that at the time was limited to surgeons. Nevertheless, Abraham Verghese's novel Cutting for Stone takes readers through the lives of four surgeons, with the primary focus on twin, orphaned brothers Shiva and Marion in Ethiopia. Although Verghese is also a doctor, and the field of medicine is a common theme that intertwines the boys' lives, the novel is about more than medicine. It's also about the brothers' love for the same woman, and the political and internal turmoil of living in war-torn Ethiopia. Larry talks with Abraham Verghese about his new book.