4.5 stars, close to 5. It's a moving, superbly written story. It feels epic in scope, since it touches on so very many topics and issues and stretches across so many years. Yet it also feels tight and focused, and I wasn't ready for it to end when it did. 
 Descriptions of medical procedures, diagnoses and the like are often dull to me. Verghese demonstrates his extreme talent as a writer by making all of it interesting. The large draw for me was the characters. I loved Ghosh. I felt like I got to know all of the main characters very well, especially Marion, the book's narrator. 
 This one was awkward to finish on a plane, in the middle seat, for I shed many a tear. If you enjoy fantastic writing and don't mind your novels being more meaty than light and fluffy, I highly recommend this one.