Cutting for Stone

Marion travels from Nairobi to New York City. He finds the customs experience dehumanizing, as he is subjected to questioning and X-rays that no one looks at. In a taxi, he is surprised by the silence of the traffic and the scale of everything in America. He is also dismayed by the driver’s disrespect, who seems to have immigrated as well but ignores Marion. He theorizes that the man is teaching him how to behave in America: One must be independent. The driver gets angry and waves a gun at him, but Marion is not impressed.

He has several internship interviews set up in the city, but when he gets to the first at Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, he realizes that they consider him already hired. The caretaker, Mr. Pomeranz, shows him to his room, talking about how previous doctors from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka taught him to love cricket and return for an alumni game every year. Marion is invited by the other residents to watch a cricket game, and he smells familiar spices and hears Indian music playing. He feels a little homesick. The other doctors are thrilled that he plays cricket in a position missing from their team.