![]() The journey the two of them embark on together must begin with love, Rune thinks. There’s a feeling that yes, this particular story matters in this particular iteration, but also that this story has come in many other familiar iterations before. The generality of the characters’ names reflects this: Somebody McSomebody, third-sister, the milkman. This is, after all, his own nightmare, though in his dream the culprit is always leprosy. Milkman is a novel that feels almost mythical, bigger than itself. Of Digby’s hands Verghese writes: “The spectacle of these ruined tools of a surgeon’s livelihood fills Rune with sorrow. ![]() ![]() These passages provide some of the book’s most moving and revelatory moments. ![]() When Digby, badly burned in an accidental fire, flees to a remote leprosy sanctuary to recover, he is slowly repaired there by the (marvelously drawn) Swedish village doctor Rune Orqvist. Verghese folds in major players, guiding them toward each other: the irresistible Digby Kilgour, a young medical graduate, migrates in 1933 from a nightmare childhood in Glasgow to Madras, India, to gain surgical experience: “The sight of suffering is familiar its language transcends all borders.” Medical crises incite action throughout the novel, allowing Verghese to tap into his deep experience and endearingly humane philosophy. ![]()
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