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A review by perednia
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
4.0
A disparate group of strangers put their lives on hold in an Indian consulate in an unnamed American city one day, whether seeking travel visas or putting in another dreary day at work. There is nearly a palpable sense of being in a hurry to return to real life.
Until an earthquake hits. And life will never be the same for any of those strangers who are now forced to get to know each other.
Divakaruni gives her characters full rein to run the gamut of emotions and reactions, from panic to heroism to fighting and sneaking a smoke. But it is when one of them, thinking of her college course copy of Chaucer in her pack, proposes that each of them tell a story about one amazing thing that happened in their lives, that this novel comes to life.
The characters and their stories are pleasingly varied. All of them carry at least a tinge of poignancy. Some are especially compelling, perhaps in part because the characters to whom they belong seemed the least likely to be interesting. The little boy who found comfort in numbers, for example, carries an understated emotional wallop precisely because the author does not layer on the pathos with a trowel.
The ending may not satisfy some readers as the present day situation becomes more dire. And many of the characters' stories seem to exist within a vacuum, with little more than a passing glance at their current life.
However, readers who do not require having everything spelled out for them and all the timeline dots connected will find many small treasures in this novel.
Until an earthquake hits. And life will never be the same for any of those strangers who are now forced to get to know each other.
Divakaruni gives her characters full rein to run the gamut of emotions and reactions, from panic to heroism to fighting and sneaking a smoke. But it is when one of them, thinking of her college course copy of Chaucer in her pack, proposes that each of them tell a story about one amazing thing that happened in their lives, that this novel comes to life.
The characters and their stories are pleasingly varied. All of them carry at least a tinge of poignancy. Some are especially compelling, perhaps in part because the characters to whom they belong seemed the least likely to be interesting. The little boy who found comfort in numbers, for example, carries an understated emotional wallop precisely because the author does not layer on the pathos with a trowel.
The ending may not satisfy some readers as the present day situation becomes more dire. And many of the characters' stories seem to exist within a vacuum, with little more than a passing glance at their current life.
However, readers who do not require having everything spelled out for them and all the timeline dots connected will find many small treasures in this novel.