Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is my favorite story teller. And my belief in her just got stronger after reading this book. It is amazing how she tells story of different people, belonging to different cultures, age groups, and yet none of them feels out of place.
Trapped in a building wrecked by earthquake, waiting for death or freedom – whichever comes first, these people decide to tell each other story of their lives. Each story is as unique and surprising as the other. What touches you most is the simplicity of each character. Each trapped in their own lives, wishing to get away, start afresh. The earthquake crisis seems to be acting like a metaphor at times.
The book starts at a quite slow pace. And if you haven’t read Chitra’s works before, you might be even tempted to leave it after first few pages. But keep faith and soon you would be rushing through the pages, just to find out what happens next in the story that a particular character might be narrating. The end is surprisingly abrupt. But it is apt. Any other ending would have sounded cliched.
I would rate it at 3 of 5 stars.
Sounds like a very interesting read….thank you for reviewing it Puja
I’d like to read it sometime
it surely is an interesting read…!! Hope you like it as much as I did
I have read her Palace of Illusions and Sister of my Heart and enjoyed both… guess I am going to read this one too.
all i can say is lets see IF and when i get time …
I know what you are saying.. Recently there was a phase of no book reading thanks to time constraints and it was killing me!!! Thankfully – abhi gaddi raste par vaapis aa gayi hai!
Another interesting book!
Sigh… I wish I had picked this one up in Bangalore.. but, I didn’t!
Let me try the local library here now…
Oh… I hope you get it there!
I remember you had recommended her first…that’s when I got the Palace of Illusions. Loved her rendition … might pick this up too!
Yup you should!!! Or let me give it to you when you come to Bangalore!
Wntd to pick this one on its release itself yet hv nt done so till now. Ur review says I must make amends soon
I was hesitant in picking it up initially… the plot sounded too cliched.. but then I decided to go with my instinct and so bought it only because I loved her other books!
Thanks for reviewing it, Puja! Glad you liked some of the other books, too. FYI, One Amazing Thing has been optioned for a film recently. Please keep your fingers crossed. Details of my upcoming novel are on my facebook page, if you want to check it out. http://www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni
Chitra Divakaruni
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Shall be looking forward to the film based on this book!
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