February 2010

ONE AMAZING THING by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni takes place in a passport office somewhere here in the United States when an earthquake hits and the nine people waiting for visas for travel to India are all trapped.

Given the recent coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, the terror that grips this group will be palpable. They become united in the task of surviving and shake out the roles of leaders and followers. As they are awaiting rescue, each member of the group tells one story about their lives, something that they have not previously shared. As they talk, their survival story gets placed on the backburner as readers instead are drawn into the stories of what came before this moment. Each character speaks of deep truths, and through them we learn so much about them --- and often the story I had preconceived about them was shattered. Reading it reminded me of all the wonderful stories I have heard on airplanes through the years --- the kinds of things that are shared when you know you are with strangers whose lives will part from yours as you exit the plane and leave baggage claim. ONE AMAZING THING will have you thinking about the one story that you would tell. And the ending will give you much to discuss..