There is so much humanity, so many poignant moments in the stories in this collection by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, that each one feels like it carries the weight of a century's worth of knowledge about some aspect of the human spirit, tradition, dedication, commitment, and the love for things greater than yourself --- your children, your homeland, whatever that may be. THE UNKNOWN ERRORS OF OUR LIVES is a seemingly slim volume that carries a million times its book weight in beauty.

In "The Lives of Strangers," a young woman who has survived her own suicide attempt ends up finding great empathy for a mysteriously quiet yet strong Indian woman on a trip to Kashmir. This is the kind of story that wins awards, big awards, the kind of awards that get the story read in English classes all around the country for years to come. Divakaruni is at the height of her powers as a storyteller here, and then goes on to top this wondrous achievement with the story "What the Body Knows," about a new mother's difficult journey between life and death and what pulls her safely to the other side. These are the small moments, the exquisite details of the emotional lives of women who have experienced the Mardi Gras side of capitalist America but who know that the answer to their souls' very being lies with the old world traditions and family experiences left behind in India. These stories are about the building of bridges between old and new, even if, in the end, old seems more substantial. Divakaruni's work is disquieting but remarkably profound.

It is rare to find stories that mark you in such a way, as if you had been an eyewitness to some truly horrible event, then had the lucky chance to walk away unscathed, except for the inner pictures you carry with you from that day. Whatever you learn from these near-miss situations is summed up in Divakaruni's THE UNKNOWN ERRORS OF OUR LIVES --- time is fleeting, carpe diem, everything old is new again. The hearts and minds of these characters will matter to you as if they are members of your own family --- and the honest and utter pain and spirit with which these (mostly) women face their predicaments will haunt you well into your own life, every day of it. You don't have to be Indian to get the gist of what she's saying. THE UNKNOWN ERRORS OF OUR LIVES is a great literary achievement.

   --- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano