I am die hard CBD fan since the day I have read Palace of Illusions… Prior to that I had read Mistress of Spices but somehow it didn’t leave a very very lasting impression on me unlike the palace of illusions and after that whatever books I have read from her, I have loved them too…. So when I saw this book at jumped at it 🙂
The novel is set in the Indian Consulate in where else but the United States, 7 different people have come to apply for an Indian Visa and are waiting for their turn irritated and apprehensive….U can actually sense the hurry of people to get away from their….. The two visa officers are going in their usual task while masking their feelings for each other… and then a tragedy strikes in the form of an earthquake and all of them get stuck together while counting minutes for their death.
There is utter chaos with different people trying to establish the leadership, trying to trust each other and yet not able to in the given circumstances till a girl flipping through “Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales” for her college project suggests that each one of them share with others “One Amazing Thing” that changed their life… A game which I am sure all of us have played when we joined college or in late night camps… And yet who knew that when turned into a book we will have “One Amazing Novel”:)
The characters are so beautifully characterised, they are so varied but yet each one of them has amazing depth which is no small feat when you have 9 main characters in a book. Some of the stories that come out of the characters are little predictable and some totally take you by surprise but each of them is refreshingly fresh and pleasant to read.
The book could well be called a collection of short stories weaved together in a beautiful narrative and gripping background. The elements of the earthquake the falling building, leaking gas and things like this keep coming back to you in regular intervals.
What I loved about the book most though was the ending. Some people might be disappointed with the ending and say it was abrupt but its exactly that which I loved. There is so much there for your interpretation and thought process that the book stays with you for a long time even after you keep it down.
All in all a book that I truly loved and I think with this I finally found an author after a long long long time truly worth becoming a fan of…
Rating 4/5
Book One Amazing Thing
Authors Chitra Banerjee Dviakaruni
Price Rs 450/-
