One amazing thing, by Chitra Divakaruni

 

I really enjoyed this short (220 page) novel by Chitra Divakaruni. A random group of people are trapped in a visa office in an Indian consulate in an unnamed American city. To pass the time and stave off anxiety, one of the women suggests that each person tell a story about one amazing thing that happened to them. The rest of the book consists of each person telling their story interspersed with their increasingly anxious efforts to survive in the cold, rising water, with occasional rumbles and aftershocks. Each of the stories reveals something deep and personal about the speaker. Very well written and enjoyable, although the ending is a little abrupt and (spoiler alert) leaves it to the reader to guess whether the ominous sounds coming from above are rescuers getting close or the building settling around them.