Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Sunday, December 25, 2016

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

How I Heard About It:  I remembering seeing this book cover both in the bookstore and on different online sites.  I found both the title and cover quite interesting.  While grabbing a bunch of different audio books from the public library I added this one to the pile.  I was ready for an adult novel for my commute to and from work.  

What It Is About:  Lakshmi is an Indian woman living in the United States after an arranged marriage to an American man.  Her life isn't what she thought it would become and finds herself in a desperate "life-altering" situation.  She finds herself in the hospital.  While in the hospital she meets Maggie a therapist.  The two of them form a "professional" relationship that consists of therapy sessions where Lakshmi shares stories from her childhood, her life in America in a "loveless" marriage, and the devastation of losing a friend that she really didn't know that well, but meant the world to her.  Maggie is also dealing with her own personal "demons".  She is in a great marriage, but finds herself looking for something "new" and "different".  When Lakshmi "stumbles" upon Maggie and "someone else", both these women's lives are turned upside down and changed forever.  

What I Thought Of It:  When I first started listening I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the story.  After a few "listens" in the car, I slowly became more and more invested and involved with the story.  I loved how it was about so many different things.  It focused on Lakshmi's story, Maggie's story, and the story of both woman intersecting each others lives.  I'm always a reader who loves reading about characters with many secrets and this certainly was a story with more than one secret.  The writing was incredible, the plot moved along at a reasonable pace, and the variety of characters introduced were top-notch.  I'm so glad I gave this book a chance, and got to experience the beauty of the narration.  

Who Should Read It:  In my opinion this is the perfect novel for readers who love novels published for adults.  It really has everything that adult readers look for in a work of fiction.  Readers who enjoy reading about different cultures and their people will also find this a wonderful read.  I highly recommend it.  Happy Reading…

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars

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