One Amazing Thing [Paperback]

From the acclaimed author ofThe Palace of Illusions, nine strangers are forced to connect in the wake of a natural disaster in this emotionally thrilling novel.

"Powerful and beautifully written." —Lisa See, author ofShanghai Girls

Late afternoon sun sneaks through the windows of a passport and visa office in an unnamed American city. Most customers and even most office workers have come and gone, but nine people remain. A punky teenager with an unexpected gift. An upper-class Caucasian couple whose relationship is disintegrating. A young Muslim-American man struggling with the fallout of 9/11. A graduate student haunted by a question about love. An African-American ex-soldier searching for redemption. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past. And two visa office workers on the verge of an adulterous affair.

When an earthquake rips through the afternoon lull, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first jolts to their collective struggle to survive. There's little food. The office begins to flood. Then, at a moment when the psychological and emotional stress seems nearly too much for them to bear, the young graduate student suggests that each tell a personal tale, "one amazing thing" from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself.

One Amazing Thingis a passionate creation about survival—and what makes life worth fighting for.Chitra Divakaruniis an award-winning and bestselling novelist and poet. She is the author of fourteen books in all, including the short story collectionThe Unknown Errors of Our Livesand the novelsSister of My Heart, The Mistress of Sl