The Story Hour

Summary (from the publisher): From the critically beloved, bestselling author of The World We Found and The Space Between Us, whom the New York Times Book Review calls a "perceptive and . . . piercing writer," comes a profound, heartbreakingly honest novel about friendship, family, secrets, forgiveness, and second chances

An experienced psychologist, Maggie carefully maintains emotional distance from her patients. But when she meets a young Indian woman who tried to kill herself, her professional detachment disintegrates. Cut off from her family in India, Lakshmi is desperately lonely and trapped in a loveless marriage to a domineering man who limits her world to their small restaurant and grocery store.

Moved by her plight, Maggie treats Lakshmi in her home office for free, quickly realizing that the despondent woman doesn't need a shrink; she needs a friend. Determined to empower Lakshmi as a woman who feels valued in her own right, Maggie abandons protocol, and soon doctor and patient have become close friends.

But while their relationship is deeply affectionate, it is also warped by conflicting expectations. When Maggie and Lakshmi open up and share long-buried secrets, the revelations will jeopardize their close bond, shake their faith in each other, and force them to confront painful choices.

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.

This novel is about the friendship that develops between two unlikely women, and how that relationship subsequently alters their lives. Lakshmi is an Indian woman, living a lonely, isolated life in America with a husband who doesn't love her. When Lakshmi attempts suicide to escape her lonely life, she meets Maggie, a psychologist who is also married to an Indian man. Despite Maggie's attempts to keep their relationship professional, Lakshmi's desperation for a friend leads Maggie to break all the rules that call for distance from her patients.

I have to admit that I was a little dismayed when I read the first page of this book, which is written in the first person from Lakshmi's perspective and captures her imperfect English language skills. "I begins. Dear Shilpa - I writes. Belief me when I say not single day pass in six years that I not thought of you" (3). However, I found myself not being thrown off by Lakshmi's voice, but finding her distinctive voice endearing by the end of the novel. I did find it odd that the chapters from Maggie's perspective's are in third person rather than also being in first person, however, the first person narrative with incorrect grammar and word usage by Lakshmi is a more authentic voice, and allows the reader to quickly surmise whose perspective we are seeing.

I liked Lakshmi much better than Maggie (and not only because of Maggie's infidelity to her devoted husband.) Although I sympathized with Maggie's difficulty in dealing with the many terrible cases she treats with her patients, I also found her at times cruel. "So much pain. So many secrets. She felt burdened by the weight of other people's secrets, their grief, their trust" (36). Yet this same, seemingly compassionate individual, is quick to snap at Lakshmi, "She pulled out a metal box, which Maggie immediately recognized [...] the box in which Indians carried hot lunches to the office. What the hell? Did the woman think she was staying for dinner?" (77) - turns out Lakshmi was just bringing Maggie food as payment for free treatment.

Although Maggie does help Lakshmi start a burgeoning catering business, it's only because of Maggie's husband's insistence. Maggie, on the other hand, is quick to snap at Lakshmi and quick to tell everyone (in Lakshmi's hearing) that Lakshmi isn't her friend. Lakshmi seems sweet, caring, generous, and thoughtful towards everyone, so it was heartbreaking to see her sadness at her attempts at friendship rebuffed. On the other hand, I think Maggie is doing the best she can, and much of her short temper is concern that she is crossing the line with her patient.

Although it seems as though Lakshmi is the one that stands to benefit from Maggie and her husband's generosity, Lakshmi also helps Maggie realize how careless she's been with the things she loves the most. In the end, I think both women save each other, leading to happier, more honest, and more fulfilling lives than before they met.

As you can tell by the focus of my review, this book is ultimately about relationships - between friends, relatives, and spouses. It was touching to see Lakshmi and her husband finally begin to connect after six long years of a cold marriage. Likewise, I felt that the conclusion of the novel was hopeful for Maggie and her husband to work things out. This was an endearing book about unlikely friends making connections against the odds and despite cultural and social divides.

Stars: 4