A Year of Wednesdays-Sonia Bahl

Book: A Year of Wednesdays

Author: Sonia Bahl

Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing

“Can one meeting change everything forever?

The Japanese have a term for it: Ichi-go ichi-e. One Time, one encounter, lasts a lifetime.”

A Year of Wednesdays is based on this Japanese term. The book opens with 2 people flying from Delhi to New York, two people who have nothing in common, polar opposites, sitting in Seat 7A and 7B. On 7A we have a cool Wall-Street guy, and on 7B is sitting a mom of two kids, who is happy that the toddler is sleeping peacefully. Over the 15 hours of flight, these polar opposites discuss their life with wit, debate and sarcastic comments. Cut to New York, 7A invites 7B for a cup of expresso at the best coffee place in New York, an invitation that 7B declines curtly.

And this is where the story begins. Over the course of one year since this meeting, the conversations unfold. The story moves with each Wednesday of the year, alternating with the life of seat 7A & 7B. Be it a trading success party of 7A or a play at the son of 7B, both of them reflect upon the conversation in the flight, affecting them and their life in some manner. Starting off as polar opposites, over the course of the year, we see that they are much more alike. With the life of 7A seeming perfect-perfect job, perfect lifestyle, perfect fiancé, successful and 7B being a successful mom, juggling a career as an environmentalist and a home maker, it is their conversations that start affecting their decisions. When 7A suffers a terrible loss, he starts taking those conversations a bit more seriously and we see a sudden change in his life. We don’t see much change in the life of 7A, except when she sees the news and rushes to the coffee shop that 7B had suggested and her life takes a turn.

The book is wonderfully written and the alternating chapters on the happenings in the life of the two protagonists is seamless. Sonia has created the characters at the polar ends, hence relating with both of them at times is but natural. The conversations are motivating at times and sometimes funny to the core. They met only once but in their lives, they interacted daily, in their heads but changing each other, bit by bit. The characters are relateable and the storyline is crisp. It has humour as well as witty charm.

The ending of the story is truly unexpected and amazing. The chapter is aptly named and written beautifully. The entire story gets summarized in that chapter, that moment.

I would rate the book 4/5.