Midlife at the Oasis
I was hooked immediately…. The book will make a great movie…with actresses vying for the roles of these strong, unforgettable characters.
BookBrowser Review
The Story Hour is…a compelling testament to the power of story to unite people, transcend differences, and ultimately heal both the self and relationships.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
[a] thoughtful and moving new novel...
Booklist
Skillful…. Much like a therapy session, this deft, well-paced novel contains breakthroughs and growth, and, at its end, leaves the reader wistful that the allotted time on the couch has run out.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Thrity Umrigar’s novel The Story Hour showcases her ability to bring to life characters who are…sympathetic yet flawed in ways we can all relate to.… I read deep into the night to find out how their stories end, and I predict you will, too!
Luis Alberto Urrea
Thrity Umrigar has an uncanny ability to look deeply into the human heart and find the absolute truth of our lives. The Story Hour is stunning and beautiful. Lakshmi and Maggie will stay with readers for a very long time.
O Magazine
Past misdeeds threaten the friendship of a psychologist and her immigrant patient in a fictional tale that asks, are we more than the sum of our mistakes?
Paula McClain
With grace, wisdom and incredible compassion, Thrity Umrigar has woven together the lives of two seemingly dissimilar women who must learn—against steep odds—to forgive each other and themselves.
Boston Globe
“A taut, suspenseful page-turner with depth, heart, and psychological credibility whose believable and enduring characters ponder the meaning of friendship, the challenges of marriage, and the value of storytelling itself.
Library Journal - Audio
11/15/2014
Lakshmi, an immigrant Indian woman in a loveless marriage, tries to kill herself. In the aftermath, her therapist, Maggie, bends the rules of medical practice to be a friend to her patient. She helps Lakshmi start her own catering and housecleaning business and address issues with her husband. Lakshmi slowly reveals her life by telling stories to Maggie, who is not always sympathetic to the pressures of Indian culture. When Lakshmi discovers that her therapist is having an affair, the consequence of her impulsive response reverberate through the women's lives. Umrigar (Bombay Time) beautifully captures the lyric cadence of her Indian characters' speech and carefully crafts these individuals to show both strengths and flaws. The work is skillfully read by Sneha Mathan. VERDICT Recommended for listeners who enjoy tales of women's lives. ["This satisfying, psychologically complex story will appeal to a wide range of readers," read the starred review of the Harper hc, LJ 7/14.]—Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence
DECEMBER 2014 - AudioFile
The central female characters at the heart of this novel come together through a series of meetings, as psychiatrist Maggie gives her immigrant patient, Lakshmi, treatment for attempted suicide. Narrator Sneha Mathan captures the vast differences between being an African-American woman and an Indian woman living in the U.S. She’s most successful in the vocalization of Maggie, evoking a confident, thoughtful persona through deliberate, enunciated speech. The Indian-accented English used to characterize Lakshmi is hard on the ear. The purposeful grammatical errors the author uses to create the rhythm of nonnative English further limits Mathan. Thankfully, the characters alternate chapters, and the listener has some respite from the otherwise likable Lakshmi. M.R. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
