Book Review: The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: August 19, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

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.

The Story Hour is about the relationship of Maggie and Lakshmi and their journey from patient/therapist to friends. It’s also about their individual personal lives, especially their marriages. Both women have secrets which were shocking to me as a reader and to each other when they are revealed. At no time was this story predictable, which I loved.

I liked that Maggie and Lakshmi were both flawed. There was no good guy/bad guy juxtaposition. They were both so well-drawn. Everything they did was organic and authentic. I sympathized with them at times and at other times I wanted to reach through the pages and shake them.

Because I loved The World We Found, I had high hopes for The Story Hour. I was not disappointed – it’s an amazing book.

(I received this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.)