Book Review: This is Chance! by Jon Mooallem

I liked this story – when it told its story and didn’t divert into ancillary information about the history of Alaska – but do have some issues with the way the book was presented as a whole. The story starts out fascinating, describing the immediate moments before the earthquake and then quickly throwing the reader into the turmoil of the event itself. The majority of the book that focuses on the earthquake and its aftermath – the proclaimed point according to the cover and blurb – was very interesting. It was well-presented and compellingly-written and I really enjoyed learning about this bit of American history. There were a number of areas entwined with that narrative where the author delivered what I felt was a bit more history of Alaska than this particular book called for though and I found those distracting. They yanked me out of the flow of the narrative about the disaster itself in a way that felt tangential rather than intentional.

I also questioned the decision to provide the entirety of Genie Chance’s life in the middle of the narrative about the earthquake and it’s aftermath. That felt very odd to me and dissonant in the read. Tying up her life in the course of the book did not bother me per se, but where this was placed in the narrative did not feel logical or coherent. It also felt a little slap-dash – the entirety of her remaining life, which was apparently chock full of fascinating events and actions she undertook, felt summarized rather than presented. I thought the book was wrapping up in a hurry (but wasn’t sure why), then suddenly was thrown back into the earthquake narrative. It was confusing…

I also found it a little odd that the author repeatedly referred to himself in the third person at the end of the book. I got the Our Town references, and the concept of the omniscient narrator, but still found it a little unusual and to feel odd in the course of reading.

But despite what I’ve said, do NOT be dissuaded by those things – I still really enjoyed this read. There’s a great, surprising, and uplifting story here about community and coming together in response to natural disaster, and that story was a great one. It’s a bit of history I wasn’t familiar with and one I found intriguing and definitely worth the read. Just be aware that you may have to meander a bit to get to it all.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.