Book talk: The year is 1947, and a big change is coming to India. After years of colonial rule, the British government is withdrawing and Partitioning the country. Soon there will be a new country, where Muslims are the majority, called Pakistan. The move was meant to create peace, but the opposite is happening. Bloody riots are becoming routine as religious tensions rise and millions of refugees flee one country for the other. In a town near the border, three people who should have never met will change each other's lives: a Muslim boy whose family is leaving for Pakistan while he dreams of attending Oxford, a Sikh girl affected by the violence who is preparing to welcome family members fleeing to India, and an English girl whose father is helping draw the line that will separate the two countries. Will they be able to put their differences aside to help each other survive, or will they fall victim to the violence that is sweeping the nation?
Rocks my socks: I knew next to nothing about the Partition before picking up this book, so I was excited to learn more about this period of history. It made a lot of current events make more sense and it was fascinating in and of itself. The Partition is still a controversial period of history as people speculate about what could have been done differently and who may be at fault. A Moment Comes takes a balanced view of the issue by switching the narration between three characters on different sides. Bradbury did a wonderful job personalizing the tragedies that occurred and showing how complicated this period of history is. I grew to care for the characters even as they made decisions I didn't agree with. I could see that difficult times were forcing them into difficult circumstances and leading to decisions that would have been unimaginable in times of peace. There was a bit of a love triangle, but it wasn't played up so much that it got in the way of the narrative.
Rocks in my socks: The setting was fascinating and the characters engrossing, but the plot was pretty predictable. The plot wasn't what made me pick up the book though, so it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the novel.
Every book its reader: The book mentions acts of violence that while historically accurate make me hesitate to give the book to anyone younger than 7th grade. I'd give it to anyone interested in learning about other cultures and fans of historical fiction.
Extras:
Jennifer Bradbury has her own site
Source: school library
A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury: buy it or check it out today!
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