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Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Review Copy
Format: Paperback
Publisher:  Fingerprint Publishing (1 March 2019)
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 1 March 2019
My Rating: 4.5 stars

A Year Of Wednesdays by Sonia Bahl is about a year in the lives of two people from very different spheres of life who meet on a flight from Delhi to New York. The story shows the profound effect left on them by each other in a journey of a few hours.

There is something magical about stories about strangers meeting and then become important to each other. Maybe we love books and movies like these because they show how the people we get to know, even if for a short time, leave their marks on us.

The two protagonists in the book refer to each other as Seat 7A and Seat 7B. The characters are wary of each other at first as they realize they are two completely different people. I was equally fascinated by both of them.

Through Seat 7B, we see the life of a working mom with two small kids. She is very down-to-earth and believes in appreciating the small moments in life. She is an environmentalist and aspires to teach kids the importance of protecting our nature. She hates when people categorize her as a stereotypical mother or a “tree-hugger.” I really enjoyed reading about her interactions with her family, her husband Rizwaan and kids Azad and Azaan as well as her fond memories with her father.

Seat 7A was a career-driven Wall Street man. He believed in the power of money and enjoying the luxurious things in life. He didn’t hesitate in saying what he wanted to. He hated being called shallow. He was also movie buff. It was very interesting to see him trying to understand Seat 7B’s perspective in life. There was nothing about her views that made sense to him and yet, he was fascinated by her.

After they go their separate ways, the story continues about both of their daily lives. In each chapter, they would think about a piece of conversation with each other, mostly something they had different opinions on. I couldn’t help but hope that they would meet again.

The book gets a bit boring in the middle as nothing really happens and the small chapters get annoying.

The author’s writing style is one of the things that makes the book special. She uses lesser-known words, witty prose, many movie references and wraps them up in an elegant narration.
The cover is lovely. The title and the Wednesdays thing add charm to the book.

I held my breath in the last few chapters. I was scared of finishing the book, scared that the flight journey would be over. I desperately wanted the characters to meet again but there was something to be said by the fact that they both had each other stuck in their heads after meeting just once. It seemed by the end that the guy had learned more from the girl and I wish it was equal both ways. The ending was a little cliche but also emotional and beautiful.

A truly heartfelt book. It shows the power of moments. Of encounters. Of conversations. Of truths. Of experiencing life through a completely different perspective. One meeting or one conversation can change your life. People leave their marks on you and even a stranger can have an important place in your life. This book makes me wish that we would all learn to appreciate every minute of our lives.

This book will definitely stay with me.

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