BOOK “Y” OF THE ALPHABET SOUP CHALLENGE: A Review

A Year of Wednesdays by Sonis Bahl, a 2019 publication, is “…a story that will make you laugh, cry, and think again,” according to the jacket blurb. I found it warm, humorous at times, and full of contemporary cultural allusions. Two people, an arrogant businessman and a mother with a baby are thrown together as seatmates on a 15-hour flight.  Wednesdays is a “One time, one encounter that lasts a lifetime.” Even though they separate after the flight, the cool, Wall-Street guy escapes as quickly as he can from the “mom-with-the drool-stained-sweater” who is lugging an under-two year old, puzzled that the woman’s philosophy of life shared during the 15 hours is so different from his. Not only are they diametric opposites, but she has also refused to give him information for further contact, making it clear she has no interest in him or (to him) his successfully glamorous life.

The rest of the book, alternates from chapter to chapter consists of internal conversations he has with her and she has with him. They can’t get each other out of their respective minds. As the jacket blurb says, “…somehow they continue to travel together” if only in their thoughts. This strange relationship goes on for a year of Wednesdays, the day he had suggested they meet at a tiny coffee shop. Somehow, these two are “unexpectedly connected” as ludicrous as that may sound.

My favorite quote from the book is about my favorite beverage–coffee. “Coffee should be as black as hell, as strong as death, and as sweet as love.” This story is about two people as different as night and day, who share a connection as strong as life, and as sweet as confusing “non-traditional” love.