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Reviews
This Is Chance!: The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together by Jon Mooallem
rucklehouse's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it and it was interesting but it got weird when the author started talking about himself in the third person and his journey into telling the story. Seemed unnecessary
nssutton's review against another edition
5.0
I'll never be able to resist a book where the main character shares a name with either of my daughters. As pandemic life went on, I kept hearing this title mentioned more and more as one lens to try using to sense of this current experience. I found so much from this, even as my brain slid off of it again and again, unable to take to the content ("So wait, when did this happen?" "Uh... after Alaska became a state? I think?"). Mooallem's choice to model the structure off Our Town was brilliant, as was Genie's arc as a journalist and working mother and person in the right place at the right time who then took that time and went somewhere unexpectedly completely different, and her daughter's devotion to the boxes, and the way in which the citizens of Anchorage came together during a time of great need. I didn't wade through all of the notes, though I was impressed at the length Moallem went into connecting all of his research to the final story. Also, maybe it was a Radiolab story? By the time I got to the end, I was surprised to have gotten there, and was glad to be there, and forgot everything I'd read immediately. Highly recommend, though maybe when your brain is sticky to facts again.
clarkdavis96's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.75
When the information is there it’s a good book, while I did enjoy the exploration of the psychological aspect of natural disasters.. Genie is chewed up and spit out half way through the book and after that a lot feel like filler. the author introducing himself as a cutrate character in his own book and was written with a twinge of new wave male liberal feminism. I understand the connection with “Our Town” but it felt forced, author kept clinging to it like a middle school report on it.
amberdebo's review against another edition
2.0
Oh God, I knew it was coming, but the actuality of the author sudden deciding to use a fiction trope to tell the story of a natural disaster was UNBEARABLE. Seriously, WHY is he referring to himself in the third person and acting like a “character” during an earthquake he wasn’t even alive for, in a place he’s never lived?! I get the whole Our Town gimmick, but making this tragedy a gimmick is completely unacceptable. Also, if I wanted to read an ode to the PLAY Our Town, I wouldn’t have picked up a BOOK that was supposed to be about an awesome lady being a boss bitch during the worst natural disaster in Alaskan history—the 2nd largest earthquake in known world history. Instead she’s outta the book half way through and the author suddenly decides to become a second-rate character in the story himself, refers to himself in the third person, and confused the HECK out of me, seemingly with only the reason that he wanted to make this thing told on the style of Our Town so his book is more specialer than alllll the other books in the genre.
I hated Our Town already. Ugh.
I hated Our Town already. Ugh.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
4.0
There's something about people being really cool in terrible circumstances that is deeply satisfying.
kcthom6's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
3.5
A little more reflective and slower pace then what I prefer in my true stories.
altlovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
"Information is a form of comfort."
For anyone who has lived through a major disaster of any sort, this is a great read. Even if you haven't been through an earthquake specifically, there's enough parallels for what comes immediately after that you'll find a lot to identify with. This book opens with an innocuous town event held a month before the earthquake hit. You meet a lot of the main players early on, and are provided with a thoughtful introduction for each by the author. While ultimately an informative piece about one of the worst earthquakes ever, the story is presented in such a way that you feel like you're there with the characters in the room or on the road which made it an engaging read. Even the one-off people who play an important but short-lived role are given short "where are they now" summaries outlining highlights of their life after the earthquake, which I appreciated. Highly recommend giving this book a Chance (ha) when it comes out.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.
For anyone who has lived through a major disaster of any sort, this is a great read. Even if you haven't been through an earthquake specifically, there's enough parallels for what comes immediately after that you'll find a lot to identify with. This book opens with an innocuous town event held a month before the earthquake hit. You meet a lot of the main players early on, and are provided with a thoughtful introduction for each by the author. While ultimately an informative piece about one of the worst earthquakes ever, the story is presented in such a way that you feel like you're there with the characters in the room or on the road which made it an engaging read. Even the one-off people who play an important but short-lived role are given short "where are they now" summaries outlining highlights of their life after the earthquake, which I appreciated. Highly recommend giving this book a Chance (ha) when it comes out.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.