Review originally appears on the book review blog: justonemorepaige.wordpress.com.

This novel paints, with its words, an incredibly poignant picture of the lives of the people that play a role in or are affected by any given "small bomb." We live in a world, and it is, truly, a worldwide phenomenon, where we hear almost daily of another terrorist act, a threat, a shooting, a bomb, a hostage situation - and inevitably some we hear of, we move to help, we sympathize with, much more than others. But for all that, what is always lost, in the end, is the people who are affected. Whether that is due to our lack of personal connection or the passing of time, the aftermaths always fade from our memories. This novel focuses on exactly that: the individual reactions, relationships, connections to these small bombs, both in the moment and for years after. He re-humanizes an event that seems to happen so often that we have started to overlook it.

In a series of what I'd almost call character studies, Mahajan tells the stories of a handful of people who are in some way connected to a bomb that was set off in a crowded market in India. A Hindu couple who lost both their sons to the blast. The bomb-maker, the terrorist, whose cell planned the attack that he then carried out. A Muslim boy, friend to the two dead sons, who survived the blast when they did not, and his parents. A Muslim activist who works with a group that protests peacefully, attempts to fight for the release of falsely accused terrorists. And we see these characters grow, cross paths, change over time in ways that, with subtly interwoven threads, can all be traced back to that one day, that one bomb. The parents who try to help other victims, but cannot help but continue to lose themselves to the memories and the loss and are eventually, they believe, betrayed by their sons' survived friend in the worst way. The terrorist whose friend was [arguably] falsely arrested, the activist who works on the friend's behalf, but turns to a path of violence instead, connected more with the terrorist in the end. The young friend who grows up haunted physically by the day of the blast, is saved by the activist, and then, in turn [parallel-ly and ironically] arrested and accused of another blast. Both terrorists troubled not by the lives taken, but by that one friend, one each, whose life they ruined. And we come to see the double meaning in the title, the associations forged by the detonation of a small bomb, the intentionally formed "support group" versus the accidental interconnectedness.

This collection of experiences is told in a mystical, distant tone. One that explores the complication and terror of the event, but leaves the reader with a feeling of seeing everything happen in an almost detached way. Like the characters, once affected by the blast, are no longer able to move through life in a real, grounded way. We see that separation clearly in many of the stories, especially the Khuranas, who appear as one thing to those on the outside, but are experiencing and justifying everything in an entirely different way internally. We see the development of personalities and beliefs, the lifelong and far-reaching aftershock that characterizes the slow burn reality of change, of forward movement, after trauma. We see a psychological and philosophical exploration of terror and its aftereffects.

It's not an easy read - philosophy never has been for me. But the thematic exploration was so timely and so compelling. There were many times that I had to pause, to recollect my thoughts, before moving on. Mahajan does an amazing job creating relatable characters from such a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs is impressive. What people can convince themselves of, talk themselves into...in an age where the avoidance of cognitive dissonance can be seen everywhere, this is an important read.