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It may seem coincidences happen all around us just by accident, but they actually occur thanks to the skilled maneuverings and detailed plans of the coincidence makers. Their jobs may last days, weeks or even months or longer, and they may work to get two people together or nudge someone into their ideal career. No matter the job, the coincidence makers have a vital role to play in making sure life comes together the way it should.
Guy, Emily and Eric, who got to know each other as students in a class on coincidence making, now meet regularly in a café to chat about their assignments. Guy, our main character, was previously an imaginary friend before being transferred into the coincidence maker department. Despite the assignments he’s usually given to bring couples together, however, he is content to stay single. He experienced love once before in his life as an imaginary friend, and he doesn’t expect to find it again. Emily has varied assignments, her current one being to try to get an accountant to start writing poetry. She clearly has a thing for Guy, but even Eric can see it’s pointless for her to hold onto hope for anything happening between the two. Eric, for his part, is happy to use his skills to meet women himself.
Then Guy gets a very unusual assignment, one he’s told is just a piece of a highly complex coincidence being carried out by other coincidence makers at much higher levels than his. It challenges him, but in more ways than he could have possibly expected. This assignment could be a life-changer for him.
The Coincidence Makers is one of the rare books that left me just sitting dumbfounded when I read the last page. I was in awe at the complexity of the story and how every piece fit together in ways I never saw coming. I thought the premise of the book was clever and was interested to see how it would play out. For much of the book, I was amused and entertained by the explanations of the work the coincidence makers do (there are wry excerpts from course material Guy, Emily and Eric studied sprinkled throughout), but I had no idea the direction the book would take, its tone and messages. The story had much to say about what love is, and I had to sit quietly and savor it all for a while. In fact, I felt compelled to re-read the book so I could see everything come together in the writer’s skilled hands and get the chance to savor it again. Even on second reading, I was just as carried away and amazed. Such a satisfying and sweet combination of clever, inventive and poignant. It’s profound, beautiful … words escape me.
Rated: Mild, for a handful of uses of mild and moderate language. There are a few instances of mild violence and little in the way of sexual content.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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