Reviews
This Is Chance!: The Shaking of an All-American City, a Voice That Held It Together by Jon Mooallem
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.
debbiecuddy's review against another edition
5.0
I was in 4th grade at the time of the earthquake described in this book and I was very interested in learning about it. I remember writing a report on it using the encyclopedia for information on the science of earthquakes and my grandfather's National Geographic and Life magazines to learn about this particular earthquake. What I wondered about at the time was what it was like for the people who lived through it. Jon Mooallem has written a book that has finally answered my question.
Focusing on journalist Genie Chance, Mooallem introduces us to many people in the Anchorage community and shows us how everyone came together and helped each other through this crisis in extraordinary ways.
I enjoyed his writing style, especially how he juxtaposed "Our Town" with his writing about the earthquake, it helped bring out the importance of human life and community.
Focusing on journalist Genie Chance, Mooallem introduces us to many people in the Anchorage community and shows us how everyone came together and helped each other through this crisis in extraordinary ways.
I enjoyed his writing style, especially how he juxtaposed "Our Town" with his writing about the earthquake, it helped bring out the importance of human life and community.
gcamelopardalis's review against another edition
4.0
I actually had no idea there was a massive earthquake in Alaska in the 60s, let alone that it was the second biggest on record. I'm kinda dumb about history (and, like, everything), but that's why I read!
Was this the best time to read a book like this? Well it was certainly a better idea than the book I read after it - Illuminae, a book about a contagious pathogen loose on a spaceship.
This ended up being kinda harrowing and kinda uplifting. One of the things it emphasized was how looting behavior and such is actually really low in these sorts of disasters and the "extraordinary people" who step up in these scenarios consistently step up, suggesting that it isn't actually that extraordinary - that people will come together and support one another in dire times. I thought that was really inspiring.
I also didn't know anything at all about Genie Chance, so it was interesting reading about how a woman in the 1960s became so prominent during the disaster.
I think the worst passage in this book that still rings in my ear was of the girl who said she saw the earth swallow her brother. That's horrifying.
Was this the best time to read a book like this? Well it was certainly a better idea than the book I read after it - Illuminae, a book about a contagious pathogen loose on a spaceship.
This ended up being kinda harrowing and kinda uplifting. One of the things it emphasized was how looting behavior and such is actually really low in these sorts of disasters and the "extraordinary people" who step up in these scenarios consistently step up, suggesting that it isn't actually that extraordinary - that people will come together and support one another in dire times. I thought that was really inspiring.
I also didn't know anything at all about Genie Chance, so it was interesting reading about how a woman in the 1960s became so prominent during the disaster.
I think the worst passage in this book that still rings in my ear was of the girl who said she saw the earth swallow her brother. That's horrifying.