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After Disasters
Beautifully and hauntingly written, After Disasters is told through the eyes of four people in the wake of a life-shattering earthquake in India. An intricate story of love and loss weaves together the emotional and intimate narratives of Ted, a pharmaceutical salesman turned member of the Disaster Assistance Response Team; his colleague Piotr, who still carries with him the scars of the Bosnia conflict; Andy, a young firefighter eager to prove his worth; and Dev, a doctor on the ground racing against time and dwindling resources. Through time and place, hope and tragedy, love and lust, these four men put their lives at risk in a country where danger lurks everywhere.
500 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 2016
425 people are currently reading
2,061 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
September 21, 2016
A Kindle First selection worth selecting.
A mosaic, a collection of snapshots, seemingly jumbled vignettes of those (committed and dedicated) individuals brought together by disaster through the global community of disaster relief, rapid response, rescue, and aid. Pieced together, there's a story of sorts, a carefully crafted puzzle with more than enough content and emotion to construct a compelling, thought-provoking, and frequently moving novel.
Warning and disclosures: this is heavy, and at times, brutal - and brutally graphic - stuff. Damage, destruction, devastation, disappointment, displacement ... and loss dominate the landscape. So, even if it's a relatively small book, it's not exactly a quick (or light) read. Also, gay relationships (and HIV) feature prominently, and - well, I don't know how else to say it - but I wouldn't recommend the book to homophobes.
I wasn't sure what to make of it at first; indeed, I found the early passages slightly disorienting. But the prose and the characters (and their lives) and the story grew on me. Ultimately, I liked the book - and the title - more as the book progressed. Moreover, I'm a sucker for an appropriate ending - not necessarily a good or a nice or a happy ending, but an appropriate ending - and Dinh came through and wrapped up the package just about right.
A mosaic, a collection of snapshots, seemingly jumbled vignettes of those (committed and dedicated) individuals brought together by disaster through the global community of disaster relief, rapid response, rescue, and aid. Pieced together, there's a story of sorts, a carefully crafted puzzle with more than enough content and emotion to construct a compelling, thought-provoking, and frequently moving novel.
Warning and disclosures: this is heavy, and at times, brutal - and brutally graphic - stuff. Damage, destruction, devastation, disappointment, displacement ... and loss dominate the landscape. So, even if it's a relatively small book, it's not exactly a quick (or light) read. Also, gay relationships (and HIV) feature prominently, and - well, I don't know how else to say it - but I wouldn't recommend the book to homophobes.
I wasn't sure what to make of it at first; indeed, I found the early passages slightly disorienting. But the prose and the characters (and their lives) and the story grew on me. Ultimately, I liked the book - and the title - more as the book progressed. Moreover, I'm a sucker for an appropriate ending - not necessarily a good or a nice or a happy ending, but an appropriate ending - and Dinh came through and wrapped up the package just about right.
August 11, 2016
Not a comfortable book, but an excellent one; Dinh focuses on four men working in disaster recovery. He's giving complex answers to the question of why we serve - why some people run TOWARDS trouble; why folks far away can better grasp and empathize post-disaster when the narrative focuses on a single named individual; why relief workers burn out or stay in the career forever. The style is hyper-realistic - if you've ever considered the logistics of how Doctors Without Borders or international disaster teams coordinate after a tragedy, Dinh's interviews and research are respectful and integral. Not for the squeamish or detail-adverse. Demands discussion and careful consideration.
August 11, 2016
I read this as a Kindle First pick, and it's not my usual type of read (as a disclaimer here). Also a disclaimer: It explores male sexuality and that seemed to bother a lot of the Amazon reviewers.
I think the author bit off more than he could chew. It screamed "I am trying to be a Serious Literary Story!" but it was more meandering and confusing than anything else to me.
The book explores the lives of four men who respond to the 2001 earthquake in India. Their lives become intertwined. That said, it's more of a story about how the men feel about each other and their families; it's all character development with a little bit of plot. The story also jumps ALL over the place in terms of time. Flash back! Flash forward! Flash back! all on the same page.
I found parts of it wildly compelling, such as the descriptions of actual rescues or attempted rescues and the intricacies of politics in post-disaster areas. Other parts were boring and hard to follow (basically all of Piotr's story). One of the main characters had a much smaller part than the other three, and I didn't understand why he was in the book at all. I didn't relate to or care about the characters, either, as they were so utterly detached. It's amazing how much characterization happened and yet it was not interesting.
I wanted to like this book, but I did not.
I think the author bit off more than he could chew. It screamed "I am trying to be a Serious Literary Story!" but it was more meandering and confusing than anything else to me.
The book explores the lives of four men who respond to the 2001 earthquake in India. Their lives become intertwined. That said, it's more of a story about how the men feel about each other and their families; it's all character development with a little bit of plot. The story also jumps ALL over the place in terms of time. Flash back! Flash forward! Flash back! all on the same page.
I found parts of it wildly compelling, such as the descriptions of actual rescues or attempted rescues and the intricacies of politics in post-disaster areas. Other parts were boring and hard to follow (basically all of Piotr's story). One of the main characters had a much smaller part than the other three, and I didn't understand why he was in the book at all. I didn't relate to or care about the characters, either, as they were so utterly detached. It's amazing how much characterization happened and yet it was not interesting.
I wanted to like this book, but I did not.
August 7, 2016
I often skip the free Kindle First read that is offered each month, but this August offer sounded intriguing, and I made a good choice!
Beautifully written story of aid workers in India. Could have been a 5 except that it had a lot of time transitions that were not handled completely smoothly; I didn't see quite enough resolution at the end; and there was a twist at the end that I considered very cliched.
BUT definitely worth a read.
NOTE: There are prominent homosexual characters here, and the book is unabashed about their sex lives. This could upset some people, but if so it would be a shame. They will miss a very well-done book!
Beautifully written story of aid workers in India. Could have been a 5 except that it had a lot of time transitions that were not handled completely smoothly; I didn't see quite enough resolution at the end; and there was a twist at the end that I considered very cliched.
BUT definitely worth a read.
NOTE: There are prominent homosexual characters here, and the book is unabashed about their sex lives. This could upset some people, but if so it would be a shame. They will miss a very well-done book!
August 4, 2016
This is a raw and gritty story set in the aftermath of an earthquake in India. The characters are foreign rescue workers, who arrive to supply aid after a natural disaster. The characters are well developed and all have their different reasons for why they've joined agencies providing disaster relief.
It is a literary work, which does keep the pace of the story a bit more slow than I'm used to, but I think it's well-suited for this story, and the sheer magnitude of what it feels like to provide disaster relief really came shining through.
Nicely done!
It is a literary work, which does keep the pace of the story a bit more slow than I'm used to, but I think it's well-suited for this story, and the sheer magnitude of what it feels like to provide disaster relief really came shining through.
Nicely done!
July 24, 2023
3.5 stars
I'm apparently on a run of sad KU reads recently. I enjoyed the story, but there are no happy endings here. There is a lot of character development in this novel, so at times it feels a bit draggy. It was also not helped by the time jumps with the flash backs.
I'm apparently on a run of sad KU reads recently. I enjoyed the story, but there are no happy endings here. There is a lot of character development in this novel, so at times it feels a bit draggy. It was also not helped by the time jumps with the flash backs.
September 10, 2016
An absorbing read that follows a set of characters all involved in aid work. The writing sometimes gets a bit loose and out of control but the nuances and complexity of the book lie in the characters and the background politics - thoughtful and unusual, and I look forward to what Dinh does next.
January 29, 2021
There's a lot to like about this book but it just didn't hold together for me.
I enjoyed it most when I thought of it as a sort of documentary about aid work: the people that go into it, the logistical challenges they face, their motivations and ethical dilemmas. The project of showing disaster relief as a workplace is just cool, and the world-building around that was the highlight of the novel. I also appreciated the way various disasters compounded, and some of my favorite moments formally were when characters had flashbacks to prior disasters - both in aid work, and their personal life - while working at the earthquake in Gujarat.
But the story of one of the four main characters (Piotr) just felt completely separate from the other three, and the last few chapters completely lost the plot for me. Overall excellent detail when it felt almost non-fictional, and the romances were pretty memorable, but the plot and, like, purpose f0r writing this as a novel felt underdone.
I enjoyed it most when I thought of it as a sort of documentary about aid work: the people that go into it, the logistical challenges they face, their motivations and ethical dilemmas. The project of showing disaster relief as a workplace is just cool, and the world-building around that was the highlight of the novel. I also appreciated the way various disasters compounded, and some of my favorite moments formally were when characters had flashbacks to prior disasters - both in aid work, and their personal life - while working at the earthquake in Gujarat.
But the story of one of the four main characters (Piotr) just felt completely separate from the other three, and the last few chapters completely lost the plot for me. Overall excellent detail when it felt almost non-fictional, and the romances were pretty memorable, but the plot and, like, purpose f0r writing this as a novel felt underdone.
January 6, 2017
There's overlapping stories at work here that Dinh manages to pull together. The epilogue took a lot of the punch away for me, but before that there's a couple of chapters that are absolutely superb captures of grief and shock. One includes a litany of questions that is dizzying in its continual stream of emotional wallops. But getting there is a little uneven and disjointed. Rather than allowing each character the range and development they deserve, there is some lack of depth that doesn't quite work to build interest and rather frustrates. Taken as a series of individual stories, these would be lovely and make the moments of occlusion work. As a cohesive story, it takes itself a bit too seriously and doesn't build up quite the way it should.
September 5, 2016
Humans in crisis
Excellent verbiage to describe those pondering the mysteries of life and death. Set in disaster rescue and recovery or humanitarian aid crises throughout the world, the author's characters look both inward and externally to find purpose and meaning in their lives. Whether they explore life choices about their sexual orientation, failed relationships, or attachment to their life mission each looks for insight on how to live. Or what is worth dying for.
Excellent verbiage to describe those pondering the mysteries of life and death. Set in disaster rescue and recovery or humanitarian aid crises throughout the world, the author's characters look both inward and externally to find purpose and meaning in their lives. Whether they explore life choices about their sexual orientation, failed relationships, or attachment to their life mission each looks for insight on how to live. Or what is worth dying for.
August 9, 2016
This was one of thebooks offered free to Kindle users who also have Amazon Prime. A moving story, set in the immediate aftermath of a fictional earthquake in India, is narrated by four characters who are working in disaster relief. But they are not immune to personal disaster during the week that they are there. Excellent read. I recommend highly!
August 23, 2016
Best book I've read this year so far. Full of all the best, hard stuff: love, lust, loneliness and longing. Get your mitts on this book.
August 19, 2016
What a beautiful, heartbreaking book about international rescue workers after a disaster.
September 7, 2019
I remember being terrified as I learned about natural disasters from The Weather Channel as a kid. Watching tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes destroy houses and lives all in the blink of an eye was terrifying, and it probably didn't help that these events were accented by dramatic music and narration. I believed that every single time we'd have a severe thunderstorm warning, it would mean death was arriving at my doorstep. I know that isn't true anymore (and I'm always shocked when severe weather seems to fly over where I live and go to school; are we protected by a spirit?), but my heart still breaks when I hear the stories of those who were right in harm's way and got hit hard. It's also shocking to consider how many other disasters exist: those caused by terrorists like 9/11, and those personal that may not be considered as such, the severing of connections with other people and those within ourselves that we attempt as protection. They can shake us up and permanently change the way we handle and look at life, and although they will never have the width of damage that an actual disaster brings, they crush hearts and cause enough pain to warrant impact.
I had never heard of After Disasters until I was introduced to it by my Asian American Lit professor for my final project, a website where I'm combining research and reviews of books about experiences from Asian American LGBT+ community members. The flap immediately caught my interest, and I figured it was going to be right up my alley. That ended up being true. Viet Dinh's debut novel is the kind of literary fiction that doesn't click for everyone, but I found myself gravitated to its slow, unwinding prose that delved so fully into its narrators that I felt like I got the chance to know their struggles and their pain. It's well-researched and full of details regarding India's history and the professions of the four main workers, and they surprisingly don't feel out of place among the push and pull of who to save, who to comfort, and who to help. Additionally, its frank discussion of being gay and its associated sexuality, how some may not be comfortable with it, and how others may disagree with that was appreciated because I hadn't read something like that until this book. Despite its slow pace and detail that could get in the way of a concrete plot, Dinh's ability to craft strong characters and paint a portrait of their pasts, their presents, and the eyes to their futures despite their tragedies made this a great read, one I'm going to remember for a long time.
The city of Bhuj, India is hit by a monstrous earthquake in the winter of 2001. Four men are called on the scene to help find survivors and offer aid to those who have nothing. Piotr and Ted are members of America's Disaster Assistance Response Team, in charge of providing food for areas severely impacted by the earthquake. Andy, a British firefighter, is part of a brigade in charge of digging through rubble and finding people trapped within its grip. Dev, an Indian doctor specializing in HIV treatment, is one of many medical personnel dealing with amputations, blood transfusions, and repairs on the bodies of those fortunate to make it out alive...for now. All four come from different backgrounds and express themselves in different ways. Ted is openly gay and anxious, still trying to recover from two failed relationships, the death of one of those former partners, and his work as a pharmaceutical salesman that was selling a drug that helped with HIV, something that same former partner was positive with. Piotr hides behinds his maps marked with route plans in highlighter, even though he's haunted by his wife's nightmares linked to the struggle of getting her out of war-torn Croatia. Andy is only out to one member of his squad in a time when homophobia is rampant, especially by a man named Reg within the group itself, and hiding that part of him and reeling from a death in the family isn't helping his sexual desires and intense drive to rescuing people any more than it hasn't already. And Dev has repressed his sexuality in favor of keeping his appearance aligned to what his culture and profession wants of him at the sake of his own happiness.
All four men arrive in Bhuj ready to help out, but along the way, they begin to interact with each other in ways they don't expect. There will be kisses and touches shared, past connections reminisced on, and death. There will also be interactions with the civilians of Bhuj, those who have lost so much and are still losing. How much disaster can one heart take before it implodes? What will it take to create that effect?
Dinh's characterization is my favorite part of this novel. What I love about literary fiction aside from its emphasis on figurative language is that it really takes its time exploring the individuals that populate its world. Piotr is the exception to this, and part of that is because Dinh writes him as the distant observer and tactician compared to everyone else's activity. Also, he happens to be the only straight character in this novel populated by three gay protagonists (one of which is very much trying to be as straight-acting as possible). However, Piotr is still very much a full character, trying to move past the anxieties plaguing his past but ultimately failing. He may not be as strong of a presence as those actively dealing with conflict, like Andy and Ted's desire to sacrifice whatever is possible to get the job done and Dev's shame in a life that could have been his if he was brave enough, but he was active even with his lingering in the past because it directly had an impact on his present behavior.
Additionally, the jobs these men took up felt so real. I can tell Dinh spent a lot of time researching this to make sure the historical context was accurate and that what the aid workers were involved with made sense. Since I've never been involved with disaster aid, I liked learning about the protocol those in 2001 had to follow. It was also interesting to learn about historical landmarks of India and how the infrastructure of Bhuj accidentally worked against the town's survival in the earthquake. I couldn't help but wonder how Bhuj is doing now, if there are still lingering effects from this earthquake that occurred almost 18 years ago. The immediate impact is apparent, but what about residual impact? What does that look like?
That complexity was matched in the relationships these men had as well. Watching their paths intersect was really cool, but to know that some of them had done so before was so unexpected that it had me so excited to uncover more information. Andy and Ted's intimacy that kept on toeing the line, Dev and Ted's differences somehow leading to them working, and Piotr and Ted's quiet work partnership were interesting to read and showed all the different kinds of relationships men are capable of having. Additionally, I loved how Dinh expressed sexuality, particularly with the gay characters. Whether subtly through Andy's naked trust-fall training or Ted noticing the chest hair poking out of Piotr's shirt, or the blunt force of Andy feeling Ted's arousal due to their proximity or Dev and Ted's explosive connection, it was frank and something I've never really read before. But it was greatly appreciated to have that desire on page, to see it in a novel that focused so much on how sometimes our greatest desires can bring us pain (particularly with Dev). They even had such wonderful backstories alongside this that had me absolutely floored. To see some of their lives end in tragedy was painful, but perhaps there's some hope left after it all.
I will say that despite only being 265 pages, After Disasters can feel like it's dragging itself out at points. This is especially true with the historical aspects of the narrative. While it was intriguing to learn more about India, its landmarks, and its history, I did feel myself checking out a bit at parts because I really wanted to see the characters interact more. Even the writing assists in that negative, and there were points where I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand what was happening before I continued. However, this novel is still very strong, and I think I'm really starting to like adult literary fiction. Viet Dinh's exploration of the aid worker world, the lives of four different yet similar men, and the absolute tragedy of natural disasters and how they impact the way people see the world is worth the crawl there. I loved the characters, the exploration of their desire and pain, and what happens to those who are in pain that try to help more people in pain. It's good stuff.
After Reading:
My heart is gutted, but man, this book was an emotional ride. I'm going to greatly appreciate it for a long time.
I had never heard of After Disasters until I was introduced to it by my Asian American Lit professor for my final project, a website where I'm combining research and reviews of books about experiences from Asian American LGBT+ community members. The flap immediately caught my interest, and I figured it was going to be right up my alley. That ended up being true. Viet Dinh's debut novel is the kind of literary fiction that doesn't click for everyone, but I found myself gravitated to its slow, unwinding prose that delved so fully into its narrators that I felt like I got the chance to know their struggles and their pain. It's well-researched and full of details regarding India's history and the professions of the four main workers, and they surprisingly don't feel out of place among the push and pull of who to save, who to comfort, and who to help. Additionally, its frank discussion of being gay and its associated sexuality, how some may not be comfortable with it, and how others may disagree with that was appreciated because I hadn't read something like that until this book. Despite its slow pace and detail that could get in the way of a concrete plot, Dinh's ability to craft strong characters and paint a portrait of their pasts, their presents, and the eyes to their futures despite their tragedies made this a great read, one I'm going to remember for a long time.
The city of Bhuj, India is hit by a monstrous earthquake in the winter of 2001. Four men are called on the scene to help find survivors and offer aid to those who have nothing. Piotr and Ted are members of America's Disaster Assistance Response Team, in charge of providing food for areas severely impacted by the earthquake. Andy, a British firefighter, is part of a brigade in charge of digging through rubble and finding people trapped within its grip. Dev, an Indian doctor specializing in HIV treatment, is one of many medical personnel dealing with amputations, blood transfusions, and repairs on the bodies of those fortunate to make it out alive...for now. All four come from different backgrounds and express themselves in different ways. Ted is openly gay and anxious, still trying to recover from two failed relationships, the death of one of those former partners, and his work as a pharmaceutical salesman that was selling a drug that helped with HIV, something that same former partner was positive with. Piotr hides behinds his maps marked with route plans in highlighter, even though he's haunted by his wife's nightmares linked to the struggle of getting her out of war-torn Croatia. Andy is only out to one member of his squad in a time when homophobia is rampant, especially by a man named Reg within the group itself, and hiding that part of him and reeling from a death in the family isn't helping his sexual desires and intense drive to rescuing people any more than it hasn't already. And Dev has repressed his sexuality in favor of keeping his appearance aligned to what his culture and profession wants of him at the sake of his own happiness.
All four men arrive in Bhuj ready to help out, but along the way, they begin to interact with each other in ways they don't expect. There will be kisses and touches shared, past connections reminisced on, and death. There will also be interactions with the civilians of Bhuj, those who have lost so much and are still losing. How much disaster can one heart take before it implodes? What will it take to create that effect?
Dinh's characterization is my favorite part of this novel. What I love about literary fiction aside from its emphasis on figurative language is that it really takes its time exploring the individuals that populate its world. Piotr is the exception to this, and part of that is because Dinh writes him as the distant observer and tactician compared to everyone else's activity. Also, he happens to be the only straight character in this novel populated by three gay protagonists (one of which is very much trying to be as straight-acting as possible). However, Piotr is still very much a full character, trying to move past the anxieties plaguing his past but ultimately failing. He may not be as strong of a presence as those actively dealing with conflict, like Andy and Ted's desire to sacrifice whatever is possible to get the job done and Dev's shame in a life that could have been his if he was brave enough, but he was active even with his lingering in the past because it directly had an impact on his present behavior.
Additionally, the jobs these men took up felt so real. I can tell Dinh spent a lot of time researching this to make sure the historical context was accurate and that what the aid workers were involved with made sense. Since I've never been involved with disaster aid, I liked learning about the protocol those in 2001 had to follow. It was also interesting to learn about historical landmarks of India and how the infrastructure of Bhuj accidentally worked against the town's survival in the earthquake. I couldn't help but wonder how Bhuj is doing now, if there are still lingering effects from this earthquake that occurred almost 18 years ago. The immediate impact is apparent, but what about residual impact? What does that look like?
That complexity was matched in the relationships these men had as well. Watching their paths intersect was really cool, but to know that some of them had done so before was so unexpected that it had me so excited to uncover more information. Andy and Ted's intimacy that kept on toeing the line, Dev and Ted's differences somehow leading to them working, and Piotr and Ted's quiet work partnership were interesting to read and showed all the different kinds of relationships men are capable of having. Additionally, I loved how Dinh expressed sexuality, particularly with the gay characters. Whether subtly through Andy's naked trust-fall training or Ted noticing the chest hair poking out of Piotr's shirt, or the blunt force of Andy feeling Ted's arousal due to their proximity or Dev and Ted's explosive connection, it was frank and something I've never really read before. But it was greatly appreciated to have that desire on page, to see it in a novel that focused so much on how sometimes our greatest desires can bring us pain (particularly with Dev). They even had such wonderful backstories alongside this that had me absolutely floored. To see some of their lives end in tragedy was painful, but perhaps there's some hope left after it all.
I will say that despite only being 265 pages, After Disasters can feel like it's dragging itself out at points. This is especially true with the historical aspects of the narrative. While it was intriguing to learn more about India, its landmarks, and its history, I did feel myself checking out a bit at parts because I really wanted to see the characters interact more. Even the writing assists in that negative, and there were points where I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand what was happening before I continued. However, this novel is still very strong, and I think I'm really starting to like adult literary fiction. Viet Dinh's exploration of the aid worker world, the lives of four different yet similar men, and the absolute tragedy of natural disasters and how they impact the way people see the world is worth the crawl there. I loved the characters, the exploration of their desire and pain, and what happens to those who are in pain that try to help more people in pain. It's good stuff.
After Reading:
My heart is gutted, but man, this book was an emotional ride. I'm going to greatly appreciate it for a long time.
January 26, 2021
Summary:
Affecting novel about the chaos following an earthquake, and the effects disasters have on us all.
Full review:
After Disasters, Viet Dinh’s debut novel, is set in the week after the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat where more than 20,000 died. The story focuses on four main characters—an Indian doctor, a British firefighter, and two American rescue workers—each drawn to the disaster for their own reasons.
Two of the rescuers are on their first assignment, and Dinh’s novel powerfully depicts the chaos around them as seen through their eyes. Dinh holds nothing back in describing the unrelenting tragedy: the corpses and occasional survivor pulled from the rubble, the injured, the lost and homeless, the looters and the corrupt soldiers. As a journalist, I’ve witnessed a few disasters; Dihn successfully captures the bizarre sureality of navigating an altered world, where buildings and laws have vanished, along with any sense of what was normal. A dog appears carrying a dismembered hand; a soldier shoots the dog, and the day goes on.
The book’s title refers to disasters, in the plural, and it is soon clear that this earthquake is not the greatest tragedy in these character’s lives. In a telling scene, Ted, the new American recruit searching for a reason to keep living, gets told by his boss that there are two kinds of aid workers: those running toward something, like missionaries serving their God, and those running away. Ted admits he’s running away. They all are. The veteran rescue workers carry their own disaster stories like scars: Bosnia, Chechnya, AIDS, and the personal disasters of lost loved ones. The past is never past, and the narrative flows through their memories of other disasters as the characters search, psychologically and metaphorically, for a way to save others, and by saving others, to save themselves.
And then, unexpectedly, a love story blooms. Will these men, thrown together by loss, find something that superpasses it? The final chapter, titled Normality Bias, suggests that eventually, after disasters, we can find tranquility. Or maybe it is the other way around, for there will always be new disasters ahead.
Overall, this novel is strongest in describing the setting but sometimes less effective in capturing the interior thoughts of the characters. The new recruits are portrayed as idealistic and naïve. This gives them room for a narrative arc of growth, but they come across as unrealistic and immature.
If this book has one major flaw, it is that the point-of-view characters are all outsiders. They are witnesses, but they are trying to help a culture they don’t understand to survive a tragedy none can fully fathom. Although this one-step-removed perspective is an accurate portrayal of aid workers, it leaves me as a reader wanting more: to hear the first-person stories of the trapped, the survivors and the victims, not just drive-by descriptions of them.
Ultimately, the book is not easy to read but worth the effort. Moreover, living as we are now—in the middle of another tragedy that we can’t fully fathom—it points to some answers about what we may need to survive.
Affecting novel about the chaos following an earthquake, and the effects disasters have on us all.
Full review:
After Disasters, Viet Dinh’s debut novel, is set in the week after the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat where more than 20,000 died. The story focuses on four main characters—an Indian doctor, a British firefighter, and two American rescue workers—each drawn to the disaster for their own reasons.
Two of the rescuers are on their first assignment, and Dinh’s novel powerfully depicts the chaos around them as seen through their eyes. Dinh holds nothing back in describing the unrelenting tragedy: the corpses and occasional survivor pulled from the rubble, the injured, the lost and homeless, the looters and the corrupt soldiers. As a journalist, I’ve witnessed a few disasters; Dihn successfully captures the bizarre sureality of navigating an altered world, where buildings and laws have vanished, along with any sense of what was normal. A dog appears carrying a dismembered hand; a soldier shoots the dog, and the day goes on.
The book’s title refers to disasters, in the plural, and it is soon clear that this earthquake is not the greatest tragedy in these character’s lives. In a telling scene, Ted, the new American recruit searching for a reason to keep living, gets told by his boss that there are two kinds of aid workers: those running toward something, like missionaries serving their God, and those running away. Ted admits he’s running away. They all are. The veteran rescue workers carry their own disaster stories like scars: Bosnia, Chechnya, AIDS, and the personal disasters of lost loved ones. The past is never past, and the narrative flows through their memories of other disasters as the characters search, psychologically and metaphorically, for a way to save others, and by saving others, to save themselves.
And then, unexpectedly, a love story blooms. Will these men, thrown together by loss, find something that superpasses it? The final chapter, titled Normality Bias, suggests that eventually, after disasters, we can find tranquility. Or maybe it is the other way around, for there will always be new disasters ahead.
Overall, this novel is strongest in describing the setting but sometimes less effective in capturing the interior thoughts of the characters. The new recruits are portrayed as idealistic and naïve. This gives them room for a narrative arc of growth, but they come across as unrealistic and immature.
If this book has one major flaw, it is that the point-of-view characters are all outsiders. They are witnesses, but they are trying to help a culture they don’t understand to survive a tragedy none can fully fathom. Although this one-step-removed perspective is an accurate portrayal of aid workers, it leaves me as a reader wanting more: to hear the first-person stories of the trapped, the survivors and the victims, not just drive-by descriptions of them.
Ultimately, the book is not easy to read but worth the effort. Moreover, living as we are now—in the middle of another tragedy that we can’t fully fathom—it points to some answers about what we may need to survive.
November 30, 2019
(Kindle)
The story is told through the eyes of four characters who are working emergency services in India after a major earthquake. The descriptions of the devastation and aftermath of the earthquake was haunting, the descriptions of the people and of the places in India were just as haunting.
We follow Ted, a pharmaceutical salesman turned member of the Disaster Assistance Response Team; his colleague Piotr, who still carries with him the scars of the Bosnia conflict; Andy, a young firefighter eager to prove his worth; and Dev, a doctor on the ground racing against time and dwindling resources. They work tirelessly, risking their lives in a country where danger is everywhere.
RECOMMEND
The story is told through the eyes of four characters who are working emergency services in India after a major earthquake. The descriptions of the devastation and aftermath of the earthquake was haunting, the descriptions of the people and of the places in India were just as haunting.
We follow Ted, a pharmaceutical salesman turned member of the Disaster Assistance Response Team; his colleague Piotr, who still carries with him the scars of the Bosnia conflict; Andy, a young firefighter eager to prove his worth; and Dev, a doctor on the ground racing against time and dwindling resources. They work tirelessly, risking their lives in a country where danger is everywhere.
RECOMMEND
March 18, 2019
Interesting setting, for sure, but maybe it was too many characters, or too many POV changes, that kept this book from really locking in for me. It follows a number of different aid workers in India after a catastrophic earthquake, and also flashes back to a prior time when two of the characters first met.
July 19, 2017
This book has all the elements of a great story but for some reason they don't quite fit together. I had a difficult time relating to the characters and following Dinh's somewhat disconnected method of storytelling. I think these stories that Dinh is trying to weave together do have something to say about the resiliency of the human spirit in the face of horrific disaster, but it's hard to follow this meaning throughout the story.
June 29, 2018
Powerful, sad, and difficult. Intertwined stories of international relief workers come together after an earthquake in India. Deeper stories of relationships and commitment make this intense reading.
October 20, 2016
On January 26, 2000 an earthquake occurred in the area of Bhuj, India. It lasted for over 2 minutes and killed over 13,000 people and destroyed nearly a half million homes.
It seems like almost every month we read about some horrific natural or man-made disaster. We get video and pictures and statistics and maybe we contribute a few dollars to do our part while we marvel, briefly, at the selfless, heroic rescue workers. Then we turn the page.
Viet Dinh, in this excellent debut novel makes all the reportage real. We see and feel and smell the dead and injured and witness the incredible destruction. We get a real sense of the overwhelming challenge of trying to save lives in Hell.
The story is told through the eyes of Ted, a USAID worker, Dev, an Indian doctor and Andy, a young U.K fireman. The characters perform heroic deeds, but they are not superheroes. They are very real human beings and the reasons they do what they do are complicated. The three main characters also happen to be gay and their relationship to each other provides a through line for the novel.
This is a complicated story with lots of characters, flashbacks and other disaster locations. It is not easy to follow, but it is not confusing. The narrative in essence creates the fog of war. It is a little more difficult to read on a Kindle because I often had to return to earlier chapters to keep things straight.
Incredibly well researched, this is an important story and I highly recommend it.
It seems like almost every month we read about some horrific natural or man-made disaster. We get video and pictures and statistics and maybe we contribute a few dollars to do our part while we marvel, briefly, at the selfless, heroic rescue workers. Then we turn the page.
Viet Dinh, in this excellent debut novel makes all the reportage real. We see and feel and smell the dead and injured and witness the incredible destruction. We get a real sense of the overwhelming challenge of trying to save lives in Hell.
The story is told through the eyes of Ted, a USAID worker, Dev, an Indian doctor and Andy, a young U.K fireman. The characters perform heroic deeds, but they are not superheroes. They are very real human beings and the reasons they do what they do are complicated. The three main characters also happen to be gay and their relationship to each other provides a through line for the novel.
This is a complicated story with lots of characters, flashbacks and other disaster locations. It is not easy to follow, but it is not confusing. The narrative in essence creates the fog of war. It is a little more difficult to read on a Kindle because I often had to return to earlier chapters to keep things straight.
Incredibly well researched, this is an important story and I highly recommend it.
November 15, 2016
Wow.
A few favorite quotes:
"Ted feels something rise inside him and he knows exactly what it is: his past life, the one he thought he'd left behind, incomplete, in India two years ago. There it is, crowding out his current life, bringing with it a long ledger of error and grievances to rectify. His past life jumps in his mouth, leaving him dumbstruck. His past life stands before him, with that wry smile, concentrated on the right side of the face..."
"Outside, the darkness gave no indication of movement: no blurred lights, no stationary objects rushing by. Travel was a suspension, a held breath, the transition between one state of being and another. The centrifugal force pulled at his bones, but the distance between him and his destination only seemed to increase, as if this trip wasn't a movement toward but a movement away. Dev's voice, when it came, came from this ever-further place."
"Dev desires so much. He desires a life that had taken a different path. He desires the impossible, the unattainable, and these desires cause sadness. But, most of all, he desires to hold this crying man, whose hand is white with bandages. He desires to embrace him, comfort him. Right now, he desires nothing more than to avert someone else's sadness, to limit it, reduce it. But that he cannot--this, too is sadness."
A few favorite quotes:
"Ted feels something rise inside him and he knows exactly what it is: his past life, the one he thought he'd left behind, incomplete, in India two years ago. There it is, crowding out his current life, bringing with it a long ledger of error and grievances to rectify. His past life jumps in his mouth, leaving him dumbstruck. His past life stands before him, with that wry smile, concentrated on the right side of the face..."
"Outside, the darkness gave no indication of movement: no blurred lights, no stationary objects rushing by. Travel was a suspension, a held breath, the transition between one state of being and another. The centrifugal force pulled at his bones, but the distance between him and his destination only seemed to increase, as if this trip wasn't a movement toward but a movement away. Dev's voice, when it came, came from this ever-further place."
"Dev desires so much. He desires a life that had taken a different path. He desires the impossible, the unattainable, and these desires cause sadness. But, most of all, he desires to hold this crying man, whose hand is white with bandages. He desires to embrace him, comfort him. Right now, he desires nothing more than to avert someone else's sadness, to limit it, reduce it. But that he cannot--this, too is sadness."
August 23, 2016
I was expecting to like this book - winner of an O. Henry award and set in a country I love - it had the potential for poignancy.
Truly, the author is a brilliant writer, painting pictures with words skillfully and fluidly. I expected the content to be gritty due to the subject matter, but I also expected to characters to rise above the grit. I was disappointed by the latter - maybe I shouldn't have had that expectation, but if they weren't to rise above the grit, then perhaps there's some message to be taken from that, at least?
Instead, the readers follow four different characters as they all work in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. There's an inordinate amount of material devoted to their sex and sexuality, which seems awkwardly out-of-place amidst the rubble and death, even forced. It's not a beautiful contrast, hope and humanity in the midst of chaos; it's just disconcerting.
I considered not finishing after the third chapter, but pressed on in hopes the stage was still being set and this award-winning book would redeem itself. I was disappointed.
Two stars for incredible writing and another for the well-researched backdrop, but that's all I can offer.
Truly, the author is a brilliant writer, painting pictures with words skillfully and fluidly. I expected the content to be gritty due to the subject matter, but I also expected to characters to rise above the grit. I was disappointed by the latter - maybe I shouldn't have had that expectation, but if they weren't to rise above the grit, then perhaps there's some message to be taken from that, at least?
Instead, the readers follow four different characters as they all work in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. There's an inordinate amount of material devoted to their sex and sexuality, which seems awkwardly out-of-place amidst the rubble and death, even forced. It's not a beautiful contrast, hope and humanity in the midst of chaos; it's just disconcerting.
I considered not finishing after the third chapter, but pressed on in hopes the stage was still being set and this award-winning book would redeem itself. I was disappointed.
Two stars for incredible writing and another for the well-researched backdrop, but that's all I can offer.
December 20, 2016
In the end I should have quit. It wasn't worth finishing. I couldn't shake the feeling that this wanted to be deep, literary, transcending; but never quite accomplished any of these things. The premise is a very good one. Somewhere in the middle I felt, perhaps, that this book should have been refocused on the the homosexual relationship of one of the main threads of the book. His longing, unknowing, fears of living within a culture of HIV and his partner. The men he meets later and transversing dating in a world that is sometimes unaccepting of his lifestyle. This would have been a better, more focused, effort.
In the end, I didn't feel deeply connected to any characters. I also felt some of the descriptions were odd. Like the sweet scent of benzine. I can't relate to that. A few might but I'd wager that most people can't either.
There were glimpses of loveliness but not enough to make this wonder. I couldn't recommend this one. Check it out from a library before you buy.
Happy Reading :)
In the end, I didn't feel deeply connected to any characters. I also felt some of the descriptions were odd. Like the sweet scent of benzine. I can't relate to that. A few might but I'd wager that most people can't either.
There were glimpses of loveliness but not enough to make this wonder. I couldn't recommend this one. Check it out from a library before you buy.
Happy Reading :)
September 4, 2016
I was a goodreads first reads winner of this giveaway. I received a kindle version of this book. I would give this a 3.5. The story revolves around a major earth quake that happens in India. it focuses around four different men. Dev, A doctor who lives in India, Andy a firefighter who has been flown to India, Ted a Pharmaceutical salesman from America. and Piotr from Bosnia who is an aid worker specializing in disasters. This takes place over a couple weeks and what how the four men come together with their different jobs. Also it writes of the personal involvement they have with each other. The men deal with dead bodies and the injured. Making decisions on rescues. I was a bit annoyed at a couple things that happened involving dogs. {but i am a huge dog lover so upsetting} Pretty good for the most part.
September 13, 2020
This book explores some of the emotions, psychology, relationships,and coping mechanisms of rescue and aid workers traveling to respond to disaster areas. It has some very good passages and some insights, but is also has a lot of shifts in focus and some shifts in style that make it somewhat difficult to become truly engrossed throughout the whole book.
August 8, 2016
It's Not For Me
The story line sounds good. I started the book over 5 times but fell asleep by the time I got to 20% through. This does not mean you will not enjoy the book,; it just means it's not for me.
The story line sounds good. I started the book over 5 times but fell asleep by the time I got to 20% through. This does not mean you will not enjoy the book,; it just means it's not for me.
August 28, 2016
So beautifully written; really I'd like to give this 4.5 stars. A rare gem in the Kindle First free promo
December 16, 2016
The middle section about Ted and Dev makes the whole book worthwhile.
November 18, 2021
I liked the concept, just moved a little too slowly for me. And maybe all the guy characters are just too boring.
"At the bus station, the buses lie crushed beneath their own shelters.
The military base remains intact. Atop a shoulder-high rock wall, painted pink, concertina wire curls between bayonets. Outside the gate, the implements of war—a long-range shell launcher, an old Soviet tank the color of moss� now serve as statuary, as if peace weren't the absence of war, but merely war repurposed and disguised." (68)
"Yes, Piotr does good work, but it's also profitable. Yes, he had rescued Rana, but he also desired her. There are no gifts that aren't covered in thorns." (88)
"As he walked down the rows of cots, perspiration and rot plump in the air, people mistook him for a doctor. 'I'm sorry,' he repeated again and again. He remembered the story of the Agence France-Presse journalist who, during the Rwandan atrocities, strode into a trauma center and announced, 'Is there anyone here who has been raped and speaks French?' The injured thought he was there to help, and if he hadn't come to help, then why was he there?" (92)
"Ted feels like a tourist. That's what seasoned aid workers call people who pop in and out of disaster areas. Disaster relief as an ego stroke. Lorraine should add them to her list of types of aid workers—the passers-through to go along with the running-aways and the running-towards." (102)
"How do they survive here? They are on the very edge of desolation itself: the Great Rann, the unforgiving desert, which, even now, Ted feels caked onto his skin. These people have made peace with the Rann, eked out an existence the earthquake could not decimate. They have retrieved their belongings from the rubble. Already, they have patched cracks in the standing huts with dried patties of cow dung. One is missing its thatch roof, but the hot season is still months away. Bamboo poles mark where a new hut will stand." (105)
"He makes promises because he wants the pleasure of fulfilling them. You're not doing it right, he hears Lorraine say. You're being selfish, John says. But this is all Ted knows how to do. He doesn't know the name of this place. He doesn't even know where he is." (106)
"She laughs, the only sound he understands clearly, and she pats his knee as if he were her son, her. laziest son, her most self-indulgent son, but her son nonetheless, and she rises, her joints creaking, to bring him another cup of tea." (113)
"The cure for sadness is not happiness...No—the cure for sadness is the elimination of desire...Dev desires so much. He desires a life that had taken a different path. He desires the impossible, the unattainable, and these desires cause sadness." (243)
"Once they leave, what's left except the waiting? Why do the minutes stretch on and on, in the unending elasticity of grief? How does one survive the long hours until someone tells you what to do next?" (260)
"At the bus station, the buses lie crushed beneath their own shelters.
The military base remains intact. Atop a shoulder-high rock wall, painted pink, concertina wire curls between bayonets. Outside the gate, the implements of war—a long-range shell launcher, an old Soviet tank the color of moss� now serve as statuary, as if peace weren't the absence of war, but merely war repurposed and disguised." (68)
"Yes, Piotr does good work, but it's also profitable. Yes, he had rescued Rana, but he also desired her. There are no gifts that aren't covered in thorns." (88)
"As he walked down the rows of cots, perspiration and rot plump in the air, people mistook him for a doctor. 'I'm sorry,' he repeated again and again. He remembered the story of the Agence France-Presse journalist who, during the Rwandan atrocities, strode into a trauma center and announced, 'Is there anyone here who has been raped and speaks French?' The injured thought he was there to help, and if he hadn't come to help, then why was he there?" (92)
"Ted feels like a tourist. That's what seasoned aid workers call people who pop in and out of disaster areas. Disaster relief as an ego stroke. Lorraine should add them to her list of types of aid workers—the passers-through to go along with the running-aways and the running-towards." (102)
"How do they survive here? They are on the very edge of desolation itself: the Great Rann, the unforgiving desert, which, even now, Ted feels caked onto his skin. These people have made peace with the Rann, eked out an existence the earthquake could not decimate. They have retrieved their belongings from the rubble. Already, they have patched cracks in the standing huts with dried patties of cow dung. One is missing its thatch roof, but the hot season is still months away. Bamboo poles mark where a new hut will stand." (105)
"He makes promises because he wants the pleasure of fulfilling them. You're not doing it right, he hears Lorraine say. You're being selfish, John says. But this is all Ted knows how to do. He doesn't know the name of this place. He doesn't even know where he is." (106)
"She laughs, the only sound he understands clearly, and she pats his knee as if he were her son, her. laziest son, her most self-indulgent son, but her son nonetheless, and she rises, her joints creaking, to bring him another cup of tea." (113)
"The cure for sadness is not happiness...No—the cure for sadness is the elimination of desire...Dev desires so much. He desires a life that had taken a different path. He desires the impossible, the unattainable, and these desires cause sadness." (243)
"Once they leave, what's left except the waiting? Why do the minutes stretch on and on, in the unending elasticity of grief? How does one survive the long hours until someone tells you what to do next?" (260)
May 14, 2017
This was a free Kindle first book courtesy of Amazon Prime. I chose this because I thought I should take a break from the fluffy mysteries and romances that I had previously chosen.
This was an interesting, well-written book. It deals with people whose job is to travel around the world as part of disaster relief agencies; in this case, the main characters have come to the site of an earthquake in India. The portrayal of their work and the plight of the people is thought-provoking--the precarious nature of rescue amidst unstable buildings; providing supplies to people while dealing with robbers and thieves; trying to communicate in extreme rural areas. It is a daunting task, and we are reminded that the breathers in between are just that: there will always be another disaster.
At the core, however, is the fragility of the people involved as each reacts to the scenes presented, and as each wrestles with the emotional disasters and ruptures of their own lives. At the center is Ted, an American homosexual who grieves the loss of a partner. He becomes involved with an Indian doctor, himself constrained by a disapproving culture; as well as a British rescue worker who is taunted by his co-workers.
The book has many passages with keen insight into the human heart. One problem, though, is that it is a bit hard to fathom the depth of feeling which is expressed for people that Ted only knew for a few days.
The fourth main character is not shown in as much detail, but he shows the strains of the aftermath transitioning from the disaster scene to family life with small children.
The ending gave me pause. In one sense it seemed a bit too staged, trite. In another sense, it is an apt metaphor for the characters' lives as the disasters are no longer just someone else's, but brought home both literally and figuratively.
This was an interesting, well-written book. It deals with people whose job is to travel around the world as part of disaster relief agencies; in this case, the main characters have come to the site of an earthquake in India. The portrayal of their work and the plight of the people is thought-provoking--the precarious nature of rescue amidst unstable buildings; providing supplies to people while dealing with robbers and thieves; trying to communicate in extreme rural areas. It is a daunting task, and we are reminded that the breathers in between are just that: there will always be another disaster.
At the core, however, is the fragility of the people involved as each reacts to the scenes presented, and as each wrestles with the emotional disasters and ruptures of their own lives. At the center is Ted, an American homosexual who grieves the loss of a partner. He becomes involved with an Indian doctor, himself constrained by a disapproving culture; as well as a British rescue worker who is taunted by his co-workers.
The book has many passages with keen insight into the human heart. One problem, though, is that it is a bit hard to fathom the depth of feeling which is expressed for people that Ted only knew for a few days.
The fourth main character is not shown in as much detail, but he shows the strains of the aftermath transitioning from the disaster scene to family life with small children.
The ending gave me pause. In one sense it seemed a bit too staged, trite. In another sense, it is an apt metaphor for the characters' lives as the disasters are no longer just someone else's, but brought home both literally and figuratively.
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