Coincidence: A Novel

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What determines the course of our lives? Chance . . . or destiny?On Midsummer's Day, 1982, three-year-old Azalea Ives is found alone at a seaside fairground.One year later, her mother's body washes up on a beach—her link to Azalea unnoticed.On Midsummer's Day, 1992, her adoptive parents are killed in a Ugandan rebel uprising; Azalea is narrowly rescued by a figure from her past.Terrified that she, too, will meet her fate on Midsummer's Day, Azalea approaches Thomas Post, an expert in debunking coincidences. Azalea's past, he insists, is random—but as Midsummer's Day approaches, he worries that she may bring fate upon herself.**From BooklistIronmonger’s first novel published in the U.S. charts Azalea Lewis and her complicated family across the British Isles and East Africa. The unlikely organizing principle is the seeming inevitability of disaster on Midsummer’s Day, a fatal date across several decades. Although Ironmonger uses multiple characters and points of view, the novel centers on a love story between Azalea and an academic, Thomas Post, whose research focuses on probability. Ironmonger’s prose is easy to follow, even with his peripatetic approach. His extended discussions of free will flirt with big questions, though the playful sparring stops short of challenging the reader. Ironmonger is at his best when he’s able to link the various stories in a manner that’s neither forced nor indulgent, in a modest but nevertheless lyric style: “That fisherman would be the son of a fisherman, and he the son of another, and so it would go back into the past and perhaps into the future as if the pages of the book had already been written.” --Kevin Clouther Review“Playful, inventive, and fast-paced, COINCIDENCE sweeps you up and carries you along. . . The droll, sharp-witted narrator spins this tale with the lightest of touches, all the way to its perfect ending. I adored this book.” (Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN) “In COINCIDENCE, J.W. Ironmonger takes the reader on an amazing journey. . . Read this brainy, delightful novel.” (Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY) “A haunting, lyrical meditation on how fates are woven together, for better or worse.” (Simon Van Booy, author of THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATENESS) “Ironmonger spins another nimble tale. . . It’s a feat of cleverness. . . A fast, captivating read.” (Kirkus Reviews) “A heady, seductive novel. . . Ironmonger does a masterful job of folding the stories together. . . He ties his complicated plot elements together brilliantly, leaving the reader entirely satisfied with all outcomes. A compelling story.” (Shelf Awareness) ****