What if there really is no such thing as coincidence? What if all of those moments that just seem to fall together were intricately and painstakingly planned by mysterious people we never even notice? That is the wonderful premise of Yoav Blum's The Coincidence Makers in which we meet Guy, Emily, and Eric, members of the most recent Coincidence Makers Course. They learn to upset full cups of coffee, redirect traffic by means of construction mishaps, and cause electrical blackouts all with the mission of creating circumstances that are inevitably attributed to coincidence. How did those two young lovers meet? Coincidence. Why did that accountant leave his tightly controlled life behind to become a poet? A series of coincidences.
The reader mostly follows along on the missions of Guy, but the perspective alternates between him and several of the people for whom he is arranging various coincidences. These characters are wonderfully drawn and I loved reading about them. The only thing that left me disappointed was not being able to see how things turned out for each of them once the point of the coincidence had passed. That is, I think, the mark of a good writer to leave the reader wanting more of even the secondary characters. I also enjoyed contemplating how many events have to fall into just the right place for life to turn out the way it does.
I adored this book and I think you will, too.
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