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Mar 18, 2013
The often-unseen connections between people are the focus of this "delectably tart and agile novel" (Booklist), which starts with the mugging of a retired schoolteacher on a London street. Charlotte, left without her handbag, is also left with a broken hip, which leads to unexpected repercussions for her friends and family (and even strangers) when their behaviour changes to accommodate her care. An illicit love affair is inadvertently revealed, a newly fluent immigrant is free to reinvent his life, and Charlotte herself is changed. Whatever you call it - interdependency, the chaos theory, the butterfly effect - author Penelope Lively insightfully illustrates how one small change can affect multitudes. For a similar theme, try Penny Vincenzi's The Best of Times. Fiction A to Z newsletter March 2013.