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'It is never what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophies are always different - unimagined, unprepared for, unknown…'
What if our 24-hour day grew longer, first in minutes, then in hours, until day becomes night and night becomes day? What effect would this slowing have on the world? On the birds in the sky, the whales in the sea, the astronauts in space, and on an eleven-year-old girl, grappling with emotional changes in her own life..?
One morning, Julia and her parents wake up in their suburban home in California to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth is noticeably slowing. The enormity of this is almost beyond comprehension. And yet, even if the world is, in fact, coming to an end, as some assert, day-to-day life must go on. Julia, facing the loneliness and despair of an awkward adolescence, witnesses the impact of this phenomenon on the world, on the community, on her family and on herself.
About the Author
Karen Thompson Walker is a graduate of UCLA and the Columbia MFA program. A former book editor, she wrote The Age of Miracles in the mornings before work. Born and raised in San Diego, California, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband. The Age of Miracles is her first book.
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Comments about The Age of Miracles:
This was a lovely gentle story told from the point of view of an 11 year old girl. The innocence of the character was apparent but it seemed at times as though the character was too young to be the vehicle for the story that the author intended. The character is constantly thinking/saying/realising 'this was the last time I would...' 'if I knew then what I know now...' 'I would later come to understand...'
This became quite jarring. As though the author lacked the skill to lead us through her story to where she wanted us to go naturally. It may be that the character was too young for the thoughts/realisations required for the story, in which case the author maybe needed to re-adjust her premise a little.
The story ended with the character older but there was no real progression or sense of her as an adult shaped by the events of the story. It felt lacking a little depth. It also left quite a number of unanswered questions, which I guess in this case is not a bad thing, quite thought provoking.
That said though, overall I enjoyed the gentle poignant story and the character interaction was beautiful yet painful at times. I was disappointed because maybe my expectations were too high, I did think it was worth reading though.
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Comments about The Age of Miracles:
Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the interaction between all the main characters
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Displaying reviews 1-2
Advance praise for "The Age of Miracles
""[A] gripping debut . . . Thompson's Julia is the perfect narrator. . . . While the apocalypse looms large--has in fact already arrived--the narrative remains fiercely grounded in the surreal and horrifying day-to-day and the personal decisions that persist even though no one knows what to do. A triumph of vision, language, and terrifying momentum, the story also feels eerily plausible, as if the problems we've been worrying about all along pale in comparison to what might actually bring our end."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"In Walker's stunning debut, a young California girl coming of age in a dystopian near future confronts the inevitability of change on the most personal level as life on earth withers ... She goes through the trials and joys of first love. She begins to see cracks in her parents' marriage and must navigate the currents of loyalty and moral uncertainty. She faces sickness and death of loved ones. ... Julia's life is shaped by what happens in the larger world, but it is the only life she knows, and Walker captures each moment, intimate and universal, with magical precision. Riveting, heartbreaking, profoundly moving."--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"What a remarkable and beautifully wrought novel. In its depiction of a world at once utterly like and unlike our own, "The Age of Miracles" is so convincingly unsettling that it just might make you stockpile emergency supplies of batteries and bottled water. It also--thank goodness--provides great solace with its wisdom, its compassion, and the elegance of its storytelling."--Curtis Sittenfeld, author of "Prep"
"'Miracles' indeed. Karen Thompson Walker's debut novel is a stunner from the first page--an end-of-the-world, coming-of-age tale of quiet majesty. I loved this novel and can't wait to see what this remarkable writer will do next."--Justin Cronin, author of "The Passage"
"Is the end near? In Karen Thomps
ISBN: 9780857207241
ISBN-10: 0857207245
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 384
Published: 21st June 2012
Dimensions (cm): 23.4 x 15.3
Weight (kg): 0.445
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