Familiar Material Done Well in The Age of Miracles


In Karen Thompson Walker’s 2012 debut novel The Age of Miracles, the Earth’s rotation is slowing down, and the world begins to fall apart, or rather falls into new patterns and rhythms. The effects start out small-a moment of daylight adds itself, then birds start to land in droves and die, and eventually a stretch of daylight lasts six weeks.

Here among the changes is nearly 12-year old Julia, a California girl living with her two mostly dull parents, who has a tough go of it at school, not a lot of friends, and who is our guide into what is happening on Earth, as well as in her family and community. Sure, thousands of whales are beaching themselves and dying, but the bigger question is, will her crush Seth Moreno ever talk to her?

Thompson Walker does enough work on the science of what is happening to make it believable, especially to those readers who only need a nod to whether any of this is possible, because what we really want to know is, are Julia and Seth going to kiss, or what? Eventually he does kiss her, but then moves away. We’re left with Julia, stronger for the relationship with the one person in town who seems to want to get to know her.

The Age of Miracles suffers from feeling a bit like a Nicolas Sparks book, with a suffering protagonist, a boy who falls for her even though their pairing seems unlikely, and a tragic ending. Thompson Walker manages to make the story engrossing. Although we may have read this love story before, we still want to know what happens to Julia, and the slowing world.

Thank you to Ross Swofford for suggesting The Age of Miracles.


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