Miles McGinty

by Tom Gilling

New South Wales, 1856: Miles McGinty and Isabel Dowling are born on the same night into different worlds. Miles is the illegitimate son of an actress in a troupe of travelling players, Isabel the rebellious daughter of a merchant banker, her home a red-brick mansion in one of Sydney's better suburbs. Both are destined to defy convention - and gravity. She rides in a balloon at the age of seven, defying the tweed-coated official who'd asked for a boy. He learns to float in mid-air with the aid of a mysterious showman and storyteller. But Miles becomes possessed by a secret ambition, the desire to build and ride in a flying machine. When his path finally crosses Isabel's, he knows he's met the only person who can share his adventurous vision.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels, Australia

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Rubberboots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book, fun to read with a great cast of characters. Set in Australia in mid-1800's, the book weaves the stories of Miles and Isabel to finally arrive at a satisfying ending. Great writing interspersed with historical facts, good pace, and overall a very enjoyable read.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai aimé. Australie dans les années 1800. On est à l'époque victorienne avec le premier vol de montgolfière, les cerf-volant, la lévitation, la magie, le théâtre. Ce livre raconte la quête de voler. Miles et Isabel naîtront le même jour et auront des vies parallèles jusqu'au jour où ils seront réunis le désir de voler de Miles et le désir de liberté d'Isabelle. Bien écrit. C'est presqu'un conte

[Wilette Youkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the beautiful cover or the blurb that talks of romance because they will deceive you. For unless you have a keen interest on the history of flight, you won't find this book very interesting.

The first two-thirds of the book is about Miles and Isabel as separate people, living their lives without knowledge of the each other. And for a novel that touts true love, that is a long time to expect the readers to wait. Yet, I think the true love spoken of is actually about their true love of flight, not of each other. And in that respect, sure, Tom Gilling does a great job of storytelling. Except, I, admittedly, could not care less about flight and why Miles and Isabel are so consumed by it.

When the two finally meet, their time together is so rushed, that I found it hard to believe that they could have fallen in love over such a short period of time. Sure, they're kindred spirits as far as their love of flight and storytelling is concerned, but Mr. Gilling left so much to the imagination, that when the end came, I found myself thinking, "This is it?!"

I felt gypped, not so much of an ending, but of a real tale of romance.

[Karie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to say about this book - and I have been thinking about it since I finished it last night.

It was a pleasant read...but there is nothing that I can point to that makes it stand out for me. It is a snapshot of a time and place (Australia - late 1800s)...and two people whose lives keep intersecting and finally join...and...and...

And that's about it. I like how he describes the landscape and the never ending sky - but I don't think that really counts as a book review. Sorry.

[Jamie Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but it fit the book well. Cute story about storytelling and love, with interesting history about flight.

[Steve Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, funny little tale, about a boy born to fly and his attempts to do so.

[Leya · Rating 4 out of 5]

With any suggestion that I get from my friend the librarian, I'm always a little skeptical about starting it. We have different tastes in books but occasionally we agree on some.

Once I began reading this book I did not want to put it down. It was quick paced, but you had to make sure you paid attention because every once in a while there's something that make you go "what was that". I love when books have little twists and turns, it keeps the reader attentive. Or maybe it's just me...

I enjoyed the way that Miles and Isabel's lives were always intertwined. And how similar they were considering that they came from two different backgrounds. And that's what made their connection so unique and interesting. The secondary characters weren't so shabby either, my favourite was Balthasar/Wolunsky he was a great story teller but he seemed to be sad and lonely.

I was a little disappointed with ending. It felt like it left me hanging and I want to know where the real ending is.... Anyone?

4.5/5

[Bernadette Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 2.5 stars for me.

An unusual read in some ways. Two babies born on the same day, Miles and Isabel. The story is written without any chapters and in a parralel fashion learning about both of them at the same rate.

Whilst the story progressed and their lives did cross at different parts in the story, personally I didn't feel the story went very far at all. It's labelled as a romance by some but there's not a lot of romance there and what there is seems stilted to me.

Most of the story is taken up with Miles's passion for all things aeronautical and the ending leaves you to decide what happens in your own mind rather than being spelled out for you.

[Justin Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a comparatively short book - the writing is warm and captures images and scenes evocatively. It conveys an understanding and affection for people and places, and a reviewer was right (I think) to mention Gilling in the same breath as Peter Carey and Angela Carter because the story is real and fantastic at the same time. So it's a story set in NSW in the late 19th century, and it's about people, flight, love, imagination, contraptions, and hooch.

[Malou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written book and a smooth read. The lives of Miles McGinty and Isabel Dowling run parallel in this story and center around the art of flying. While Isabel experiences being in the sensational hot air balloon, Miles misses the attraction. The theme of flying influences both children from the start and right into adulthood. When they finally meet in person, their lives become intertwined in their quest to fly.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A number of days later and I still enjoy the characters. It's a bit of an uneven book and almost feels like the setup for what will happen next. Time goes by at different rates and the depth of the writing at times varies as well. Again very interesting characters but they might have been used for more.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Gilling is a new Australian author for me and from what I read in his book, The Adventures of Miles and Isabel, I hope he writes much more. Once again, I'm faced with terrain, town names & times that are all about Australian and not possibly anywhere else. The characters in this story also seem unique to the people living down under. Hope to go there someday.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps because I read it in under 24 hours, I really loved this book. (I tend to see more flaws the longer it takes me to get through something.) A fast moving story of two characters born on the same day and obsessed with flying in an era before it was sure than man was capable of such a thing. I found it to be a really lovely book.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are no words, this is so good. Like an addictive candy treat.
For lovers of steampunk, people who adore the weird coincidences of life, romantics who crave the inevitable love story, people who like a fictional selfmade-man and a free-spirited heroine who kick boundaries and reject society, or parents who want their kids to read something completely hopeful... It's all ages.

[Nicole Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great random find at Auntie's. I picked it up because it was on sale and takes place in Australia, it really is a fun story with great characters, you can easily picture yourself living in turn of the century Sydney.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a Times notable book of the year. However, the only notable thing I could see was that Miles and Isabel didn't even meet each other until page 138 of a 198 page book. 50 pages doesn't exactly leave room for many adventures for these two characters.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

...I must say, I read this in english...just couldn't find the english record. :)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, funny little tale, about a boy born to fly and his attempts to do so.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very different book. The writing is excellent. Mr. Gilling is a great story-teller. His characters surprise and delight you. The ending caught me completely off-guard.

[Nadine in California · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, cute book you can read in a day. Nice but nothing special.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very entertained by the characters and found it was great to chase away cabin fever during a snowy couple of days.

[Reevesjenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the title and the front cover better than the book itself.

[Adrian Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a short fun book. But maybe a little too short.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent characters who carried me with them during the novel: i would loved to have been part of their wonderful, fun-filled world!

[Madeleine Kipling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked it up for the cover art. Light and whimsical read. Fun writing. It's about theatre folk and has a vaudeville taste to it. Not great writing, but fun.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book that did very much for me, unfortunately, although it was easy to read. I am wondering if I missed the point!

[Beth (MrsGinTN) · Rating 2 out of 5]

WBC: Set in Australia

[Laura Mcewen-miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little disappointing -they really don't meet until about 3/4 of the way thru - more about separate stories not joint as I thought from the title

[Kat]

Not a bad book, just not very exciting...

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

...meh. The premise was better than the delivery.