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The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint
"An ingenious tale [that] takes its heart from Dickens and its soul from America’s great outlaw West." —Elle
Half Apache and mostly orphaned, Edgar Presley Mint’s trials begin on an Arizona reservation at the age of seven, when the mailman’s jeep accidentally runs over his head. As he is shunted from the hospital to a school for delinquents to a Mormon foster family, comedy, pain, and trouble accompany Edgar through a string of larger-than-life experiences. Through it all, readers will root for this irresistible innocent who never truly loses heart and whose quest for the mailman leads him to an unexpected home.
Half Apache and mostly orphaned, Edgar Presley Mint’s trials begin on an Arizona reservation at the age of seven, when the mailman’s jeep accidentally runs over his head. As he is shunted from the hospital to a school for delinquents to a Mormon foster family, comedy, pain, and trouble accompany Edgar through a string of larger-than-life experiences. Through it all, readers will root for this irresistible innocent who never truly loses heart and whose quest for the mailman leads him to an unexpected home.
423 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
298 people are currently reading
5604 people want to read
About the author
Brady Udall
15 books217 followersBrady Udall grew up in a large Mormon family in Arizona, where he worked on his grandfather's farm. He graduated from Brigham Young University and later attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
He was formerly a faculty member of Franklin & Marshall College starting in 1998, then Southern Illinois University, and now teaches writing at Boise State University.
A collection of his short stories titled Letting Loose the Hounds was published in 1998 and his debut novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint was published in 2001. The Lonely Polygamist was published in May 2010.
He was formerly a faculty member of Franklin & Marshall College starting in 1998, then Southern Illinois University, and now teaches writing at Boise State University.
A collection of his short stories titled Letting Loose the Hounds was published in 1998 and his debut novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint was published in 2001. The Lonely Polygamist was published in May 2010.
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January 6, 2020
Is there a word for that sweet spot a great author hits with the voice of his story - the one that lulls you into believing you’re leaving this world and entering his? Some writers hit it off and on throughout various works and, if they do it often enough, we ascribe to them words of greatness. But what if the writer hits it from page one and never loses it? What do we call it then? Whatever the word, Brady Udall finds it, and keeps it, in The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, perhaps the best debut novel I’ve read.
Many have compared Udall to John Irving, another writer whose work I cherish, but Udall, I think, is the better of the two, at least on this outing. I loved The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire (among others), but neither brought me to the brink of literary ecstasy, as did Edgar Mint. By the end of this book – and this has never happened to me before – my hands were trembling as I turned the pages.
The story is about a Native American (Apache) boy whose head is run over by a mail jeep and the monumental changes the event brings to his future. The mere fact of his survival is considered by all to be a miracle (thus, the title, sort of) and I’m always inclined to look for biblical allegory in such cases. In the case of Edgar Mint, those inclinations are well-rewarded.
One would be naturally disposed to assume that Edgar’s survival of the accident was his resurrection but, as Udall makes abundantly clear, we’re not talking about Jesus here but of Lazarus and, most importantly, the events that constitute the rolling of the stone in front of Edgar’s tomb begin after he survives the accident. So, here’s where the John Irving comparisons undoubtedly arise; Udall takes the reader into a heart-rending world of bullies and prejudice and, like Irving, he renders it as hilarious as it is distressing because Edgar often finds the outrageous injustice of it all comical himself. After all, he’s survived having his head run over by a jeep, everything else is just child’s play.
Though the book is written in the first person, the author occasionally utilizes the (maddening to some) tool of lapsing into the third person when describing Edgar’s life. He does it rarely, and seemingly indiscriminately, and I began to wonder why. But here seems to be the key: Edgar wanders through his harsh world wondering if, perhaps, he’s actually watching someone else’s life, wondering if maybe he's watching it all from the outside, questioning if so much cruelty and misfortune could really be foisted upon one child and, like anyone who’s ever suffered at the hands of caprice, he begins to wonder if he deserves it; if maybe it’s all his fault.
Edgar’s losses brought me to despair again and again and, each time, Edgar would rise up and together we’d laugh at the inequity of it all until, finally, I wanted to shout, “Enough! Leave him alone!” But then came the resolution to Udall’s brilliant, if emotionally exhausting, work; because then he rolled the boulder away…
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint left me with the realization that, despite life’s often capricious cruelty and injustice and ugliness, there is also hope and beauty and love and… resurrection. More importantly, Udall brings home the bare fact that, though fate is patently unfair, the inequity of it is not earned. It is simply one face of an infinitely faceted jewel.
Many have compared Udall to John Irving, another writer whose work I cherish, but Udall, I think, is the better of the two, at least on this outing. I loved The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire (among others), but neither brought me to the brink of literary ecstasy, as did Edgar Mint. By the end of this book – and this has never happened to me before – my hands were trembling as I turned the pages.
The story is about a Native American (Apache) boy whose head is run over by a mail jeep and the monumental changes the event brings to his future. The mere fact of his survival is considered by all to be a miracle (thus, the title, sort of) and I’m always inclined to look for biblical allegory in such cases. In the case of Edgar Mint, those inclinations are well-rewarded.
One would be naturally disposed to assume that Edgar’s survival of the accident was his resurrection but, as Udall makes abundantly clear, we’re not talking about Jesus here but of Lazarus and, most importantly, the events that constitute the rolling of the stone in front of Edgar’s tomb begin after he survives the accident. So, here’s where the John Irving comparisons undoubtedly arise; Udall takes the reader into a heart-rending world of bullies and prejudice and, like Irving, he renders it as hilarious as it is distressing because Edgar often finds the outrageous injustice of it all comical himself. After all, he’s survived having his head run over by a jeep, everything else is just child’s play.
Though the book is written in the first person, the author occasionally utilizes the (maddening to some) tool of lapsing into the third person when describing Edgar’s life. He does it rarely, and seemingly indiscriminately, and I began to wonder why. But here seems to be the key: Edgar wanders through his harsh world wondering if, perhaps, he’s actually watching someone else’s life, wondering if maybe he's watching it all from the outside, questioning if so much cruelty and misfortune could really be foisted upon one child and, like anyone who’s ever suffered at the hands of caprice, he begins to wonder if he deserves it; if maybe it’s all his fault.
Edgar’s losses brought me to despair again and again and, each time, Edgar would rise up and together we’d laugh at the inequity of it all until, finally, I wanted to shout, “Enough! Leave him alone!” But then came the resolution to Udall’s brilliant, if emotionally exhausting, work; because then he rolled the boulder away…
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint left me with the realization that, despite life’s often capricious cruelty and injustice and ugliness, there is also hope and beauty and love and… resurrection. More importantly, Udall brings home the bare fact that, though fate is patently unfair, the inequity of it is not earned. It is simply one face of an infinitely faceted jewel.
June 23, 2011
This is one of those few books that should not have any details disclosed about it - no spoiler alerts, no hints, no outlines or summaries. I would even vote to remove the descriptions from the back covers of every copy in existence. Here's why...
The beauty of this story comes from the reader's innocence and the display of curiosity and interest that occurs with every turn of the page. If I divulged even the tiniest detail, it would surely remove one of the magical sparks of this book, and for that I applaud Udall. He has woven together (not told) a story that is, at once, spell-binding, elusive, heartwarming, tear-jerking, unbelievable, and yet totally believable. And, if you get as emotionally entangled with the characters and their stories as I did, it might even leave you a bit angry - attempting a bargain with the author and asking, "But why couldn't their life be a bit easier?"
Please stop whatever book you are reading and pick up a copy of this wonderful tale. Your heart will absolutely swoon at the delicate and masterful placement of words and sentences, seemingly simple in first appearance, but that dig deep into your mind so that you will be recalling them (and their substantial meaning) months later.
The beauty of this story comes from the reader's innocence and the display of curiosity and interest that occurs with every turn of the page. If I divulged even the tiniest detail, it would surely remove one of the magical sparks of this book, and for that I applaud Udall. He has woven together (not told) a story that is, at once, spell-binding, elusive, heartwarming, tear-jerking, unbelievable, and yet totally believable. And, if you get as emotionally entangled with the characters and their stories as I did, it might even leave you a bit angry - attempting a bargain with the author and asking, "But why couldn't their life be a bit easier?"
Please stop whatever book you are reading and pick up a copy of this wonderful tale. Your heart will absolutely swoon at the delicate and masterful placement of words and sentences, seemingly simple in first appearance, but that dig deep into your mind so that you will be recalling them (and their substantial meaning) months later.
November 9, 2010
If there is a fictional trope I could probably do without it is the precocious child narrator. I can only read so many books about weirdly bookish children with a story to tell, or a life of destiny to live. And yet it seems like every time you turn around, there is a new one being trumpeted for its "unique, pitch-perfect voice," sometimes by me. Yeah, maybe I like some of these books (or not especially), and I'm even planning to read one soon that is over 1,000 pages long fergoshsakes. But in general, nine-year-olds are not super interesting as a rule, and it gets harder and harder to impress me by creating one that is "special" in a way that makes reading a book about her not rather tiresome.
An easy way to get around this is the memoir novel. Sure, your lead is a precocious child. Sure, you want to use first-person voice. Just have it be narration from the character looking back over the years. It will require you to do less jumping through hoops to either write in an affected faux-simplistic style or make your narrator so extra-special that of course he uses big words and makes profound statements about the nature of existence (Jonathan Safran Foer is guilty of both of these annoying habits at the same time). So right off the bat, Brady Udall earns major points for doing just that: letting Edgar Mint tell us about his miracle childhood years after he's grown up and processed it, rather than trapping us in his limited worldview as it happens.
Because I think that would be pretty frustrating: Edgar is a compelling character, but a frustrating one: born into a life of poverty on a Native American reservation and with a brain damaged by a terrible accident (head run over by a mail truck), he has plenty of affected quirks in place from the get-go: with no memory of growing up, he's naive about the world and his place in it; he can't write but loves to type (on an old fashioned typewriter, natch); he constantly wets the bed; because he survived what should have been a certain death, he considers himself touched by God and thus spends a lot of time contemplating religion; &c. It's pretty clear this "miracle life" is going to involve a lot of slightly fantastical adventures (and it does: death-defying scrapes with bullies at a school for orphans, daring escapes in the night, a quest to find his missing mother, living with Mormons). All of this plus a child narrator would be too much to take.
But the adult Edgar proves a very amenable tour guide to this miracle life, allowing the child's POV to breathe while inserting just the right degree of perspective. Udall is also very elegant with his prose; both of his novels are consistently funny and thoughtful in equal measure. That other book is The Lonely Polygamist, which is still my favorite book of 2010 (and which I still haven't reviewed), and that one's a lot better, but The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is definitely a good start. It drags a bit too much in the middle, which is why I'm knocking it down a star, but the destination is definitely worth the journey to get there: I can think of few books that end quite as satisfyingly.
An easy way to get around this is the memoir novel. Sure, your lead is a precocious child. Sure, you want to use first-person voice. Just have it be narration from the character looking back over the years. It will require you to do less jumping through hoops to either write in an affected faux-simplistic style or make your narrator so extra-special that of course he uses big words and makes profound statements about the nature of existence (Jonathan Safran Foer is guilty of both of these annoying habits at the same time). So right off the bat, Brady Udall earns major points for doing just that: letting Edgar Mint tell us about his miracle childhood years after he's grown up and processed it, rather than trapping us in his limited worldview as it happens.
Because I think that would be pretty frustrating: Edgar is a compelling character, but a frustrating one: born into a life of poverty on a Native American reservation and with a brain damaged by a terrible accident (head run over by a mail truck), he has plenty of affected quirks in place from the get-go: with no memory of growing up, he's naive about the world and his place in it; he can't write but loves to type (on an old fashioned typewriter, natch); he constantly wets the bed; because he survived what should have been a certain death, he considers himself touched by God and thus spends a lot of time contemplating religion; &c. It's pretty clear this "miracle life" is going to involve a lot of slightly fantastical adventures (and it does: death-defying scrapes with bullies at a school for orphans, daring escapes in the night, a quest to find his missing mother, living with Mormons). All of this plus a child narrator would be too much to take.
But the adult Edgar proves a very amenable tour guide to this miracle life, allowing the child's POV to breathe while inserting just the right degree of perspective. Udall is also very elegant with his prose; both of his novels are consistently funny and thoughtful in equal measure. That other book is The Lonely Polygamist, which is still my favorite book of 2010 (and which I still haven't reviewed), and that one's a lot better, but The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is definitely a good start. It drags a bit too much in the middle, which is why I'm knocking it down a star, but the destination is definitely worth the journey to get there: I can think of few books that end quite as satisfyingly.
November 23, 2012
Having read Udall’s The Lonely Polygamist earlier this year and having been blown away by it (I gave that one also 5 stars out of 5), I knew I simply had to get ahold of the rest of his books and see if The Lonely Polygamist was a fluke of genius or if Udall really IS that good. Well, by the time I was only a few pages into this book, I was convinced that Udall really IS that good. So good, in fact, that he has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
As with Polygamist, this book was one where I hung on every word, deliberately taking my time in reading it so that I could stop and enjoy the writing throughout. Sure, the plot was exciting and captivating enough to make me want to read it much more quickly, but I just couldn’t help but stopping to smell the literary roses along the way.
As an example, one of the first scenes—that of Edgar Mint getting run over by a mail truck—would be one which should evoke nothing but sadness and horror in any reader. Udall, though, found a way to actually make me laugh out loud at some of it, and even stop to wonder how I could laugh at something so morbid! He is just that good, that powerful a writer.
This book was really incredibly captivating, raw, gut-wrenching, and heartstring-tugging. The surprising ending was also something which was just perfect—something that can’t be said about many other works of genius that sometimes fall flat at their ends but stand on the merit of their middle pages. Udall’s writing is just wonderful from beginning to end, and I recommend any and all of his books to anyone who wants to get REALLY lost in a REAL book.
As with Polygamist, this book was one where I hung on every word, deliberately taking my time in reading it so that I could stop and enjoy the writing throughout. Sure, the plot was exciting and captivating enough to make me want to read it much more quickly, but I just couldn’t help but stopping to smell the literary roses along the way.
As an example, one of the first scenes—that of Edgar Mint getting run over by a mail truck—would be one which should evoke nothing but sadness and horror in any reader. Udall, though, found a way to actually make me laugh out loud at some of it, and even stop to wonder how I could laugh at something so morbid! He is just that good, that powerful a writer.
This book was really incredibly captivating, raw, gut-wrenching, and heartstring-tugging. The surprising ending was also something which was just perfect—something that can’t be said about many other works of genius that sometimes fall flat at their ends but stand on the merit of their middle pages. Udall’s writing is just wonderful from beginning to end, and I recommend any and all of his books to anyone who wants to get REALLY lost in a REAL book.
July 30, 2013
When I was visiting my ninety-two year old father in Michigan, he was reading a book and occasionally chortling to himself. When he finished the book, he told me I should read it and could borrow his copy. So what could I do? I brought The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint home to read!
The book starts out with an exclamation mark!
This accident is the precursor to the Miracle alluded to in the title of the book.
Edgar had survived and astounded the medical profession at St. Devine’s Hospital. It was time for him to move on to the next venue: the Willie Sherman School for Native American orphans in Arizona is his new home. Edgar’s mother was an Indian. As an orphan, Edgar is obligated to cycle through several less than satisfactory living arrangements. The book is the story of his life.
About halfway through the book, an important thing happens: two missionaries carrying The Book of Mormon come into the story. These missionaries ride bikes, are from out of town, wear nametags, and are named Elder Spafford and Elder Turley. They are probably among the 48,757 people who have given The Book of Mormon an average 4.46 rating on GR. This is a very high rating. In fact, I have never seen any rating quite so high.
If you have ever had an experience of neatly dressed strangers coming to your door to save you, you will recognize this segment of the book. It is funny. Maybe not so funny if you take religion very seriously. No worries for me on that count! Edgar, who was seven when the jeep ran over his head, is now twelve and is ready to be baptized so he can be placed in a Mormon foster home. Next stop: Richland, Utah.
Edgar is attached to a Hermes Jubilee typewriter and is constantly typing out his thoughts. He says he has 11,789 pages packed in his trunk when he arrives in Richland. The story of him settling into his new foster home is nicely done, capturing the experience sensitively. He has some big changes to accommodate into his young life: puberty, religion, pseudo siblings, a troubled foster family. At a young age, Edgar has already had a number of encounters with death – including very nearly his own – that leave him with considerable anger and a desire to kill God with his pocket knife.
One of his goals is to find the mailman who ran over his head and let him know that he survived. The trail to this man takes him away from his Richland home. He is now fifteen and destined to meet his past in Pennsylvania and to learn more about the man devastated by Edgar’s “death” at the age of seven. Edgar locates his widow, Rosa, and realizes that she and her deceased husband had nearly been the parents who could have changed the entire trajectory of his life.
The book ends on a saccharinely sweet note that leaves a lump in your throat. Rosa dies peacefully and Edgar lives happily ever after – a miraculous life with lots of bumps – not all of them on his once crushed head.
I quoted the first paragraph at the beginning of this review so let me make the perfect bookends by quoting the last paragraph at the end:
I never would have read this sweet and corny book without the encouragement (OK, requirement) of my Dad. I will enjoy telling him that I gave The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint four stars.
The book starts out with an exclamation mark!
If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be that when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As formative events go, nothing else comes close; my careening, zigzag existence, my wounded brain and faith in God, my collision with joy and affliction, all of it has come, in one way or another, out of that moment on a summer morning when the left rear tire of a United States postal jeep ground my tiny head into the hot gravel of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.
This accident is the precursor to the Miracle alluded to in the title of the book.
First, I had survived a mail jeep running over my head. Then, after three months in a coma, I had simply awakened, almost without warning and with only minimal brain damage. According to science and simple common sense, I should have been a vegetable, lucky to spend the rest of my days diapered and spoon-fed, my skull full of jelly. But I was progressing so well the doctors didn’t know what to make of me; they’d shake their heads, muttering under their breaths, checking and rechecking their charts, utterly perplexed, as if my continuing miracle was causing them to lose faith in the things they’d held most sacred all along.
Edgar had survived and astounded the medical profession at St. Devine’s Hospital. It was time for him to move on to the next venue: the Willie Sherman School for Native American orphans in Arizona is his new home. Edgar’s mother was an Indian. As an orphan, Edgar is obligated to cycle through several less than satisfactory living arrangements. The book is the story of his life.
About halfway through the book, an important thing happens: two missionaries carrying The Book of Mormon come into the story. These missionaries ride bikes, are from out of town, wear nametags, and are named Elder Spafford and Elder Turley. They are probably among the 48,757 people who have given The Book of Mormon an average 4.46 rating on GR. This is a very high rating. In fact, I have never seen any rating quite so high.
If you have ever had an experience of neatly dressed strangers coming to your door to save you, you will recognize this segment of the book. It is funny. Maybe not so funny if you take religion very seriously. No worries for me on that count! Edgar, who was seven when the jeep ran over his head, is now twelve and is ready to be baptized so he can be placed in a Mormon foster home. Next stop: Richland, Utah.
Edgar is attached to a Hermes Jubilee typewriter and is constantly typing out his thoughts. He says he has 11,789 pages packed in his trunk when he arrives in Richland. The story of him settling into his new foster home is nicely done, capturing the experience sensitively. He has some big changes to accommodate into his young life: puberty, religion, pseudo siblings, a troubled foster family. At a young age, Edgar has already had a number of encounters with death – including very nearly his own – that leave him with considerable anger and a desire to kill God with his pocket knife.
One of his goals is to find the mailman who ran over his head and let him know that he survived. The trail to this man takes him away from his Richland home. He is now fifteen and destined to meet his past in Pennsylvania and to learn more about the man devastated by Edgar’s “death” at the age of seven. Edgar locates his widow, Rosa, and realizes that she and her deceased husband had nearly been the parents who could have changed the entire trajectory of his life.
But there has been no greater blessing than Rosa. For thirteen years she and I did one simple thing: we were good to each other. We got each other drinks, We said please and thank you and doesn’t that shirt look nice. We bought cards for each other on Valentine’s Day and found inordinate pleasure in watching reruns of “The Benny Hill Show.” We took turns cleaning the toilet. We talked bad about the neighbors and made fun of the persnickety old widows who liked to stand up front during liturgy and show off their new permanents. We played Scrabble and Yahtzee and let each other get away with murder.
The book ends on a saccharinely sweet note that leaves a lump in your throat. Rosa dies peacefully and Edgar lives happily ever after – a miraculous life with lots of bumps – not all of them on his once crushed head.
I quoted the first paragraph at the beginning of this review so let me make the perfect bookends by quoting the last paragraph at the end:
I’m supposed to meet Mitzi at Klutsner’s Deli for lunch to celebrate this new stage in our relationship, and I have a little time, so I roll a clean sheet into my typewriter and let me fingers have their way. In awhile, after I have added a few more inconsequential words and pages to this sprawling pile, I will put on my coat, pick up my Hermes Jubilee, lock the doors behind me, and emerge from the shadows of this house into the bright day, blinking and holding my hand to the sky, amazed at the light, like a man raised from the dead.
I never would have read this sweet and corny book without the encouragement (OK, requirement) of my Dad. I will enjoy telling him that I gave The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint four stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2008
Certainly the best book I've read in some time. A year or so ago a woman put the book in my hands and said, read this; it's amazing. I filed it away, so innondated as I was with the pile of books-to-be-read. Then a few weeks ago I attended a booksellers conferance and a speaker on handselling referenced it, saying he loved the book so much that he and his bookstore sold 400 in hardcover and 1,100 in paperback. That is a lot of love.
So, I sat down with Edgar Mint one afternoon and didn't move from that spot for three days. Ok, so that's a lie, but the sentiment is true. I have fallen in love with the brave, naive Apache kid who can't keep his head out of trouble. I followed behind him as he made each step in his tumultuous life. And at the end of the book I lived his joy with him. Isn't that why we read?
So, I sat down with Edgar Mint one afternoon and didn't move from that spot for three days. Ok, so that's a lie, but the sentiment is true. I have fallen in love with the brave, naive Apache kid who can't keep his head out of trouble. I followed behind him as he made each step in his tumultuous life. And at the end of the book I lived his joy with him. Isn't that why we read?
February 12, 2008
I guess the best way to put this is to say that the things I liked about this novel make up for the things I didn't.
Interesting protagist. Excellent pace. Funny when it should be and kind of depressing when it shouldn't. For the most part, Udall should be given credit for making so much that doesn't seem like it could ever happen seem like a natural progression in the life of his characters.
By the end, however, I was feeling a bit of the old "Oh, come on!" by the novel's turn of events. I was also annoyed by the constant shift from first- to third-person. This shift in tense was often in the middle of a paragraph or sentence (example: "I really enjoyed this book and think it's the best book Aaron has read all year!") and I'm not really certain what purpose it served.
Interesting protagist. Excellent pace. Funny when it should be and kind of depressing when it shouldn't. For the most part, Udall should be given credit for making so much that doesn't seem like it could ever happen seem like a natural progression in the life of his characters.
By the end, however, I was feeling a bit of the old "Oh, come on!" by the novel's turn of events. I was also annoyed by the constant shift from first- to third-person. This shift in tense was often in the middle of a paragraph or sentence (example: "I really enjoyed this book and think it's the best book Aaron has read all year!") and I'm not really certain what purpose it served.
May 15, 2009
I love to be so pleasantly surprised by a book. Reading something like this is difficult, because I struggle greatly with obvious injustice, but there was the constant comfort of Edgar's attitude telling me that it was all okay.
I love the way there was so little happening, and yet so much happening at the same time. I loved the way Edgar seemed to be oblivious to so many little nuances of what was happening, yet, even though he was the story teller, the reader knew EXACTLY what was going on.
It was like watching your own child learning something for the first time, in some cases with great joy, and in others with deep sorrow.
He was so misunderstood by casual observers, but so completely understood by those who actually took the time to care. So complex and yet so simple, like all of us.
***spoiler-ish references to the ending***
And I love the ending. It's still a tragedy, but somehow a tragedy that made me feel really good.
Having the Mormon part was a funny surprise to me, but I thought the author was very gracious and believable. While he certainly wasn't pro-anything, he was completely genuine and I thought it was wonderful.
I love the way there was so little happening, and yet so much happening at the same time. I loved the way Edgar seemed to be oblivious to so many little nuances of what was happening, yet, even though he was the story teller, the reader knew EXACTLY what was going on.
It was like watching your own child learning something for the first time, in some cases with great joy, and in others with deep sorrow.
He was so misunderstood by casual observers, but so completely understood by those who actually took the time to care. So complex and yet so simple, like all of us.
***spoiler-ish references to the ending***
And I love the ending. It's still a tragedy, but somehow a tragedy that made me feel really good.
Having the Mormon part was a funny surprise to me, but I thought the author was very gracious and believable. While he certainly wasn't pro-anything, he was completely genuine and I thought it was wonderful.
January 21, 2025
It is going to be tough to write a review to do this book justice. Here is what I can tell you about it. The writing is rich. The characters are so unqiue and real, it is a wonder to get to know them all. The story is brilliantly woven through time and history to maximize the impact on the reader. The book explores the biggest themes and questions we face - how we make sense of tragedy, how we understand loss, what it means to be human, how religion can become a part of our existence, and how we find meaning in our past and ultimately in our lives. I loved this book from the first chapter, and I enjoyed the journey the entire way. It joins the ranks as one of my top 5 books. It was profound - it touched me deeply and left me feeling incredible joy, sorrow, pain, and satisfaction.
April 6, 2009
Edgar Mint
One thing that saves the Miracle life of Edgar Mint from being an uphill struggle is the boy himself, Edgar. He is an exceptional individual who has more to deal with than any kid ever should, but he rolls with the punches and get on with life in his own inimatible way.
Some of the characters and situations Edgar encounters are of a very sinister nature but Udall never portrays them as such, even the darkest moments in Edgars life are smacked with humour. You find yourself smiling at the most unlikely scenarios, punctuated with style and wit that smacks of John Irving.
In the second chapter of his life Edgar spends time in a school for delinquents, it was this part of the book where I felt as though I was serving time with him, such was the monotony. But maybe this was a purposeful lack of editing on the authors behalf to enable the reader to experience the mundanity of life for Edgar at this time.
That said, I fell in love with Edgar an amazing little boy that life just happened to, he takes knocks with class, individuality and style.. There is something so humble and human about Edgar we could all learn something from him.. If the first half of the book was an uphill struggle, the second half was free wheeling all the way..... Unputdownable! !
One thing that saves the Miracle life of Edgar Mint from being an uphill struggle is the boy himself, Edgar. He is an exceptional individual who has more to deal with than any kid ever should, but he rolls with the punches and get on with life in his own inimatible way.
Some of the characters and situations Edgar encounters are of a very sinister nature but Udall never portrays them as such, even the darkest moments in Edgars life are smacked with humour. You find yourself smiling at the most unlikely scenarios, punctuated with style and wit that smacks of John Irving.
In the second chapter of his life Edgar spends time in a school for delinquents, it was this part of the book where I felt as though I was serving time with him, such was the monotony. But maybe this was a purposeful lack of editing on the authors behalf to enable the reader to experience the mundanity of life for Edgar at this time.
That said, I fell in love with Edgar an amazing little boy that life just happened to, he takes knocks with class, individuality and style.. There is something so humble and human about Edgar we could all learn something from him.. If the first half of the book was an uphill struggle, the second half was free wheeling all the way..... Unputdownable! !
March 22, 2015
4.5/5
Brady Udall's character Edgar Mint is a survivor. As in "one who survives." By all means he should have been dead, would sometimes rather have been dead, and rarely took action to avert situations in which he could have died. At seven years of age he wakes from a coma unable to remember his life to that point. A mail truck had run over his head and he had been rescued by Barry, a young, unethical and rogue doctor whose sole purpose in life is to save Edgar from that fateful day forward. But rather, Barry only leaves ruin behind as he loses his job and becomes a user and small-time drug dealer.
But the focus here is Edgar, the narrator who sometimes refers to himself in the first person and sometimes the third, hinting at an understandable detachment from his miserable life. First, he is a half-breed child with and alcoholic mother. After the accident, he receives negligible treatment in a reservation hospital. He is released to an uncle whose job gets Edgar into a boarding school peopled with delinquents, orphans, and misfits and rampant with bullying and steered by an inept principal. And then comes Utah and a non-practicing Mormon family who take in any human or animal in need of mending. Everything should have gotten better at this point. But no, enter doctor Barry.
This may all sound quite bleak, but other than an excessive amout of descriptive and tragic bullying episodes, it is often humorous. Edgar is an endearing character who unintentionally worms his way into the hearts of both the reader and the more humane adults he encounters.
Brady Udall's character Edgar Mint is a survivor. As in "one who survives." By all means he should have been dead, would sometimes rather have been dead, and rarely took action to avert situations in which he could have died. At seven years of age he wakes from a coma unable to remember his life to that point. A mail truck had run over his head and he had been rescued by Barry, a young, unethical and rogue doctor whose sole purpose in life is to save Edgar from that fateful day forward. But rather, Barry only leaves ruin behind as he loses his job and becomes a user and small-time drug dealer.
But the focus here is Edgar, the narrator who sometimes refers to himself in the first person and sometimes the third, hinting at an understandable detachment from his miserable life. First, he is a half-breed child with and alcoholic mother. After the accident, he receives negligible treatment in a reservation hospital. He is released to an uncle whose job gets Edgar into a boarding school peopled with delinquents, orphans, and misfits and rampant with bullying and steered by an inept principal. And then comes Utah and a non-practicing Mormon family who take in any human or animal in need of mending. Everything should have gotten better at this point. But no, enter doctor Barry.
This may all sound quite bleak, but other than an excessive amout of descriptive and tragic bullying episodes, it is often humorous. Edgar is an endearing character who unintentionally worms his way into the hearts of both the reader and the more humane adults he encounters.
July 5, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
(Rounded down from four.) I fell in love with The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint when I started reading it, but somewhere along the middle it started to bog down for me. There were some pretty entertaining moments throughout, and also some sad moments, and Edgar Mint seemed to survive them all without feeling too sorry for himself. Essentially this is a story of a pretty sad childhood for a half Apache Indian boy, who gets to have a better second fifteen years of life after his miserable first fifteen. This book is chock full of quirky characters and bizarre shenanigans but overall a fairly entertaining read.
(Rounded down from four.) I fell in love with The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint when I started reading it, but somewhere along the middle it started to bog down for me. There were some pretty entertaining moments throughout, and also some sad moments, and Edgar Mint seemed to survive them all without feeling too sorry for himself. Essentially this is a story of a pretty sad childhood for a half Apache Indian boy, who gets to have a better second fifteen years of life after his miserable first fifteen. This book is chock full of quirky characters and bizarre shenanigans but overall a fairly entertaining read.
July 18, 2023
I read this enough years ago that writing a decent review is no longer possible. It has one of the most interesting first lines. "If you only know one thing about me it is that the postman ran over my head when I was 7." Or something near that (did I say it's been awhile since I read it?). Obviously, Edgar survives his head being run over by the postman.
I came across the title when looking at a listopia and remembered I'd read it, that I enjoyed reading it. I even remember a lot of the march to the ending. Hmmm. Maybe it's a 5-star book.
I came across the title when looking at a listopia and remembered I'd read it, that I enjoyed reading it. I even remember a lot of the march to the ending. Hmmm. Maybe it's a 5-star book.
September 15, 2025
Stories like these are always so sad!! This has sad parts in it, don’t get me wrong, but Edgar is such a sweetheart! I love the insight into his character through a lot of rough stuff. Loved the Mormon/LDS references. They made me laugh. And I loved how it wrapped up. So good!
June 30, 2011
Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I must admit I was leery for a while, for my mind had no clue as to what little boys and young men think about. It was hard for me to get past the "initiation" type activities of school mates. This book was so intriguing, the author knows how to grab your attention, and equally important, how to hold it. As I read I always have questions and he answered them, all of them. I finally get to add something to my favorites shelf. I will definitely be looking for more books by Brady Udall. It seems he teaches at a University in Southern Illinois. (At least he did at the time this book was published.) Lucky students...............he is a master.
On the back cover it says,"If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As formative events go, nothing else come close." I laughed out loud and I cried. I hope you all, male and female, enjoy this book as much as I did. Thank you Mr. Udall!!!
On the back cover it says,"If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As formative events go, nothing else come close." I laughed out loud and I cried. I hope you all, male and female, enjoy this book as much as I did. Thank you Mr. Udall!!!
July 19, 2024
This book was recommended by another author and I cannot remember which author it was, but thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the feels and a really memorable LOL moment.
May 18, 2021
Grief's a funny thing. It seeps into your being whatever measures you put in place to try and stop it penetrating. The way I picture it, it's taken hold of my insides like ivy might consume a house. Among the centres starved of energy and choked of oxygen have been my my reading and writing parts, which has meant that two of the things I would normally turn to for solace and comfort have been cut off, thus adding to the problem.
I've been reminded once again that it's often people who make the most difference. Friendship and compassion in all of their forms- smiles, gestures, gifts, warm words, offers of support and the like- really do make a difference.
One such gesture that has helped me along came in the form of the arrival of a book in the post. It came from Colman Keane who is behind the excellent review site for all things crime here at Col's Criminal Library. It's a great place to find new material, in no small part due to his voracious appetite for books, TV and films, and you should check it out if you've not been there before. I trust and respect his opinions and happened across his thoughts on Edgar Mint. I mentioned that it was the kind of book that might help me out of this ditch I've been in and he sent it along.
What I think caught my attention in that review was the mention of resilience and stoicism, both of which I felt I might benefit from at the time (and still could). And he was right about the need for those qualities. For Edgar Mint, the passage through life is not a smooth one. He's born into a world that doesn't really want him, so much so that the running over of his head by a mail truck could be construed as a blessing of sorts.
He's taken to hospital in order to recover and there begins a pattern where he finds a way through the most adverse situations with the help of people who are drawn to him and decide to take him under their wings.
There's no soft-soaping his journey through life. It's about as tough as anyone could cope with. Particularly brutal is his time in an institution for children who are able to inflict cruelty and pain in ways that I wouldn't have begun to imagine and hope I can forget before too long.
It's a kind of patchwork of a novel where you move between time period and situation in a way that isn't always linear. Each strand is absorbing and the meandering always take you to a point of interest. Much of the tragedy is related in a matter-of-fact style, but there's a gentle warmth through it all and always a hope that things will get better somehow.
The conclusion is one that took me by surprise with a twist that offers a new filter for what has gone before, but that's not for me to mention here.
I'm glad that I stumbled into the review and I'm grateful for kindness that allowed me to read it. The slow burn was exactly what the doctor ordered. Thanks Col.
And it gets better. Having managed to build up periods of concentration spanning more than a couple of minutes, I set off reading The Man With The Getaway Face. It's the opposite of Mint- direct, pacy, tense, totally stripped back and gripping from the off- and I couldn't be more grateful to be able to focus on books once again.
Now all I need is to find the equivalent medicine for the writing. Though I'm not sure in what form it might come, I'm going to take a leaf out of Edgar's book and just get on with it until things change.
I've been reminded once again that it's often people who make the most difference. Friendship and compassion in all of their forms- smiles, gestures, gifts, warm words, offers of support and the like- really do make a difference.
One such gesture that has helped me along came in the form of the arrival of a book in the post. It came from Colman Keane who is behind the excellent review site for all things crime here at Col's Criminal Library. It's a great place to find new material, in no small part due to his voracious appetite for books, TV and films, and you should check it out if you've not been there before. I trust and respect his opinions and happened across his thoughts on Edgar Mint. I mentioned that it was the kind of book that might help me out of this ditch I've been in and he sent it along.
What I think caught my attention in that review was the mention of resilience and stoicism, both of which I felt I might benefit from at the time (and still could). And he was right about the need for those qualities. For Edgar Mint, the passage through life is not a smooth one. He's born into a world that doesn't really want him, so much so that the running over of his head by a mail truck could be construed as a blessing of sorts.
He's taken to hospital in order to recover and there begins a pattern where he finds a way through the most adverse situations with the help of people who are drawn to him and decide to take him under their wings.
There's no soft-soaping his journey through life. It's about as tough as anyone could cope with. Particularly brutal is his time in an institution for children who are able to inflict cruelty and pain in ways that I wouldn't have begun to imagine and hope I can forget before too long.
It's a kind of patchwork of a novel where you move between time period and situation in a way that isn't always linear. Each strand is absorbing and the meandering always take you to a point of interest. Much of the tragedy is related in a matter-of-fact style, but there's a gentle warmth through it all and always a hope that things will get better somehow.
The conclusion is one that took me by surprise with a twist that offers a new filter for what has gone before, but that's not for me to mention here.
I'm glad that I stumbled into the review and I'm grateful for kindness that allowed me to read it. The slow burn was exactly what the doctor ordered. Thanks Col.
And it gets better. Having managed to build up periods of concentration spanning more than a couple of minutes, I set off reading The Man With The Getaway Face. It's the opposite of Mint- direct, pacy, tense, totally stripped back and gripping from the off- and I couldn't be more grateful to be able to focus on books once again.
Now all I need is to find the equivalent medicine for the writing. Though I'm not sure in what form it might come, I'm going to take a leaf out of Edgar's book and just get on with it until things change.
August 18, 2014
3.5 stars
Edgar Mint really did have a miracle life. It's a miracle that he came out as well as he did. His story made me sad, sad, sad. He was a mistreated child who no one seemed to care about until a mailman rode over his head with his mail truck when Edgar was 7. Finally he makes a friend when he was in long term care. His life doesn't get any better though and he is sent to an old great uncle he has never met. His uncle is a caretaker of a reform school for Indians. There Edgar encounters unremitting bullying that upset me tremendously. I have never heard of this degree of unkindness.
He meets a true friend and when events conspire to pull them apart, he starts a new journey.
He finds religion with the Mormons and is sent to live with a Mormon family. Things go wrong there too and he runs away. He is followed by his emergency room doctor who saved his life after the mail truck incident. I do not understand the doctor's role in this and why he kept following Edgar around. I don't understand the doctor's change of character. Finally, the book ends on a great twist that I never saw coming.
The thing about the book is that I didn't understand a lot of it. I don't why it moved from first to third person sometimes in the same sentence. I didn't understand the doctor's character. I was repelled with the unkindness and bullying that Edgar had to endure. Are we really that mean to each other? Probably.
The twist saved the book for me. Otherwise I found it depressing and left me in a sad state of mind.
Edgar Mint really did have a miracle life. It's a miracle that he came out as well as he did. His story made me sad, sad, sad. He was a mistreated child who no one seemed to care about until a mailman rode over his head with his mail truck when Edgar was 7. Finally he makes a friend when he was in long term care. His life doesn't get any better though and he is sent to an old great uncle he has never met. His uncle is a caretaker of a reform school for Indians. There Edgar encounters unremitting bullying that upset me tremendously. I have never heard of this degree of unkindness.
He meets a true friend and when events conspire to pull them apart, he starts a new journey.
He finds religion with the Mormons and is sent to live with a Mormon family. Things go wrong there too and he runs away. He is followed by his emergency room doctor who saved his life after the mail truck incident. I do not understand the doctor's role in this and why he kept following Edgar around. I don't understand the doctor's change of character. Finally, the book ends on a great twist that I never saw coming.
The thing about the book is that I didn't understand a lot of it. I don't why it moved from first to third person sometimes in the same sentence. I didn't understand the doctor's character. I was repelled with the unkindness and bullying that Edgar had to endure. Are we really that mean to each other? Probably.
The twist saved the book for me. Otherwise I found it depressing and left me in a sad state of mind.
July 18, 2008
This is an absolutely delightful, enthralling novel. I read it during my last month in high school--in hardcover. It all starts when the protagonist gets run over by a mail truck on his reservation as a small child. More specifically, his head gets run over. That sounds like an awful place to start, but it's perfect.
I have distinct memories of reading this book during calculus, after we'd taken the AP. In those last weeks of the year, we were still required to go to calculus class even though there was nothing new to learn and no assignments to fulfill. All of the students in the class were given the opportunity to improve their final grade by doing extra worksheets. My grade could definitely have used improvement, but I was the only girl in the class who passed up the worksheets. I opted for Edgar Mint, and I don't regret it a bit.
This is a book I recommend to friends who don't tend to read or enjoy novels. I made the mistake of lending my copy to a boyfriend of that description several years ago. We broke up a few months later and I never got Edgar back. You might be surprised by how frequently I consider contacting him just to ask for the book back.
I have distinct memories of reading this book during calculus, after we'd taken the AP. In those last weeks of the year, we were still required to go to calculus class even though there was nothing new to learn and no assignments to fulfill. All of the students in the class were given the opportunity to improve their final grade by doing extra worksheets. My grade could definitely have used improvement, but I was the only girl in the class who passed up the worksheets. I opted for Edgar Mint, and I don't regret it a bit.
This is a book I recommend to friends who don't tend to read or enjoy novels. I made the mistake of lending my copy to a boyfriend of that description several years ago. We broke up a few months later and I never got Edgar back. You might be surprised by how frequently I consider contacting him just to ask for the book back.
June 15, 2019
Udall chronicles the life of one odd little boy, Edgar Mint. He is subjective to a number of hardships starting with an absent father and an alcoholic mother, but things go downhill fast for him from there. Most painful are the chapters about his years at a boarding school for troubled Native American kids. He is brutally bullied and either ostracized or coerced into criminal behavior by a couple of hoodlums who are older, bigger and more brutal than he.
Year after year people close to him disappear or betray him, but somehow he soldiers on.
The book toys with ideas of fate, divine purpose, belonging, loyalty, betrayal and the quest for home. It's oddly sweet and optimistic--even when the characters are swimming around in the sewage of inhumanity. Somehow Udall manages to convey what makes even the mean and the dysfunctional tick. Everyone has a story, and Udall is adept at weaving these stories together to tell Edgar's story as well as those of his wide-ranging supportive cast.
Year after year people close to him disappear or betray him, but somehow he soldiers on.
The book toys with ideas of fate, divine purpose, belonging, loyalty, betrayal and the quest for home. It's oddly sweet and optimistic--even when the characters are swimming around in the sewage of inhumanity. Somehow Udall manages to convey what makes even the mean and the dysfunctional tick. Everyone has a story, and Udall is adept at weaving these stories together to tell Edgar's story as well as those of his wide-ranging supportive cast.
January 10, 2013
Sometimes I lament the limitations of the Goodreads rating system. Three stars means I liked it? Well, I didn't like it. I mostly hated it. Many sections made me cringe. I frequently had to close the book and try to think fluffy-rainbow-unicorn thoughts. And yet it was compelling--well thought-out and well-written. I did struggle with the frequent change in point-of-view. I want to trust that the author had good reason for employing such a technique, some sort of mirror to Edgar's psyche and the way that he copes with the trauma in his past. However, it felt gimmicky. But again, it was such a compelling exploration of the human spirit, and I feel that Udall's writing was courageous and ultimately successful.
September 21, 2021
Apparently I started this book six years ago and stalled a little less than halfway. I recall enjoying the writing (I did again after picking it up again), but think I grew tired of the bleak hospital and reform school settings that make up much of the first half of the bill. Fortunately, it really opens up after the 50% point, with a significant setting change and more varied events, which was welcome and helped make short work.
I’m surprised this hasn’t been adapted as it is full of well wrought, eccentric characters that would seemingly lead to a handful of best supporting actor Oscar contenders. Or perhaps someday the streaming limited series producers will come for this book.
I’m surprised this hasn’t been adapted as it is full of well wrought, eccentric characters that would seemingly lead to a handful of best supporting actor Oscar contenders. Or perhaps someday the streaming limited series producers will come for this book.
March 19, 2022
This was one of the stranger books I've ever read. It was really slow going for me, especially at the beginning, and I almost gave up. I am glad I didn't though! Most of the story was quite sad, but the whole thing is beautifully written and the ending was earned and lovely.
November 22, 2015
Good beginning, good ending, way too long in between.
March 31, 2022
The thing I fear most is forgetting, so I have become a hoarder, a pack-rat- everything is significant. I throw nothing away. p38
It seemed to me that they were pieces of some vast, complicated puzzle, and if I kept up my collecting I would finally understand it all. p47
Edgar Presley Mint is obsessed with making sense of his life. Considering his circumstances, this is no mean task but Edgar himself is a bit of a miracle, a self-made philosopher capable of intuitive reasoning that allows him to extract small amounts of joy from even the most dire of circumstances in which he is constantly finding himself. His senses honed by deprivation, he may not be capable of writing but he sure can type.
I thought about...somehow getting her smell down on paper, but I knew even then that there were some things words just cannot do. p133
But Edgar has an uncanny ability to persevere.
I thought by getting it down on paper, by turning the nameless into words, I might understand things a little better. p139
In fact, this is a key to Edgar's resilience; his ability to contextualize along with his curiosity and his openness to experience. It's not that he won't get knocked down. It's that he accepts the mud without wallowing in it. His ethics are constructed by experience and an empathic kindness. His willingness to experiment with his life leads him partway to a life of his choosing.
What happens when his faulty logic succumbs to his ethical reasoning will challenge the reader in unexpected ways. Brady Udall has plundered the moral map to unleash some difficult answers.
I believed in Him....But...from all that I had witnessed in my short life, I could come to only one of two conclusions: either God was a crazed lunatic or He was just plain mean. p311
I am glad that Edgar was able to work out his own path and to figure out a few alternatives. The mysterious nature of friendship does not deny the possibility of real friends. Authenticity does not guarantee a care free or a savoury life; it does allow us to align with our truth.
Seems like a dream, don't it? Hell, maybe this here is a dream, what we're doing right now. Maybe it's all a dream, every minute, start to finish. Tell you the truth, I sure do hope so. p384
January 2, 2021
A saga, life story book about 7 year old Edgar Mint, run over by a mail truck, his head crushed by the tire. We live in Edgars head in the hospital, the Indian orphan school, and the Mormon home he shares with the Madsen family until the age of 15. Epic in scope and cleverly written it is largely heartbreaking and periodically triumphant.
Fairly slow moving it nonetheless kept me engrossed and entangled in Edgars’ life and that of the characters surrounding him.
Fairly slow moving it nonetheless kept me engrossed and entangled in Edgars’ life and that of the characters surrounding him.
April 19, 2020
A story that runs the gambit of emotions. One that I had to put down just to go away and think about it. And it just keeps pulling you back even when you think you might not want to read more of the tragedy that is his early life.
August 17, 2017
Heartbreaking story of overcoming the odds. Lots of odds. Wonderful, but I gave 4 stars because I was so worried about Edgar the whole time. I think it's like when you see an actor and think, "oh that guy is such a crumb". Well, must be a great actor for you to remember such a role.
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March 11, 2023🤮
August 9, 2017
The first few pages read so quickly but then the pace slowed and the horrors of this poor boy made it hard to read. When Edgar finally leaves "school" the pace picks back up and then I couldn't put it down. After he finds Rosa, I cried through every sentence. Beauty, redemption, rebirth, forgiveness and fortitude.
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