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The Age of Miracles

Karen Thompson Walker

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Sep 02, 2012 Esther rated it liked it

Shelves: author-female, usa, __lent, ya, dystopia, zz-2013, zz-2013-from-my-own-shelves

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I bought this book on a whim having heard so many great reviews.
The reviews were so enthusiastic that I rather expected to be swept off my feet by a delightful gem of a book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, this book is good, just not that good.
It recounts the year in the life of a young teenage girl Julia, a coming of age story complicated by the fact that for some unexplained reason the Earth is slowing down causing the days to become longer and longer.
We gain a good imp I bought this book on a whim having heard so many great reviews.
The reviews were so enthusiastic that I rather expected to be swept off my feet by a delightful gem of a book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, this book is good, just not that good.
It recounts the year in the life of a young teenage girl Julia, a coming of age story complicated by the fact that for some unexplained reason the Earth is slowing down causing the days to become longer and longer.
We gain a good impression of what is happening, how the changes affect Julia's neighbourhood and her family, the split between those who observe clock time and those who observe natural time.
What is lacking is a sense of peril or fear. As the situation degenerates and the Earth begins to die people just seem to be stunned and a little distant. No one panics, no one is overcome with hysteria. Even when people fall sick they seem to accept it with an equanimical fatality.
The colonies established by those observing natural time appear and then fade away without protest and almost without remark while the vandalism against the natural time observers who stay in the cities seems a half-hearted token rather than real discrimination or antipathy.

On a more personal level although Julia seems fond of her parents and them of her there was little more than polite interaction between them. As they experience probably the most distressing and confusing time of their lives they seem to have little to offer one another in the way of support or comfort.

Julia becomes more and more socially isolated as the school year progresses which lends a melancholy air to the narrative but also means that we lose our connection with her schoolmates and their point of view.
There is a short reprieve during her relationship with Seth but when he disappears from her life she seems to accept the situation with a depressing calm.

This is a provocative premise, competently recounted but like so much modern literary fiction it insists on being emotionally aloof, creating a barrier between the reader and any deeper feelings.
This book should have disturbed my sleep with feelings of dread and left me weeping at the fate of the Earth but instead I would remark that it was an interesting read.
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Jan 09, 2013 Cristella rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 03, 2012 Ray rated it liked it

First person, third person omniscient, and, hey why not, second person too. I was incredibly distracted by this author's approach to point of view. I mean seriously, it made it almost unreadable. However, the concept--mysteriously the Earth's orbit around the sun alters creating 24 hour+ days--kept me hooked to the end.

The book worked best when it stayed in the realm of sci fi and apocalyptic fiction (I love authors who explore the most mundane details of what the world would be like at the end- ...more

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Sep 26, 2013 Maria Elmvang rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013, 3-stars, owned-ebook, dystopian

I can't quite figure out what I thought of this book. It was captivating and boring at the same time... how does that even work?

In short, it is the story of an apocalypse. The rotation of the earth is steadily slowing with all the consequences that has to humans, animals and plants. It is very much character- or perhaps even atmosphere-driven rather than plot-driven, which seems odd for an apocalyptic book.

I liked that it was the story of an apocalypse... that seems very rare. Usually books take ...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Sharon rated it it was ok

This was maybe 2.5 stars, but I rounded down because of the misleading tease. This was not a book about a world that changed in any meaningful way--this was a book about coming of age at 12 in the suburbs. Julia's parents are fighting, and her best friend has drifted away, and she has a crush on a guy. Also there's some stuff going on in the world, but that's very much an aside.

Which is fine--focusing entirely on the characters is a really wonderful way to go in a book like this. But if you rea ...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Kate rated it really liked it

The Road meets YA fiction. I found the slowing-earth-rotation aspect of the plot completely convincing. Are we all so primed now for stories of total ecological disaster? It feels just around the corner.

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Jul 02, 2012 Candice rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is really two stories in one. It's the story of the slowing of the earth's rotation and what happens as the days lengthen from 24 hours to 25 then 50 then 72 and more. I don't know if the science behind all of this is true, but it was a fascinating look at what might happen. It's also a coming of age story. Being 11 and in middle school is a challenge for most of us at any time, but combine it with "the slowing" and it's even more difficult. I could feel Julia's pain at losing her best frie ...more

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