First Question

[Amy]

Hello everyone! Here is question the first:

Dystopic, end of the world stories seem to be de rigueur right now (The Hunger Games, The Walking Dead). How does the Age of Miracles compare in terms of style, character development, breadth of story, etc.?

[Ellen]

I have not read The Hunger Games (or seen the movie) or watched The Walking Dead. I know I'm probably the only person in the world ... so I can't compare this book with those.

I liked this book at the same time that I felt incredibly depressed by it. The hopelessness was palpable for me. In spite of that, I read it very quickly and found it engaging.

Is that the reaction others have to Hunger Games and Walking Dead?

[Amy]

It was quite depressing! Compared to HG and WD, Age of Miracles is a much quieter story. There were no gun-toting heroes, no nice ending that puts everything back in order (or attempts to).

Maybe another way to ask this questions is what did you think of the author’s juxtaposition of the slowing- a major disaster- with Julia’s coping of the normal disasters of her life- her parents’ marriage troubles, her grandfather’s behavior, her first love and heartbreak, etc.? Was it effective storytelling? Was it believable?

[Kath]

I thought this was a quieter dystopia/end of world story than the Hunger Games (haven't seen Walking Dead). Maybe because the effects are worldwide you don't see the breakdown of civilization yielding the violent conflict of some of the other dystopic fiction out there. The real-timers are shunned but they seem to form their own communities without interference. [Disclaimer: I read this a month ago and could have forgotten some things]

While the slow down obviously changed everything and people modified their lives to adjust to it, I expected more outright panic somehow. It gave me a feeling of deteriorating malaise like people were passively facing the future and almost detached about it. Though I guess there is no real active option other than survival. I guess my main impression of Julia was her passive nature (weakness?) which is unlike the very strong, action-oriented characters that center Hunger Games and a few others I've read (Legend series).

I found the concept of this slowing so fascinating and wish there would have been more in-depth discussion of the widespread effects of the world outside of Julia's. I liked the writing and while I didn't feel super invested in the characters found it an interesting read.

[Kath]

Sorry, Amy, I didn't see your second post, until I had posted -- I think the author treated Julia's personal disasters as more important or at least more fully realized than the slowing. That felt very appropriate for someone of that age to me.

[N]

What do you think was the book that Julia's father gave her, "'about a kid who's all alone in the world. He's really lonely for a long time. But then, well, you'll see.'" She describes it as "On the cover was a series of mountains, a valley, a moon." I initially thought of The Little Prince, The White Mountains, or The Towers of February -- none of which have famous cover illos that match that description.

[Rena]

This certainly wasn't an action book like Hunger Games and I think the premise was quite different. Because the slowing started slowly and kept increasing, I think that people might have been more likely to accept the situation and attempt to deal with it as it came. It reminds me a bit of climate change - the earth warms slowly, storms and droughts increase, icesheets melt, but the effect is spread over time and difficult to see the end game.

I also thought it was interesting that the main point of the story seemed to be that Julia's coming-of-age problems were so "standard" even though the world was falling apart around her. Actually, now that I think of it, most of the problems were like that. Both Julia's father having the affair with Sylvia and the them-vs-us conflict between the realtimers and the other people were things that happen all the time in regular life.

The only item that seemed definitely related to the slowing was the book that Julia's father gave her. He was probably more concerned than a parent normally would be about leaving a child, even an adult child, behind after the parent's death.

[Amy]

Considering the protagonist is 11 years old, and as Kathy and Rena have pointed out, in many ways, this book is a coming of age tale. How would you classify this book? YA? Adult?

Do you think if the slowing had never happened, Julia’s childhood would have been different?

[Ellen]

I think this book is both YA and adult. Although we do see things through Julia's eyes, it is of interest to adults too, in my opinion.

I'm not sure if her adolescence would have been different without the slowing. That's a good question! On the one hand, she might have stayed friends with Hanna. But later on she referred to the fact that Hanna seemed to drop friends and pick up new ones regularly.

I'm not sure Julia would have become friends with Seth without the slowing to sort of break down some normal barriers.

I agree with Rena that the incremental nature of the slowing forced people to adjust to it in smaller doses at first. But there were some dramatic events, like the car accident and her grandfather's death. The author did a good job of establishing the mood and rhythm of this work.

[Lori]

I haven't read The Hunger Games or seen The Walking Dead either, and I haven't read all that much dystopian fiction. I really liked this book. I would classify it as YA, although I hesitated a little about recommending it to my 13 yr. old niece, mainly because of Julia's parents behavior.

I think another way the slowing was reflected symbolically was in the very fact that there wasn't outright panic, at least at first. I thought that as the slowing continued, people did get more nutsy about things - the cults forming, Julia's father's affair, her mother's increasingly bizarre behavior, to name a few.

I do think that if the slowing didn't happen, her childhood would have been very different, especially her relationship with her boyfriend. (I read this a couple of months ago too, so I can't remember everything!) It was a depressing book in many ways. I thought the premise of the slowing was brilliant, though.

[[deleted user]]

I really enjoyed this book, especially the focus on Julia's life in the midst of this natural disaster. It seemed to me almost more Julia's story of growing up, and the slowing was just a background in a way, unlike most dystopian stories, where the disaster (whatever it is) is the focus of the story.

I read this a few months ago, so I may be misremembering, but, Lori, was Julia's father's affair precipitated by the slowing, or was that going on before? Do we know, as it's from Julia's POV? Also, her mother's behavior was explained by the gravity sickness, wasn't it?

Rena, I like your comparing the slowing to climate change. I think the reactions from people are very similar.

I found the idea of the slowing to be fascinating. I had never given any consideration to the effects of the earth's orbit slowing down, and I thought it was really interesting, from the mundane effects of balls not going as far to the extraordinary effects of astronauts being unable to land safely.

I think this could be classified either YA or adult. I object to the idea of classifying books as YA just because they have a young protagonist. I would definitely let my kids read it if they wanted to.

[Amy]

I want to say her father's affair began after the slowing...and gravity sickness syndrome was given as the reason for her mother's behavior.

I think we all agree that the "slowing" and its effects was an interesting idea. Like Kathy, I wanted to know more about it! And the link to reactions to climate change is perfect.

So, if the slowing occurred, would you be a clock-timer or real-timer?

[[deleted user]]

I was thinking about this throughout the book, and I think I'd be a real-timer, mainly because I like the idea of being more in tune with the earth, rather than assigning arbitrary time to things, if that makes any sense.

[Lori]

I wanted to know more about the slowing too. The whole concept of how we keep time kept me thinking about it long after I read the book.

Funny you should ask that question, Amy...I wondered which one I would be while I was reading the book. In my heart I think I'm more of a real-timer, but I don't think I could keep it up in reality so I think I would join the clock-timers.

[Ellen]

I think her father's affair with the piano teacher preceded the slowing.

I'd be a clock-timer. I need structure and schedules and not knowing how long the day would be from one day to the next would drive me crazy :-)

[Becky]

I just finished the book on Sunday. I liked it, it grabbed my interest. Was a fast and fascinating read. I kept waiting for them to get to the part where a solution was found. I guess I'm an American, there's always a solution. :-)
I am aware of the premise of the Hunger Games. I have seen it and Walking Dead in the movies. Hunger Games seem to have a happy ending. Some of the Walking Dead movies do also. This story seems to have a dead end.
I liked the book, suspended my disbelief for the storyline. I think Julia's father's affair preceded the slowing. I remember Silvia receiving a call where she is very secretive to the caller during one of Julia's lesson.
I think part of the flavor is that the characters live in California. Thus setting the stage for the cults and people who drop out. Plus, a bit of the laid back attitude. Different areas of the country definitely have different attitudes. Ive lived in California as well the east coast. Have relatives in the middle and south US. :-)
I found the character development pretty shallow but perhaps appropriate for Julia's world. That is how she would see life at that age.
Originally I was thinking I would be a real timer. that was definitely my first reaction, when it was just a matter of a few hours. When it got much longer, I changed my mind, if only for practicality. Somehow schedules would need to be set. If only for the real emergency services. think about picking up a prescription. Sometimes I wait til I need something the last day. :-)
The slowing idea is interesting but she decided to not deal with the science or backup detail. The story didnt "need" it but it left me very disbelieving as a result. I too found it palpably depressing. I wanted to gush out tears at several points but the bit of disbelief balanced my reaction.I don't usually like depressing "entertainment" but I didn't mind it in this case. Love all the comments as usual.

[Ellen]

About the choice of title, I think I remember it said that adolescence is "The Age of Miracles." Interesting ...

What other "miracles" are in the book?

[[deleted user]]

I think that adolescence itself is sort of an age of miracles, isn't it? I think I've read that humans undergo the quickest growth during puberty and adolescence, second only to the growth of infancy. The changes that are undergone are pretty miraculous, from being a kid to being an adult (at least biologically), and all of the mental and physical stuff that goes along with that.

[Amy]

Stacy- I think you hit it dead on. Plus there's the idea of adolescence as the point in life when everything is possible. You're figuring out who you want to be. And Julia still goes through this process, even though the slowing has occurred. I mean, there's not going to be any happy endings for her right?

There's a quote from the book that stuck with me about possibilities and disappointments:

“How much sweeter life would be if it all happened in reverse, if, after decades of disappointments, you finally arrived at an age when you had conceded nothing, when everything was possible.”

[Rena]

I'm not a fan of YA as a rule, but have liked many YA books because they grab me as an adult. I think I'm not at the right stage of life for coming-of-age books because there is no one in my life now who is at that point. I liked this book, but didn't love it. Although I did love the quote that Amy mentioned in the previous post!

I think it would have been difficult to go into more detail about the slowing because I think/hope that it requires a suspension of reality, which is ok. Even if the earth slowed, I suspect that it would happen over many thousands of years (any scientists here? - help me out). But it made an excellent backdrop for Julia's story, since it affected her around the edges at first and then of course greatly.

I'm certainly glad I read this book. It did keep me reading to see what was going to happen next. The ending was perfect - there could be no really good ending for a book like this. I agree with Becky about how interesting it was that it was set in California. Somehow, that seemed just right.

[Amy]

I have one last question for the group:

Overall, did you find this book, depressing? Affirmative? Satisfying? Insert your word here!

My word- bittersweet.

PS- And this has been an excellent discussion- thanks so much for all of your thoughtful comments!

[Kath]

Amy, that quote about a sweeter life in reverse also stuck with me. That sense of possibility is so exciting (and somewhat hard to retain as an adult). I found that quote and this book leaving me with a sense of melancholy. I was glad Julia had some small amount of happiness for a short period of time but as several of you pointed out, there can be no happy ending. I enjoyed the story and the discussion -- thanks!

[Lori]

I like your question, Amy. And I like your word. The word I keep coming back to is acceptance. I guess that's the overall feeling I took away from it.

[Ellen]

I like your word "acceptance," Lori. It seems to fit because no matter what happens (the slowing, sickness of her mother & Seth, her father's affair, etc.), Julia just keeps living and adapting. There really is no other option, though of course how one lives and adapts in the face of change (major and minor) is always the question. So maybe another word could be perseverance.