Book: The Age of Miracles

A Novel by Karen Thompson Walker

The premise of the story was promising - a dystopian look at what would happen if the Earth inexplicably started slowing down its rotation. The problem was the narrator - 11-year-old Julia. Instead of high drama of looming catastrophe with all the possibilities of horrific personal stories that could have been told, we get the doubts and insecurities of a near-teenager coming of age in unusual circumstances - a casual setting of the 'slowing' as a background. At first it seems a nice way to tell the story of a dying planet through the eyes of a child. Soon though, it becomes clear that Julia (and the author through her) are more focused on exploring the girl's romantic interests and the threat of her own family falling apart, rather than getting into the effect a global tragedy can have on all of them and humanity in general. It also seems as if the plot itself gradually slows down with the earth's rotation and there are some seriously slow patches you'll have to pull through. I would have given it 2/5, were it not for the ending. Without giving anything away, I can only admit that it was sad, but well done. Finally the author's mastery of words, which came across only in sparse hints through the rest of the book, bloomed in full beauty in the last few paragraphs of the novel. And for that it deserves another notch: 3/5