Faith & Miracles

8/27/2019

The Miraculous by Jess Redman

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle...unspeakably perfect miracles!
Walt Whitman

Wunder Ellis is a miracologist, a person who collects evidence of miracles. From the time he was six years old, he became aware of phenomena that could not be explained with traditional logic. He records and numbers these entries in a journal titled The Miraculous.

Wunder's faith in miracles is destroyed when his infant sister dies. He no longer believes. He removes all evidence of miracles from his room: a Calendar of the Saints, statues of angels, books and scriptures from many different faiths, and his framed baby photo inscribed with the Willa Cather quote Where there is great love there are always miracles.

The Miraculous is a story of grief, viewed from the perspective of faith. Faith that is lost and faith that is eventually regained. Wunder and his father worship at St. Gerard's, a traditional Christian church. However, the narrative includes references to numerous faith traditions including Jesa, the Korean ceremony to honor the dead, the Hand of Fatima, and the Twin Miracle of the Buddha. His newly found friend Faye wears a black cloak and is a student of the paranormal, specializing in the study of witches and ghosts.

Wunder and Faye visit an abandoned house located near the cemetery. An old woman, who Faye suspects might be a witch, lives there. The witch sends the two on various missions, first to deliver letters to community members who have experienced a loss, then to locate a branch from a mysterious tree. As they perform these tasks, they come to understand loss, both their personal losses and the losses of others. They discover connections between people and bereavement. They see that miracles can take many forms. They begin to believe.

A New Testament verse plays an important part in the story. Redman alters the Biblical text slightly to read.
Behold! I tell you a miracle. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

This is a richly layered story of pain and grief. Fantastical elements blend perfectly with the heartbreaking reality of death. Like Wunder, readers will recall their own encounters with miracles. And like Wunder, they will be changed.

....hidden miracles, the ones that are so often forgotten, the never-ending memory of a cherished one, the hands of friends, new and old, reaching out to hold you up, the love you receive, even when that love comes from someone you cannot see or hear.