Synopses & Reviews
A profound new novel about a paralyzed young man’s unexplainable recovery — a stunning exploration of faith, science, mystery, and the meaning of life
Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside his sister, Tanya, in their battered Biloxi, Mississippi, neighborhood where only half the houses made it through Katrina. One stiflingly hot August afternoon, as Cameron sits waiting for Tanya during their daily run to the Biz-E-Bee convenience store, he suddenly and inexplicably rises up and out of his wheelchair.
In the aftermath of this “miracle,” Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the center of a contentious debate about what’s taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a Vatican investigator start digging, Cameron’s deepest secrets — the key to his injury, to his identity, and, in some eyes, to the nature of his recovery — become increasingly endangered. Was Cameron’s recovery a genuine miracle, or a medical breakthrough? And, finding himself transformed into a symbol, how can he hope to retain his humanity?
Brilliantly written as closely observed journalistic reportage and filtered through a wide lens that encompasses the vibrant characters affected by Cameron’s story, Anatomy of a Miracle will be read, championed, and celebrated as a powerful story of our time, and the work of a true literary master.
Review
“Miles possesses a rare and admirable command of structure and style, shifting smoothly from Afghan patrol tactics to Catholic doctrine to neurological science; his sentences are thick with data, wittily delivered....An expertly shaped tale about faith in collision with contemporary American culture.” Kirkus (Starred Review)
Review
“Jonathan Miles’s smart exploration of everything from the excesses of American popular culture to the deepest aspects of religious belief roars to life…A vivid portrait of our need to believe and its unintended consequences…Anatomy of a Miracle is a thoughtful modern morality play that’s as current as the latest internet meme and as timeless as the foundations of faith." BookPage
Review
“[Anatomy of a Miracle] is a remarkable combination of medical mystery, satire, and war story. Like Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, it captures the long-lasting effects of war by focusing on those for whom war is only a tangential thing somewhere far away.” Shelf Awareness
Review
“A flinty, funny, irreverent, and heartbreaking first novel. The writing reminded me of brilliant, early-days Martin Amis — except with redemption and hope. It’s not easy to write a book this good, but Jonathan Miles makes it seem effortless.” Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
Review
“This is writing that pulls no punches…There’s a satirist’s edge to [it], an over-the-top sensibility reminiscent of Tibor Fischer and John Kennedy Toole. Satire, to be sure, is part of the point, but Miles is after something bigger — a story of reconciliation, of redemption, of a character trying to become unstuck." David Ulin, Los Angeles Times
About the Author
Jonathan Miles is the author of the novels Dear American Airlines and Want Not, both New York Times Notable Books. He is a former columnist for The New York Times, has served as a Contributing Editor to magazines ranging from Details to Field and Stream, and his journalism has been frequently anthologized in Best American Sports Writing and Best American Crime Writing. He is also the author of a book on fish and game cookery, The Wild Chef, and competed in the Dakar Rally, an off-road race through Africa.
Jonathan Miles on PowellsBooks.Blog
Novelists lie for a living — what is a novel, after all, but an assembly of fibs paradoxically meant to illustrate something true? — but generally see a distinction between lying on the page and lying off it. If Winston Lorimar, the once-celebrated author of
Lieutenant Lucius and the Tristate Crematory Band, is aware of this distinction, he doesn’t show it...
Read More»