#oneaday Day 592: Little Miracles

I finished another book… well, ebook today. I shouldn’t really make that distinction because a book’s a book whatever medium it might be “printed” on — or perhaps it might be more accurate to say “a novel’s a novel”.

Anyway, I read a second book by Giselle Green as I rather enjoyed Pandora’s Box, despite its slightly convoluted ending. Also, like Pandora’s Box, it was only 99p on iBooks. I’m all for the bargain hunting, especially when I’ve just blown a large chunk of cash on the deposit for the house I’m writing this to you from.

Anyway. Little Miracles tells the story of Julia and Charlie, and their young son Hadyn. Julia is a stay at home mother, having given up a career, while Charlie is a plastic surgeon who does charity work, particularly with African kids whose faces have been disfigured by a disease I can’t remember the name of.

A short distance into the book, Hadyn disappears. (That isn’t a spoiler — it’s plastered all over the novel’s blurb as the central premise of the story.) The remainder of the tale explores Charlie and Julia’s different attitudes towards the tragedy as they attempt to come to terms with the possible death of their son.

Structurally it’s very similar to Pandora’s Box, jumping back and forth between the dual perspectives of Charlie and Julia, both of whom are well-defined, interesting characters with their own backgrounds which come to light throughout the course of the story. And, like its predecessor, it’s in possession of a somewhat frustrating ending, albeit for slightly different reasons.

This doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s once again a highly readable book based on in depth explorations of Charlie and Julia in particular — but through them we find out plenty about the supporting cast, too. Ironically, the only character who doesn’t get fleshed out much is Hadyn, but since he’s under the age of two there’s only so much you can say beyond “he likes his cuddly elephant called Bap-Bap.”

It’s a well paced book — perhaps slightly too long if I’m honest — and eminently readable. Green’s prose flows well and she has a skill for writing in markedly different voices when narrating from the perspectives of different characters. By the end of the story, Charlie and Julia are like old friends — a good way to be given the lengthy journey the reader is expected to take with them. Both have their own tragic flaws, and both come to terms with the situation in their own way. It’s interesting to “watch” — though at times frustrating as you will the pair of them to communicate more.

All in all, though, it was an excellent read and one I’m glad I took the time (and the vast expense) to read. While it won’t appeal to those who need a little more sex/murder/explosions in their novels, it’s a compelling tale that tugs at the heartstrings without being overly melodramatic.