Miracles, Inc.: Summary and book reviews of Miracles, Inc. by T. J. Forrester, plus links to an excerpt from Miracles, Inc. and a biography of T. J. Forrester.
Miracles, Inc. A Novel
by T. J. Forrester
Paperback: Feb 2011,
272 pages.
Vernon L. Oliver, still a young man, lives in a six-by-ten cell in a Florida prison. He has chosen the needle over the chair, has no desire to smell burned flesh on the day the state snuffs out his life. When his attorney suggests he write an autobiography to generate funds to cover legal fees incurred during the appeals process, Vernon sits down to pencil and paper and begins his narrative.
Miracles, Inc., Forrester's debut novel, tells the story of a charismatic slacker in love with Harley Davidson motorcycles and Rickie Terrell, a beautiful woman who quotes poetry and will not discuss her past. They live in an RV, smoke weed and drink beer, play Scrabble late into the night. His boss, a brilliant businesswoman with a far-reaching vision, offers him the chance to make more money than he ever thought was possible. He buys into the faith-healing scheme without reservation, and so begins the journey that leads to the stunning event that changes his life forever.
Publishers Weekly
While alternating between Vernon's autobiography leading up to the act that lands him on death row and his life in prison is a structural choice that mostly pays off, the depiction of life in prison suffers compared to the inventiveness of Vernon's life as a sham faith healer.
Booklist
There are terrible deeds throughout the novel, but they are accompanied by comedy and moments of tenderness. Forrest never explicitly makes this declaration, but the story speaks clearly enough: bad things can befall those who exploit the faith and prayers of others.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. Showing the push-the-envelope spirit of a Terry Southern, Forrester has the makings of a formidable talent.
Amy Greene, bestselling author of Bloodroot
T.J. Forrester has achieved with his debut novel a rare blend of suspense, satire, and flawed but sympathetic characters. More than just a literary page-turner, Miracles, Inc. asks important questions about religion, belief, and the exploitation of our nation's faithful that I'm sure to be thinking about for a long time to come.
Death Row Syndrome According to Amnesty International's 2009 report, the USA's 37 legal executions in 2008 placed it fourth in the world after China (1718), Iran (346) and Saudi Arabia (102). However, this ranking needs to be taken with a pinch of salt as it does not adjust for population size; and does not take into account additional executions that may have taken place away from the public eye in many of the countries listed. Having said that, it is nonetheless interesting to note that the USA is one of the few so called developed nations to maintain the death penalty in both law and practice, as can be seen by this map.
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned the death penalty as inhumane, most especially that portion of it that keeps inmates (including the more than 3000 currently on death row in the USA) in a stasis-like environment for a protracted period of time. Psychologists and lawyers have asserted that living for a prolonged period of time in the confines of death row can lead to a psychotic state, known as death row phenomenon...
Infused with the lyricism and take-no-prisoners storytelling for which T.C. Boyle is justly famous, this is a surprisingly rich, allusive, and non-sentimental look at the ideals of the 60's generation and their impact on today's radically transformed world.
A novel packed with wit, substance, and emotional depth, Snakewoman of Little Egypt delivers Robert Hellenga at the top of his form.
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Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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(1019 words).
Kirkus Reviews
Amy Greene, bestselling author of Bloodroot
