Published by Sarah Crichton Books on 19 Apr 2019
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A literary courtroom thriller about an immigrant family and a young single mother accused of killing her autistic son, Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we'll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets.
In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurised oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives,” it's also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life.
When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies. In Miracle Creek, Angie Kim takes a classic form—courtroom drama—and draws on her own experience as an immigrant, a lawyer, and the mother of a real-life "submarine" patient to turn it into something wholly original, unputdownable... real. This is a spellbinding novel by an exciting new voice.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway--my first Goodreads giveaway win, a miracle indeed! If this is my only Goodreads giveaway win ever, I'll be so happy--such a highly acclaimed book, by an Asian author, with the most beautiful cover I've ever seen!
Please, let's take a moment to appreciate this gorgeous cover. Blue and orange--my favourite complementary colour combination! The sparkles! That Afterlight-esque lens flare! And after reading the first part of the book, not only do I appreciate the aesthetic but also how relevant/appropriate the imagery is for the story.
Okay, now that I've got that out of my system...
How beautiful it was this morning, when her life was collapsing, as if God were mocking her and confirming her irrelevance.
Miracle Creek is more of a courtroom mystery/drama than a courtroom thriller. We know what happened, but we don't know who's responsible. As the trial unfolded day by day, I was gripped in suspense. Every time new evidence was revealed, rather than narrowing down the suspects, it opened up the possibilities of who could have done it, why, and how. This piece-by-piece reveal didn't feel contrived to me, which I must commend.
Besides the courtroom mystery, this is also a story about motherhood. My reading buddies weren't very interested in this angle, but it resonated with me as a daughter, as well as with the roles in other relationships I have in my life. I empathised with all the parties involved; even if I didn't agree with them, I understood where they came from.
I have to say that the end wasn't shocking (contrary to what I heard from most other people). Yet I liked the way it ended. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that, but I'd love to chat in the comments if you've read it! I think the verdict of the trial is an interesting discussion point: Did you like the ending? Did you think justice was served? What would you have done as the judge? What would you have done as part of the jury? What would you have done if you were the suspect?
But that was the way life worked. Every human being was the result of a million different factors mixing together--one of a million sperm arriving at the egg at exactly a certain time; even a millisecond off, and another entirely different person would result. Good things and bad--every friendship and romance formed, every accident, every illness--resulted from the conspiracy of hundreds of little things, in and of themselves inconsequential.
This book is one of the hottest books of 2019, and I've seen so many people rave about it. Going into this book, I tried to keep my expectations level, but I was still pretty excited for it. Considering all the hype, I'm surprised that this book didn't impact me with a deep emotional/wow moment, to take away and carry with me once I shut the covers, but it was a very well written courtroom mystery--a debut novel no less--and I couldn't put it down! 4.5 stars.
Further listening: Angie Kim on Sarah's Book Shelves Live podcast
Reading buddy: Tegan's review
