Miracles: A Novel

by Ayako Sono, Kevin Michael Doak (Contributor)

Closely mirroring the author's own travels in the early 1970s throughout Poland and Italy in pursuit of the miracles ascribed to St. Maximilian Kolbe, the work takes the reader on a geographical and spiritual journey of immense riches. Sono's narrator sensitively explores cultural differences, religious faith, science and the question of miracles, and the atrocity of Auschwitz where St. Kolbe offered up his life in exchange for a condemned prisoner. Already described as a "minor classic" of Japanese literature before it was translated into English, Doak's translation makes available this remarkable work by one of postwar Japan's most talented writers to a broader international audience.

Genres: Fiction, Catholic

175 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2016

About the author

Ayako Sono was a Japanese writer.
Sono was considered to be a conservative and was also considered to be an advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who had had drawn controversy for advocating for a system similar to South Africa's apartheid for Japan's immigrants. She had also advocated for women to quit their jobs after becoming pregnant.

Reviews

[T.]

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[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book because I love St. Maximillian Kolbe and because of the reviews on it. I never did warm to the book. The author claimed to be Catholic and yet she seemed to be totally ignorant on some of the most basic beliefs of Catholicism and I had a hard time liking her when she would go to the Holy Mass and then declare she didn't believe in an afterlife. Really?
She seemed to be very cold and dismissive of most of the people she interviewed and was skeptical of the miracles attributed to St. Kolbe.
There were some interesting people to be interviewed, but she seemed to lack real journalistic abilities. Maybe this is just a culture thing. I would recommend reading a good biography on St. Kolbe and pass this on this one.

[Nathaniel Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a ton to recommend it--Kolbe, Japan, investigating miracles--but it really fell short of expectations. The sequences in Auschwitz had a bit of power to them, but most of the novel gets bogged down in citing documents or retelling minor details of the various attested miracles from different perspectives that it was frequently a slog to read. Approaching it as more of a (somewhat dry) work of creative nonfiction than a novel helps its case somewhat, but it nevertheless largely lacked the mysticism and depth that the story deserved.

[Nicholas Ferrucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some readers might not be able to appreciate the book as much. If one has an idea on Japanese literature and culture, this style of writing isn't really any different. Some people might think that the main character is annoying and too doubtful. Again, this is only a novel.

I like how the lead character tries to do field investigations on the miracles attributed to Maximilian Kolbe. What makes something a coincidence? What makes something a miracle?

The book is not perfect, at least for me. But overall, I think the book is very good.

[Kelly Durocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beautiful!!