Review of 'Tiny Uncertain Miracles' by Michelle Johnston
Release Date: November 3, 2022
REVIEW
What a powerful, profound and poetic novel by Michelle Johnston! I read this over Christmas and loved it from beginning to end. Michelle’s special insight, unique gift of language and artistic writing style really inspired me. Tiny Uncertain Miracles is an apt title and the story is perfectly spun and renders pure gold!
We meet Marick, a man who has known incredible love and loss in his life. Separated from his wife, child and faith. The trials have shaken and shattered him. ‘The months shrank. The days swayed. Marick’s unquiet slumber was his new earth. Everything changed, and nothing did.’
‘When a man comes late to God, looking for answers, pulpits and hymns aren’t always what he requires.’ So true. But how can he overcome the ‘trumpet of doubt’ and recapture strength and bolster his fragile faith?
The novel raises the question: what is a person without hope and what is the cure? Marick finds himself, alone, and on a different track. He is pushed into a position of becoming a chaplain for a local hospital. He doesn’t have much choice for he and the Deacon realise he is not suited to regular church life. The Deacon assures him they are happy to write a reference for the chaplain position which may suit him better. Knowing there is no more bargaining left to keep his current role, he heads off.
Marick is offered the position and accepts. He is a man without a roster and without a guide book into the unknown, meeting many strange, curious and injured bodies and hearts who are also seeking answers. From him. For surely as a Man of God he must know what to do in difficult situations, including how to resurrect and heal the sick? But is he the blind leading the blind? Or deaf to the Master’s voice? Well, maybe but this is where he lives, now on an uncertain and challenging path. Like everyone else around him, he stumbles along, trying to make sense of all that he sees. On many occasions he provides answers that he thinks are what people need to hear. But how close to the truth are his responses? Is it the act of doing that releases the answers? In many ways, our Marick is on a quest and he will run into interference, obstacles and temptations, as all humans do.
Throughout the novel we get the backstory of what led Marick to this point. He has had some huge bumps on the road. But in many ways, even if he does not realise it at first, these things are what make him who he is and his experiences (both good and bad) can be utilised to help other human beings by providing empathy and understanding of their sadness, loss and pain. Especially useful in his chosen profession.
Then he meets Hugo, a scientist who has also lost his way, working in the bowels of the hospital trying to create what seems to be the impossible. Hugo believes the bacteria he uses for protein production have started to produce gold. Is it alchemy, a fraud or truly a miracle? Marick is a solid friend and sticks by him through the chaos and doubters. As he reflects on his allegiance to this ‘wild strange man,’ he realises their friendship stems from a mutual need to be an anchor for each other. ‘Faith as choice. Friendship as precious intention.’
Even with all the despair that surrounds Marick, this novel is about hope. Hope is part of healing. Healing of the body and mind. It fires the will for survival and when that flame burns low or flickers and goes out, the soul is exposed to the darkness of doubt. I loved the exploration of faith in this novel and its’ antithesis. For me, this passage below is the heart of the novel. Marick’s dilemma is also reflected in Hugo’s experiment.
Two sides of a tumbling coin, Marick thought. Faith and doubt. But what else was alchemy if not a similar abstract concept? The making of new things from old? The mutation of bland to glittering? Illness to health, poverty to wealth? The dead inside the living? Transformation. Biological gold.
I must add that Marick’s hearing loss (he wears a hearing aid) is possibly a literary device used by the author to represent or symbolise his spiritual deafness, his inability to hear God in his heart when he wants to. In many ways he is a man without a compass—for a while. But wonders never cease and he finds his own miracle when least expected. And hope is reborn.
I cannot say enough or quote enough passages from this novel to show what a wonder it is. The prose is eloquent with original description and astute phrases that I found inspiring as a poet. Everything is seen through a creative critical eye.
Tiny Uncertain Miracles will make you think, stir your heart, and provide a fresh vision of the world around you. It might even challenge your definition of miracles. Merriam-Webster Dictionary says a miracle is ‘an extraordinary event taken as a sign of the supernatural power of God.’ It also says it is ‘an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment.’ And then the novel whispers: ‘a miracle is a miracle for sure, but then there are things that pretend to be, just to test us.’ Having been on the positive side of divine miracles, I can truly appreciate this statement. Of course, faith and doubt are part of the process, too, and often stirred in the same sacred pot. Some will believe and others will not. Regardless, like the author we all need to seek the ‘beauty and awe in an often brutal-reality.’ And yes much is hidden but it will become visible, if we look deep enough. I celebrate this outstanding novel and give it 5 gold faith-filled Stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to Michelle & publisher 4th Estate (HarperCollinsAU) for a review copy.
