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celjla212's review
1.0
I'm not entirely sure what I just read. I don't feel like writing a proper intro, so consider this it.
There was so much I was waiting for this entire novel that I just never got: the reason for society's downfall, finding out whether Christina really could work miracles, knowing what the hell happens to ANYONE. It's not so much that I mind open ended novels, but this left everything up in the air. Combine that with the fact that I really didn't understand what was going on a majority of the time, and you have my rating.
I just felt like the entire book was a ride to nowhere.
There was so much I was waiting for this entire novel that I just never got: the reason for society's downfall, finding out whether Christina really could work miracles, knowing what the hell happens to ANYONE. It's not so much that I mind open ended novels, but this left everything up in the air. Combine that with the fact that I really didn't understand what was going on a majority of the time, and you have my rating.
I just felt like the entire book was a ride to nowhere.
raeanne's review
1.0
I guess I didn't get it. I didn't find it “darkly comic” at all. It wasn't bad. It's another well written tale of everyday struggle in a crumbling world under a seemingly unstoppable regime. But I didn't find it...good either. It wasn't satisfying, thought provoking, or anything. It just was.
amygeek's review
4.0
First book of hers I've read. It was very good, but very dark. Definitely kept my attention. Fast, interesting read. & very cheap on Kindle.
stiricide's review
2.0
Note to self, this doesn't count towards my 2014 total. Read a sample from Amazon. Writing is kind of lackluster. Not a wishlist worthy read, but I might pick it up if it came through for free, or in the library.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘Remember: you can’t make a difference when you’re dead.’
This novel is set in a dystopian near future: England has been partitioned and London is a walled and suspicious place. Theatres, libraries and schools have been closed and women are no longer allowed to work outside their homes. The older generation have mostly disappeared, as does anyone who speaks out about the government.
Lucas, who lives in London with his wife Angela, is the miracle inspector. It’s his job to investigate and report on claimed miracles. And, in an oppressive environment with few creative outlets many miracles are claimed. Angela is lonely and unhappy. They dream of escaping to Cornwall where, they believe, people are free to live as they choose.
A woman named Maureen requests a miracle inspection in respect of her daughter Christina. Lucas investigates, and finds himself taking Angela to meet Maureen and Christina. This is forbidden: women are only allowed to visit other women to whom they are related.
‘Men made the laws. Women set out to exploit the loopholes in them.’
This is an unsettling and bleak world: Angela dreams of escape, fuelled by reading letters dropped off at her home by Lucas’s uncle Jesmond – an outlawed poet. Lucas sees himself as largely invisible as he operates outside the law. Plans are made to leave London, but nothing goes according to plan. The wisdom of elders is needed, but missing. The consequences of choices are not anticipated, the outcomes are never comforting.
In fewer than 250 pages, Ms Smith creates an unsettling and incomplete world. Aspects are disconcertingly recognisable, others are alien. Many parts of the world have harsh restrictions on citizens – the cause is not always clear, even if the immediate effect is. And what of the long-term? Beyond the memories of the past?
I found this novel unsettling, disturbing, and worth reading.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This novel is set in a dystopian near future: England has been partitioned and London is a walled and suspicious place. Theatres, libraries and schools have been closed and women are no longer allowed to work outside their homes. The older generation have mostly disappeared, as does anyone who speaks out about the government.
Lucas, who lives in London with his wife Angela, is the miracle inspector. It’s his job to investigate and report on claimed miracles. And, in an oppressive environment with few creative outlets many miracles are claimed. Angela is lonely and unhappy. They dream of escaping to Cornwall where, they believe, people are free to live as they choose.
A woman named Maureen requests a miracle inspection in respect of her daughter Christina. Lucas investigates, and finds himself taking Angela to meet Maureen and Christina. This is forbidden: women are only allowed to visit other women to whom they are related.
‘Men made the laws. Women set out to exploit the loopholes in them.’
This is an unsettling and bleak world: Angela dreams of escape, fuelled by reading letters dropped off at her home by Lucas’s uncle Jesmond – an outlawed poet. Lucas sees himself as largely invisible as he operates outside the law. Plans are made to leave London, but nothing goes according to plan. The wisdom of elders is needed, but missing. The consequences of choices are not anticipated, the outcomes are never comforting.
In fewer than 250 pages, Ms Smith creates an unsettling and incomplete world. Aspects are disconcertingly recognisable, others are alien. Many parts of the world have harsh restrictions on citizens – the cause is not always clear, even if the immediate effect is. And what of the long-term? Beyond the memories of the past?
I found this novel unsettling, disturbing, and worth reading.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, a copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
aritrow's review
1.0
I don't even know what happened in the book, what happened to create the dystopian world or at the end. I'm kind of annoyed actually... It just ended. Seriously? Ugh.
brokebybooks's review
1.0
I guess I didn't get it. I didn't find it “darkly comic” at all. It wasn't bad. It's another well written tale of everyday struggle in a crumbling world under a seemingly unstoppable regime. But I didn't find it...good either. It wasn't satisfying, thought provoking, or anything. It just was.
beccalostinbooks's review
3.0
I was supposed to review this book months ago and in the midst of my health issues I was dealing with, I totally spaced on it! But luckily for me, Helen Smith is amazing to work with and laid back. To boot, she is a very skilled writer. The language of The Miracle Inspector is beautiful.
The Miracle Inspector is what I would call an adult dystopian novel. It is about a time in the near future where London has cut itself off from the outside world. Everything has to do with “protecting” the women from rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists.
Something crazy went down. There is a fence around London. Women have no rights. They barely leave the house. They can’t have jobs. They can’t socialize freely with other women and not with other men at all. The men all eventually disappear- killed or in prison. The lack of interaction for the women and between the sexes lends itself to a lot of immaturity, mistrust, confusion, fear, and naiveté.
The story is deceptively simple; there are actually complex layers though it doesn't read like a complex novel. It takes a while to get to the meat and action of the story but the road to get there is full of beautiful prose and complex characters so that you hardly notice that you haven't seen any action yet.
Smith's novel is the kind of book that leaves you with more questions than answers. It showcases the plights and struggles not only of being in a repressive regime, but of refugees, prisoners, and traffickers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
The Miracle Inspector is what I would call an adult dystopian novel. It is about a time in the near future where London has cut itself off from the outside world. Everything has to do with “protecting” the women from rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists.
Something crazy went down. There is a fence around London. Women have no rights. They barely leave the house. They can’t have jobs. They can’t socialize freely with other women and not with other men at all. The men all eventually disappear- killed or in prison. The lack of interaction for the women and between the sexes lends itself to a lot of immaturity, mistrust, confusion, fear, and naiveté.
The story is deceptively simple; there are actually complex layers though it doesn't read like a complex novel. It takes a while to get to the meat and action of the story but the road to get there is full of beautiful prose and complex characters so that you hardly notice that you haven't seen any action yet.
Smith's novel is the kind of book that leaves you with more questions than answers. It showcases the plights and struggles not only of being in a repressive regime, but of refugees, prisoners, and traffickers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
encgolsen's review
4.0
Profoundly disturbing dystopia set in an almost unrecognizable London, where women are not allowed to leave the home (ostensibly for their own protection), children no longer attend school, and men can expect to run afoul of the arbitrary forces of the government before they reach old age. It reminded me of the old school classics: Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.
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