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My answer to this is fairly simple. It’s this: there were fewer miracles in the Bible than you probably think, and there are more miracles today than you probably know, and there is a good biblical reason for why there would be a certain kind of prevalence of miracles in the Bible that is different from today. Anne Booth lifts the veil on this tiny, disparate group from Saint Philomena who find themselves adrift as their convent population drastically diminishes. She reveals the vulnerable people beneath as we gain an insightful glimpse of their all too real challenges, problems, pain, and conflicts. It seems we see signs, wonders, and miracles all over our Bibles. But for many of us, we see an absence of signs, wonders, and miracles in our lives and in the world around us. So where did the wonders go? It’s a question from a college student who writes in to us. The plot wasn’t 100% what I imagined. I thought a nun would win a certain amount on the lottery and secretly use the money to surprise the community, ending up in a big reveal at the end. But it wasn’t like that at all. It’s all about faith (unsurprisingly), faith in God, faith in yourself, your loved ones, faith in nature and faith in knowing that what is meant to be, will be. Let me start by saying I was amused and entertained throughout Small Miracles. The idea of a Fallen Angel of Petty Temptation who fell from grace because of their own gambling problem is quite charming. Gadriel, said fallen angel, is in deep with their bookie, Barachiel, the Angel of Good Fortune.
Angels… chose a gender for the day, in rather the same way that you or I might choose a shirt or trousers… Gadriel, the fallen angel of petty temptations, is persuaded by her angelic bookie to pay off her gambling debt. No big deal; she has to tempt a sinless mortal, Holly Harker, into sin. Just a little bit, so her cumulative sin metric isn't so low. A piece of chocolate here, a white lie there, done. Only Holly doesn't like chocolate and seems untemptable. I’m an American and even I noticed some inaccurate British terminology. I just don’t get why this had to be set in London — the story could’ve easily worked in NYC or Toronto. Again: this doesn’t personally bother me but I know it’s a dealbreaker for some folks. It wasn’t egregious but definitely present. And, I absolutely adore the theme of gods or demi-gods or beings such as angels, interfering with the lives of mortals, and producing unplanned-for results. The overriding sense here is one of hope and optimism, and despite Gadriel meddling to try and tempt Holly to sin, you know everything is going to work out for the best, in the end.Small Miracles’ is a lovely, funny novel with a wise and compassionate heart. Anne Booth draws on her own Irish Catholic upbringing to create a parish and convent full of ordinary, fallible humans, that most churchgoers will recognise. Like the TV show ‘Rev’ the book moves effortlessly between humour and sadness. I laughed out loud at some of Sr Margaret’s conversations with God, appreciated her frustrations with church hierarchy and was moved to tears at the moments when she and other characters expressed their deepest pain. The author is a great observer and excellent at showing how it is often in the little things in life that we can learn and appreciate bigger lessons. And that when a community is under pressure, all it takes is a bit of love, hope and faith for the miraculous to happen.
And while this is indeed a less heavy book than “Good Omens” (featuring such portentous figures as the Anitchrist and the four “bikers” of the Apocalypse) the ominous character Wormwood – an inexperienced devil whose mandate is to tempt humans to hell – from C.S. Lewis’s “Screwtape Letters”, appears in “SmallMiracles”, to provide an antagonist, if there is one, for the book. Kudos to how Atwater approaches gender fluidity in the novel! As per many interpretations of Angels from a Christian perspective, which denotes them as not being assigned a gender in the way humans can comprehend. Atwater notes in her work, casually, The third observation I would make, and this is probably what I would say to the unbeliever who is challenging me, is that the heart of Christianity is not that the kingdom has fully come and all sin and evil is being overcome now in this age. Fairbridge, The Sisters of Saint Philomena are facing hard times. There is only 3 of them left now. Sister Margaret, the youngest of the 3 remaining and struggling in her role as Mother Superior. Sister Bridget, is perpetually happy, sees the wonder if everything and everyone and is the most marvellous cook. The elder of three Sister Cecilia, 90 has spent her life researching the benefactor, Edward Mortimer of the convent and also trying to win the lottery.The convent is in disrepair, no new intakes and a building beyond its use with the school they used to teach at token away from their care. It seems the sisters will need to go their separate ways. I count myself amongst the fortunate to have discovered Olivia Atwater's work a few short years ago and she remains with each new tale, one of my favorite modern authors. Whether the story is framed in darkness or light, her signature whimsical tone never allows it to drift too far into either direction. The narrative is always fun, even when danger is at hand. There weren't a lot of things I disliked about Small Miracles, but there were even fewer that I really liked and that sums up my experience for this.. Small Miracles is a delightful short read, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. The premise is a small bet between a fallen angel and an angel. Gadriel is the fallen angel of Petty Temptations and she sets out to encourage Holly Harker to enjoy her life a bit more. If this had been the only plot point it would’ve been a cute story but there are other plot points involving Holly’s niece and an evil math teacher at her school. That is, until ninety-year-old Cecilia decides to play the newly launched National Lottery and a series of small miracles begins to unfold...
The world is more or less based around the modern day without a whole lot added to it other than the religious aspect of angels being real and all that. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I didn’t personally mind since that’s fairly common when you’re writing kind of a biblical fantasy satire kind of thing. It requires considerable skill to write a book that isn't actively a chore to read. A bunch more to write a book that can be swiftly devoured with zero indigestion. I enjoyed the character development. As the reader we are soon able to distinguish between the three nuns. Bridget was just a generally positive, happy person who loved to cook. She especially liked to cook and look after the local priest as well as a friend that attended the gardens and was the widower of Bridget’s friend. Bridget is the most positive out of the three nuns with a sunny disposition. Margaret is the youngest of the three in her late 50’s and seems to be having something of a crisis of faith and feels she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. I did wonder if perhaps it was the Menopause that was causing most of her angst to be honest but it was never mentioned. Then there’s 90 year old Cecilia who would try the patience of a saint. As you might expect at 90, she’s very old school, set in her ways and something of a snob I thought. The demand for gentle, empathetic and comforting reads has been noticeable this year. Following two years of pandemic and with global uncertainty still continuing, many are turning from thrillers and murders to something that confirms that there is still good in this world and small miracles can happen when we spread love. You really don't need to be religious to appreciate the Sisters of Saint Philomena especially their prayers which sound like one ended telephone calls.
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His/Her purview is minor transgressions. He’s/she’s not really evil despite the fallen angel status, but rather mischievous, and his/her agenda is not really sinister. What Gadriel does is prod humans to succumb to minor temptations, and thus achieve overall increased happiness and satisfaction with their lot in life. I also loved the footnotes and the humour within them; it takes a good author to do these well and Atwater does homage to Pratchett (Jay Kristoff did quite well in Nevernight) in pulling these off. I must admit to some muffled laughter and nose snorting giggles on the morning commute whilst reading them. I think my favourite one was… The second observation I would make is that there are probably more miracles happening today than we realize.
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