Book Review: Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

 Book Review: Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg

I received an ARC of Elizabeth Berg's novel Night of Miracles through NetGalley.com.

In the little town of Mason, Missouri, readers meet Lucille (an elderly baker who teaches her culinary arts); Tiny (a heavyset taxicab driver); Iris (a middle-aged divorced transplant to Mason); Abby, Jason, and their son Lincoln; and Monica (a lonely diner waitress), and upon entering the community of these characters discover beauty in the mundane.

Lucille, a retired teacher in her 80s, fights off the angel of death as long as she can, is the glue that binds these characters together, even though some of them don't meet her until her death. She hires Iris, who is hiding from facing her marriage that failed due to her shattered dreams of having children while her husband did not want the same, to help manage Lucille's baking classes and the two become fast friends.

Meanwhile, Tiny and Monica maneuver through misunderstandings as neither can put into words their attraction to and admiration for one another, and Monica mistakes Iris's proximity to Tiny as Tiny's romantic interest in Iris.

Further, Lucille babysits Lincoln while Abby and Jason struggle with Abby's diagnosis and treatment of leukemia, but Lucille and Lincoln develop a beautiful friendship as Lincoln matures beyond his years, understanding more of the situation than either of his parents want to acknowledge.

Berg crafts characters who are beautiful, testaments to unforeseen friendships forged in a small town, developed in some of the most difficult times in life, and resulting in the deeply lasting relationships most people search for. These characters reveal miracles in the everyday, little graces we bestow on one another that make life seem miraculous.

The choices each character makes weave a fabric that is strong enough to protect all the members of this makeshift family. I recommend this beautiful story as a quick, enriching, life-affirming story.

Source:

Berg, Elizabeth. Night of Miracles. Random House, 2018.