Customer Reviews

A Journey, a Reckoning, and a Miracle

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"Spring". Seventeen years old Lucy believes the rapture will be soon forthcoming. She is on a pilgrimage to sites of mass violence to bring solace to those who died for no reason.

"Summer". Judith believed in Bush's war and enlisted. In Iraq she survived but lost all four of her limbs and is blind from a nasty incident. She is bitter as she sees vivacious Condi in her mind selling unnecessary deaths to the public like selling a brush to a bald person. However, her family and Joseph makes Judith feels she is still special as one of God's children and her own whimsical comedic attitude begins to pull her through.

"Autumn". As Bill proposes to Lucy and she accepts, they kayak down the Mississippi near St. Louis when her vessel tips. Mark and his wife using modified swift boats rescue them. If the saved duo were Bushies Mark might have tossed them back into the river. As he, his wife, Lucy, Bill , Judith, Joseph, and others pray for George's soul hoping he will apologize for the war dead though they assume he is more likely to co-star with Dick as stand up comedians doing a neo-con revival show changing the facts.

These three interrelated contemporary tales are fascinating though can turn heavy in their condemnation of the righteous right especially condemning the Iraq War sold by chicken hawks at an exorbitant price to Americans. The book is timely with references to violence in the 1990s as another Democratic president is in the White House enabling the extreme right to justify their right to kill. Fans will be stunned by amount of poignancy and emotion as the cast is solid even that of a caricature of a humbled George seeking redemption. Overkill yes, but well written and intensely interesting as the audience joins K.J. Frasier on A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE.

Harriet Klausner

Original, deftly written, and a riveting read from first page to last, "A Journey, A Reckoning, And A Miracle" by K. J. Fraser is a iconoclastic novel incorporating religion, politics, magic, humor, adventure, and human nature. Lucy is a seventeen-year-old Rapture believing Christian embarking upon a pilgrimage to honor the dead from such American massacres as took place at Waco and Columbine. Wounded in Iraq, Judith is a young black soldier and well-loved by a voodoo practicing feminist grandmother. Then there is the former American president, George Bush whose nightmares and visions involve ghosts, zombies, Mother Nature, Machiavelli, Schopenhauer, a couple of former presidents, and Alice of 'Alice's Restaurant' fame. Anything can happen with a little faith, a little forgiveness, a little courage, and a lot of creativity. Highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections, "A Journey, A Reckoning, And A Miracle" has more twists and turns than an Appalachian mountain trail -- and the journey through its pages is just as much fun!

Everyone manages to be on a path of discovery, yet they don't often know where they are going or what they are looking for. George, once the most powerful man in the world, was looking at his past. Judy, who lost not only her arms and legs, but also her eyesight in Iraq, was looking to the future. Lucy, who had no real idea where to find the Rapture, was looking everywhere for it. "I've been everywhere man, I've been everywhere man, crossed the deserts bare man . . . " Ah, heck. Even Johnny Cash couldn't keep up with this motley crew.

George was constantly being visited by zombies and demons in his dreams and wished they'd just take a hike because those pills that "psycho-nut quack" threw his way were starting to look dang good. He didn't much care about such rot as global warming `cause the hotter the better in his book, but he didn't want to rot in you know where because that was a bit too hot. It really looked like good old Dubya (we love ya, but only in Texas), "really did seem to want to be remembered as The War President, although he'd never fought as a soldier in a war." Was this guy ever going to get real?

Judy didn't have much going for her after her little "accident" in Iraq, but she had a family full of love who brought her back to the land of the living. There was Joseph who loved her before she almost got blown to kingdom come and always would. The mariachi music and the proposal from an able-bodied man were just a start for Judith. Nothing would stop her, not even MRSA. She told her brother Ben and her psychiatrist that she "wanted to be a comedian. Not a standup comedian, of course. A sitdown comedian." Was this gal ever going to get real?

Lucy had disappeared and it seemed like after a while everybody and his brother was looking for her, but she was looking for something altogether different. Lucy "felt her dream was a dream from God" and she was going on a pilgrimage to Waco, Columbine and beyond. Places like Oklahoma City were calling to her. She was going to pray for the dead. Maybe if she could convert Bill, a Jew, to Christ her parents would approve of her journey. Oh, how wonderful . . . "she imagined them being raptured to heaven together." Was this kid ever going to get real?

I've been reading this book for a month. I'd pick it up, put it down and never seemed to get lost and my interest never wavered, but it isn't the type of book you want to read in a day or even a week. The reader can simply pick up where he or she left off because it is seamlessly written, but it is the type I call a "thinker." This is a brilliant first novel, but you won't find a thriller nor a book with a lot of action. If you want romance and Omar Sharif, he isn't here. If you want Harry Potter to turn back the pages of time, he won't, but if you want the heart and soul of this country you'll find you've struck gold - and it isn't a pretty picture.

A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE by K.J. Fraser was quite the lovely read. I'll be the first to admit that I was a little nervous about reading it at first. If you've heard about the story, or read other reviews, you'll know that parts of the story may be a little controversial. I'm rarely one to turn down a story that sounds great otherwise though so I took it and read it. Let me tell you - I absolutely loved it!

A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE was a beautiful and complex story following the journeys of various Americans as they travel down a path of healing. Judith, my favorite, is an Iraq War vet who has to learn how to create her life all over again from scratch. Many veterans come back from war beaten and bruised. Judith comes back with no arms, no legs and no eyes. She can't hold her family, she can use her legs to run away from the pain and she has no eyes to see the world around her. Saying that life is pretty miserable for her is an understatement. Through the power of love and family, however, we see Judith slowly overcome her pain and begin to show the humor that she once held.

Lucy is a young woman on a mission to travel to some of the largest disaster sites around including Columbine. Her life is situated around the Rapture and every action she makes is to move herself closer to discovering herself and keeping true to her beliefs. What starts as a pilgrimage to honor the dead turns into a journey of discovering the living and the truth behind each person.

George, the most controversial character of all, is an ex-president and learning to live with his own demons. Suffering terrifying nightmares, George must learn how to live with his self and his decisions. Although this aspect of the story may seem like a turn off to some people, depending on which camp you are in, let me assure you - George's story adds a lot to the book and is written in such a way that I truly believe that anyone can connect with it.

Fraser does a great job of intertwining the various stories. Each character is connected, even if they don't realize it the majority of the time. While not making it blatantly obvious, Fraser shows us these connections and allows us to see and feel how our actions and lives impact one another. This was one aspect of the book that I wasn't expecting and the part that really made this a fantastic story.

A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE is about the characters and as such, these characters need to be written pretty close to perfectly. Fraser came through for us. The character development was wonderful and added multiple layers of depth to the story. I found that even if I viewed life differently from some of the characters, Fraser always managed to add some element to them that I found I could relate to. It takes a great deal of skill to manage this; she created a set of characters and a story for everyone.

I found A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE to be a truly enjoyable read. This is the kind of story that lifts the heart up, making it warm and light. Although I never tested this, I do believe that one could read this book in a dark room and watch as the walls slowly lit up, glowing with the hope and love that poured out of this book. I would recommend this book to any reader, although young readers may have trouble with some of the more disturbing images from George's nightmares.

A JOURNEY, A RECKONING, AND A MIRACLE is officially a must-read. I've already got a line formed of friends waiting for my copy of the book and I'm sure they are all going to love it.