The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg: A Novel [Paperback]

Geoff Herbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2008

“Believe the hype. I killed myself.”

Having destroyed his life, the suicidal T. Rimberg strikes out on a journey through history and geography. From Minneapolis to Europe to a fiery accident near Green Bay, he searches for a father who is likely dead, digs for meaning where he’s sure there is none, fires off suicide letters to family, celebrities, presidents, and football stars, and lands in a hospital bed across from a priest who believes that Rimberg has caused a miracle. This funny, moving novel asks us to consider the nature of second chances and the unexpected form that grace sometimes takes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This debut bears an uncomfortable resemblance to Everything Is Illuminated, both in plot—a Jewish American travels through Europe, gleaning secrets about his family and the Holocaust—as well as tone—comic to make the mystical, sentimental stuff go down—but Herbach largely manages to pull out something worthwhile. The book presents, via letters and suicide notes (compiled by a Green Bay, Wis., priest who thinks the narrator may have been involved in a miracle), the odd case of T. Rimberg, a skittish part-Jew who grew up underachieving in a small Midwestern town. T. has lost his wife, kids and girlfriend, but when a large inheritance check arrives from his long-lost Holocaust survivor father's estate, T. undertakes a quixotic voyage to Europe to... what? Find the truth about his dad? Kill himself? And what to make of his nightmares? A more secure T. emerges, however, as he discovers startling things about his father, the meaning behind his strange dreams and, on a Wisconsin highway, his own power to act heroically. While the tenor of the novel is comedic, Herbach infuses T.'s story with some serious inquiry into faith, inheritance and what makes a good life. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg is a darkly comic, extraordinary peek into the delicate mind of a suicidal no-hoper. T. Rimberg is a superbly crafted character: death obsessed and soulful, resentful and ashamed, chivalrous and scruffy. In his brilliant debut novel, Geoff Herbach parks good and evil side-by-side in the sandbox and, with masterful confidence, allows them to figure things out for themselves.”
–Tish Cohen, author of Town House

“I read The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg and I was gob-smacked. It’s a tasty dark treat, inspiring the reader to suck on every last hilarious morsel.”
–Heather McElhatton, author of Pretty Little Mistakes

“The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg is a wonderful trifecta–funny, mysterious, and full-hearted. From a farewell letter written to Aunt Jemima to a quiet moment in a Polish cemetery, I laughed and ached alongside T. Rimberg all the way through his fantastic journey.”
–Brian Leung, author of Lost Men

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307396371
• ISBN-13: 978-0307396372
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,567,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Geoff Herbach is pretty much a YA writer, now. Stupid Fast, from Sourcebooks Fire is his first (coming in audio from Recorded Books). In 2012 Stupid Fast's sequel, Nothing Special, will hit the shelves (virtual and real). Herbach teaches creative writing at Minnesota State, Mankato.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very good book, May 2, 2008

By 

Stephen Peters (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg: A Novel (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that I finished in one weekend. At first it is hard to deal with reading the depressing nature of each suicide letter, and I found myself wondering why I was bothering to read this. The pay off for getting through the book is well worth it though. There is a substantial amount of depth in the book and in each letter, despite how depressing it may be, and the growth in the character throughout the story is extremely moving. This book that starts out as complete downer but ended up being one of the more inspirational books I have read in the past year. This book is more than worth reading and pressing forward through till the end.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book for obvious reasons, May 1, 2008

By 

The Captain (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg: A Novel (Paperback)

It is funny and sad and smart and human and there's something of a mysterious story to pull the reader through. What more could you want?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Novel, October 25, 2008

By 

Shooting Stars Magazine (Ky,Ma,) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg: A Novel (Paperback)

[...]

T. Rimberg is ready to commit suicide. He was married. Had two kids. Cheated on wife. Divorced. What else can he do with his life...?
Until a package comes in the mail containing a lot of money from the father who left when he was still a kid. It's an inheritance...but all the notes are dated for the future. So is he dead? Alive? And where to go from here?
With Cranberry, a kid kicked out of his house, T. heads off to Europe. He keeps his intention to kill himself, but finds that having a purpose in your life often changes plans.

This book was told mostly through letters and journal entries, giving a unique take on an already unique story. T. Rimberg writes everyone from his brother to his dad to Aunt Jemima. Spread out between the letters is a conversation being held between T. and a priest who seems to believe T. created a miracle. The book, however, only gives you T.'s responses and nothing else.

The Miracle Letters had interested me for awhile and I was definitely excited to read the book, but I was quite surprised by all the historical elements in the novel, but it was a welcome surprise. Herbach writes about families being connected from far away and that life is never exactly what it seems to be at any given moment.

I recommend for older teens and adults.