Customer Reviews

The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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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.

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?

[...]

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.

The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg was a quickly engaging novel which I was compelled to read in two days. The protagonist, T., is a likeable self-hater who is being interviewed by a Priest who believes T. has been involved in a miracle. The story is woven through a series of suicide letters and journal entries written by T. Additionally, we are privy to interview transcripts which contain T.'s responses from his conversations with the Priest. The use of these three narrative structures works well and moves fluidly. The novel takes you on a psychological and geographical journey as T. goes through a transformation which, as a reader, you will want to be a part of.

Although there is a lot of substance and emotion that is in every letter (this book is based on a collection of letters) it seems as though his personality really annoys me (main Character T. Rimberg). He is whiny and he is reminds me a lot about my ex boyfriend, how clingy and emotional they get by a hint of space. Overall it was a little painful to read because I was really irritated, but I forgave it as I continued on with this story through these letters. I tried to be understanding instead of marching back to Barnes and Nobles for an exchange.