I haven’t read a huge number of books that have been released this year for the simple reason that my bookshelf is so full already I’ve been restraining myself from buying more. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim is the exception to that rule.
I read it for a book club and, until it was suggested by another member, I had never heard of it. For that, I am almost ashamed as it has been named a TIME must-read for 2019 and, having now read it, I have to agree.
The basic premise is this: Young and Pak Yoo, a Korean couple who have immigrated to America with their teenage daughter Mary, run a hyperbaric oxygen chamber called ‘Miracle Submarine’ that is used as a treatment for a range of conditions, including autism, cerebral palsy and infertility. One night during a dive, the tank explodes, killing two people. This triggers a long and complex murder trial that, at some point in the novel, leaves every character open to suspicion. Underneath the framework of the trial are the complicated and sometimes toxic relationships of a number of different characters that, at least in our club’s conclusion, makes most of the characters unlikable, if compelling.
First of all, this novel is far more than a ‘who-dunnit’. True, that is the main plot point and I was very eager to find out who had done it, but there are parts of the novel that have very little to do with the actual crime which are nevertheless extremely interesting and contribute subtly to every characters’ motivation. Really, the murder trial provides only a convenient hook to reveal the deepest depths of each person involved, as well as their backstory and personal relationships. It is the high stakes and unbelievable tension that draws out these things especially well – another scenario would have worked, but not nearly as well.
The plot, while it may sound convoluted, is a fascinating one and something that I have never come across before. It succeeds in creating a murder mystery for the modern age where many others do not, in part down to its creativity and imagination but also down to its ensemble of characters.
Speaking of characters, I mentioned earlier that many of them are, at some point, unlikable. That does not make them bad characters, in fact I think a character that antagonises themselves in a novel makes for a better character than a consistently likable one. Mary Yoo, for example, is introduced as a victim to whoever has set the fire that blew up the chamber, but the darker aspects of her character are woven in delicately throughout the later parts of the novel, painting her as reckless and selfish in a wholly unexpected way. Also Elizabeth, perhaps my favorite character for how complex her personality is, remains a question mark throughout.
I won’t spoil the ending, but I am yet to work out if the ending was satisfactory or not. I think that it was, but given how much suspense was artfully built up during the first 250 or so pages, I imagine any ending would feel a little bit hollow. Myself and few others who discussed it were able to see who had done it from about two thirds through, but others didn’t see it coming at all.
One more thing I have to mention is the book’s treatment of disability as a subject. There are a very wide range of opinions and thoughts although, interestingly, not a lot of them come from the people with those disabilities. The parents all have their own opinions over whether it is right to ‘treat’ autism as opposed to an acquired disability, and we see the extremes that the protesters will go to in order to stop the perceived cruelty of the treatments and therapies that these children have.
Kim has had a lot of experience with the use of HBO (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) for her own son (she has talked about this in interviews with Guardian, Elle and NPR) and so her writing certainly does not come from a place of ignorance or misinformation. I think it is an interesting choice to have the parents’ opinions and we do get a small insight into Henry’s feelings about his treatments, which I enjoyed.
This book, overall, is a great one. I’m not a huge mystery fan but this was engaging and tense all the way through and kept me guessing – as I said, just about every character had the spotlight shone on them at one point or another – until the very end. Definitely a 2019 must-read.
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