#MaloneMonday #Review: In The Absence of Miracles by Michael J Malone @MichaelJMalone @OrendaBooks #InTheAbsenceOfMiracles

Hey all you blog readers, if you were with me back in May (?) you would have remembered my bi-weekly #MaloneMondays after I ran out of current Orenda birthed Malones, Orenda Books kindly sent me a glorious (GLORIOUS) copy of In The Absence of Miracles. After screaming, I settled down with the biggest mug of coffee I could find – let’s just say Michael blew it out of the water AGAIN!

For those of you who don’t know, Michael J Malone is a literary genius, and the creator of three (soon to be four) Orenda born books. You can check out my reviews of all three below:

A Suitable Lie
House of Spines
After He Died

In The Absence of Miracles was released on in paperback on the 19th of September, but has been available for ebook readers since the 19th of July. You can order yourself a copy here!

Those M&Ms were needed during my Malone reading session!

John Docherty’s mother has just been taken into a nursing home following a massive stroke and she’s unlikely to be able to live independently again. With no other option than to sell the family home, John sets about packing up everything in the house. In sifting through the detritus of his family’s past he’s forced to revisit, and revise his childhood.
For in a box, in the attic, he finds undeniable truth that he had a brother who disappeared when he himself was only a toddler. A brother no one ever mentioned. A brother he knew absolutely nothing about. A discovery that sets John on a journey from which he may never recover.
For sometimes in that space where memory should reside there is nothing but silence, smoke and ash. And in the absence of truth, in the absence of a miracle, we turn to prayer. And to violence.

When I thought that Michael J Malone couldn’t put anymore heart and soul into his work, he creates this astonishing creation that spun my head full 360 degrees. Within the first few chapters, I knew that i’d stepped off the cliff of sunshine and rainbows – I was now plummeting into a poetically articulated, disturbing depth that has made me see the world completely differently, more with a bout of sadness than rose tinted glasses. Absolute literary perfection that left me catatonic within a vortex of emotion! I can’t recommend it highly enough, just buy the damn book!

As has become Michael’s forte, In The Absence of Miracles is a fictional story that has been built upon the foundations of an unsettling social issue that continues to occur throughout society. Malone’s attention to detail has created an intense disquieting narrative that had me edging towards the edge of my seat, holding my breath and completely captivated within the world of John Docherty and the wreckage that has become John’s family after a life altering secret resurfaces after decades; he had a brother that disappeared. The storyline is mainly first person from John’s point of view, with visits into the past that help us ‘reading detectives’ piece together the what, how and why of the historical disappearance and why no one speaks about it.

John as a character punched his way into my heart, I was fully committed to this highly evocative and insanely emotive novel, I felt the pain and loss that the story was drenched in – this book effected me to the point of tears. I was promised a book of A Suitable Lie quality, I loved that book but my god I love this one so much more. Michael J Malone was made for writing, he draws these overshadowed social issues into the light, it’s both hard hitting and entirely necessary. We need more writers like this!

Again, I highly recommend this breathtakingly distorted domestic thriller that will leave you a completely speechless, blank staring, catatonic mess. The exploration into many powerful themes will stay with you way after you finish the final page – In The Absence of Miracles is one that you will not forget anytime soon. Utterly bereft! Buy the f-ing book whether it is the e-book or the paperback, you will not be dissapointed!

I’m off to eat more M&M (I’m an emotional eater) thank you again Karen for providing me with a copy and happy #MaloneMonday, you can also check out Kelly’s fabulous review of In The Absence of Miracles here!