Book Report: The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

Quite simply, this is the best book you've never heard of.

This book, a first novel by Brady Udall, is everything the critics praise it to be. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is exactly that: a heartbreaking, breathtaking life-journey told through half-Apache boy, Edgar. His story starts like this:

"If I could tell you one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head. As far as formative events go, nothing else comes close."

Don't let the easy-tone fool you, this is no humorous story. Through the grace of God, orphaned Edgar survives the skull-shattering accident and after months in a coma, awakes in a run-down nursing home with three other crippled old men in all stages of lucidity. The hospital turns uproarious; no one thought the boy with the lumpy head would ever wake up, let alone be able to function. Despite being plagued by seizures, Edgar learns to talk and walk and read and though he never masters the art of writing, he earns quite a reputation as the miracle boy. Trapped in a government-funded, dilapidated excuse for a nursing home, Edgar knows no better life. He develops a routine, builds less-than-friendly relationships with his roommates and the nurses, and in his view, is treated like a king.

But good things don't last forever. A distant relative, an uncle, is located and informed of Edgar's situation. Despite having never even known of Edgar's existence, the arthritic old man, who is a janitor at a boarding school for Native Americans, agrees to take Edgar so that he may attempt to have a normal life.

Uprooted from the only home he's ever known, Edgar is tossed into the hell hole that is Willie Sherman. Upon arrival, he is beaten by both male and female classmates before being doused with lice powder. Each day is progressively worse as he finds himself the target of Nelson, the school's overweight bully, who's creativity for suffering is endless. The only way Edgar can cope is to make himself invisible, never talking in class and always skirting the perimeter of the play-yard at recess. Soon Nelson puts Edgar to use, having him steal and spy and do dirty work that none of the teachers would ever believe Edgar even capable of. Eventually Edgar befriends another boy, Cecil, who is steady and calming in his near-silent presence. Still, Nelson and his gang dish out beatings at every free moment. The abuse is so bad that Cecil vows to kill Nelson. The following summer, a series of events lands Cecil in juvie and Edgar on the path to religious righteousness under the supervision of a pair of Mormons-- and ultimately, to a dysfunctional foster home in Utah.

But the story is only half done.

Udall is a master of words and emotions, always supplying the right word in the right place to give this novel a kinetic, unstoppable feel. Most of the story is internal, told through thoughts and actions, and Edgar's presence haunts the pages and seeps into your heart as he suffers and grows. The descriptions are beautiful and provide 3-D images, scents and sounds.
Some examples:

"Now that I have pulled down all the shades and switched off the furnace, the house is dim and cool and quiet as a tomb. Outside it's a clear day, a bleached winter sun glittering on the hard crust of snow and burning inside each icicle like a flame."

"That afternoon it began to snow. It was late February and we'd had a week of warm, blustery weather. Today, though, the sky had gone gray and flat and by the time I snuck out of the house that night there was nearly a foot of powdery snow on the ground. It continued to come down, the black, deadened air filled with tiny crystals of ice that fell with such a delicate slowness that the houses and humped forms of cars and shrubs and the glittering, skeletal trees seemed to rise up gently into the night sky.
I practically skied down the hill, shooshing through the powder, which swirled up in curtains of sparkling dust. "

This story is drenched in such visual, lyrical descriptions.

While some reviews claim this is a funny story, I cannot agree. There are delightful moments of reprieve wherein the collection of surrounding characters cause irony and chaos, but Edgar's tale is morose and emotional. Through it all, I did not want it to end. I loved every word, every quiet turn and bump, and the end had me very close to tears. This is the one book I own that I would save from a savage house fire. I recommend 'Edgar Mint' to everyone and give it ten thousand brightly shining stars.