Rating: 
Summary: The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint
Review: The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is a reasonably short book that feels long, unfortunately dragging in the mid to end sections after a promising beginning. Not without its charms, the book eventually fails from the lack of ambition in what, at the end, is revealed to be an utterly simple and forgettable story.Edgar Mint is an unlucky boy who gets his head run over by a truck when he is seven. He survives and wanders about in hospitals and boarding schools, gets adopted and finds out the truth about himself. That is pretty much the entire plot. He is a likeable enough character, but we never really get inside his head at all - No reasons are given for any of his actions, which is odd considering the book is written from the first person perspective. The author uses an unusual technique, one that I think doesn't work, it serves only to jar the reader out of what is happening. Presented as the writings of an older Edgar reflecting on his youth, occasionally the narrative slips into third person, for no real reason, with no explanation, for maybe a paragraph or two, then goes back to first person, without even acknowledging what happened. I don't know why this technique was used, and it frustrated me every time it happened, which was often. Plot-wise, it isn't very strong. Edgar wanders about getting into adventures, the consequences of which are, once he moves on to the next place, never dwelt on, and don't even seem to exist. Sure, a few characters make an appearance from earlier times, but it seems tacked on as merely a way to give Edgar some closure. A particular annoyance was the character of Barry, a doctor who saves Edgar's life when he is run over by the truck. For some reason - never explained - Barry decides to devote his entire life to helping Edgar whether he wants it or not, breaking the law for him, giving him anything he wants and generally acting very creepy. I expected a sort of child-molestation storyline with Barry, but that never eventuated - Apparently Barry wanted to waste 8 years of his life trying to help a kid he met once. Sorry, not plausible. In the end, everything wraps up neatly and Edgar has a happy life. Problem is, he isn't strong enough a character to exist outside the framework of the novel. For a book to work, the characters need to exist as well offstage as they do on, and Edgar wouldn't. He seems to have no feelings, no thoughts, nothing: He is a reactive character, not an active one. So, naturally it doesn't work when, at the end, he is supposed to have become an upstanding citizen - an active participant in life. I couldn't really recommend this. It wasn't a bad book, but at the end, 'what was the point?' is the only question I could muster.
Rating: 
Summary: A remarkable book that I hope more people will discover
Review: As I write my review of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint on November 16th., its Amazon.com sales rank is 6,393. Should you enter a large bookstore you won't find it on the "hot picks" shelf or in the "best sellers" section either. The reasons that so many great books don't surface to the top are many and why so many gifted authors have day jobs as well. It is a shame that literary accomplishments like The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall don't get the mass recognition they deserve because the marketing wasn't there or the promotional process was limited or the author had no previous best sellers. This is a wonderful and unforgettable book about a wonderful and unforgettable character. From the moment in the early pages when young Edgar is run over by the mailman, as event after event in Edgar's miraculous life unfolds and through to the closing chapters, you are in for a an inspiring reading experience that will at different times leave you utterly joyous, emotional, in disbelief, and everywhere in between. Udall's writing style is simple yet his words on paper are like colors on a canvas, he is a master storyteller. The only disappointing moment is in the closing pages when the last words are read because one wishes there had been another 400 pages more to enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel
Review: I found very little humor in this book. If anything it was sad, and Edgar was a pathetic little soul. Frankly, it seems a bit sadistic to find humor in a child being injured, tormented, used and abused. If this book had been touted simply as a novel it might not have been so offensive to me; but funny -- never!
Rating:
Summary: Read the 1st paragraph and you won't want to put it down!
Review: As another reviewer here mentioned, it's hard to guess why one book makes the best seller list and why another doesn't. I happened upon this one last summer(2002) and it really got to me. There is always that one book of the summer that I'll read and then can't read anything for weeks after, because it needs time to be absorbed, thought about. In 2002, that was this book. I thought for sure it would be a best seller, but I didn't see it on any lists and I was really truly surprised. The writing is genious. The main character and narrator, Edgar Mint is so vulnerable, you want to protect him. You sit incredulous, at the sad twist of fate that starts this story of his life and changes it horribly, only to come full circle in the end. Maybe I'm warped, but I felt this story had a lot of humor to it. It just had a lot of emotion and deserves a place where everyone will know about it and read it and love it like I did. This summer(2003) that book for me was The Secret Life of Bees. That one made it to the best seller list and deserves it's place there, but so does The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book that I hope more people will discover
Review: (...)Should you enter a large bookstore you won't find it on the "hot picks" shelf or in the "best sellers" section either. The reasons that so many great books don't surface to the top are many and why so many gifted authors have day jobs as well. It is a shame that literary accomplishments like The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall don't get the mass recognition they deserve because the marketing wasn't there or the promotional process was limited or the author had no previous best sellers. This is a wonderful and unforgettable book about a wonderful and unforgettable character. From the moment in the early pages when young Edgar is run over by the mailman, as event after event in Edgar's miraculous life unfolds and through to the closing chapters, you are in for a an inspiring reading experience that will at different times leave you utterly joyous, emotional, in disbelief, and everywhere in between. Udall's writing style is simple yet his words on paper are like colors on a canvas, he is a master storyteller. The only disappointing moment is in the closing pages when the last words are read because one wishes there had been another 400 pages more to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Miracle Boy
Review: A heartbreaking but ultimately triumphant work of incredible genius. There were times, while reading this book that I could simply not bear to go any further. I was filled with rage at the writer who could allow his own 'son', so to speak, be made to endure such incredible cruelty and violence. I guess I just went on because it would have felt like not completing the book would have been almost like abandoning this child. Edgar is brave, lovable, loyal and heroic without having the slightest clue that he is anything of the sort. Read this book. It's one of those where you can't wait to find out what happens at the end, while simultaneously rationing your reading so the book doesn't end too soon. This is definitely a book you will find yourself recommending to everyone you know who reads at all - a book that has the ability to make you cry and laugh out loud often on the same page.
Rating:
Summary: A gem
Review: Much is made of this book's wonderful first paragraph. But more should be said about its dark, laugh-out-loud first chapter. Populated with interesting characters placed in vibrant settings, Edgar Mint is the best book I read this year. Brady Udall writes with simple, elegant, often hilarious prose that allows his story and people to emerge, making this that rare effort that is both thoughtfully literary and highly readable.
Rating: 
Summary: An oddball gem of a book
Review: Edgar Mint is one of these people that seem to have a purpose for being - otherwise, why would he have survived so many traumas that would have killed someone else long ago? This book starts with Edgar having his head run over by a mail van, and continues in a similar surreal vein for the remainder of the book. While at first this traumatic event may seem to be the defining force in Edgar's life, as the book unravels we come to realise that it is only a link in a chain that started before Edgar was born. His mother is an alcoholic Indian woman, the father he never met but seems to know a lot about was a white wannabe cowboy who deserted Edgar before he was ever born. Surviving the head-squashing incident, young Edgar spends a long time in hospital, meeting influential characters, both good and bad, while there, before he is sent to live with his great-Uncle Julius. Julius is the caretaker at a boarding school for Indian children, and Edgar begins on the next stage of his life, undergoing traumas both physical and mental that seem unable to crush him, no matter how dire. Without giving too much away, Edgar survives the all the world assails him with, and eventually moves on, driven by needs that to others seem strange, but to Edgar are important, the main one being the need to find the mailman who ran over him, and let him know Edgar survived. This driving force leads the story to its conclusion, which in itself is as strange a surprise as any so far in Edgar's life - it is not the twist even the most canny of readers is probably going to spot. This book is wonderful to read - it is obviously heavily influenced by John Irving (especially 'Prayer for Owen Meany') but is better, rather than worse, for it. Edgar is an amazing character - at first you feel for him because of what he has gone through, but you come to feel for him because of what a fascinating and truly heart warming character he is. This is not a conventional story, but an off-beat one, yet it does read like the author is trying to be 'kooky' - despite it's bizarre aspects, it reads as though it could have really happened. Well worth picking up if you have the chance
Rating:
Summary: Most unique, incredible book. Pageturner, unforgettable!
Review: This book came to me so highly recommended by people I love
and trust that I was intrigued from the start. Within a few
sentences, I wanted to know what would happen to this kid
who was run over by a mail truck. The story unfolds with
enough twists and turns to keep you surprised continuously,
and yet you'll laugh and cry along with the character/hero
Edgar every step of the way.
What I think the book REALLY is, however, is an incredibly
accurate account of institutionalized child abuse, especially
of minorities, the poor, and sick. The indifference of the
caretakers (not caregivers!), the horrendously shallow people
in charge, the do-gooders, the desperate, the drunks, they're
all here. It makes you squirm, it makes you feel, but most
of all it gets right in your face and possibly makes you grow
and become more wonderful gently human! I love Edgar Mint!
Rating:
Summary: edgar-addicted
Review: I really, really enjoyed this book. Edgar is a sad, sweet and triumphant character, and on several nights, I found myself staying up until nearly 4am, eager to finish!
I was not instantly drawn to it; it is always more of a challenge for me when a book has a lot of heart-break. Yet, the humor and the sheer magnetism of Edgar himself eventually won me over.
The only problem I had (four stars versus five) was with the ending--I don't want to give anything away, but I felt that Udall kind of rushed through it; I needed more closure. The author no doubt chose this ending for a specific purpose, and I can appreciate that, but as a reader who became quite attached to Edgar, the ending was just not enough!
All in all, this book is well-worth the read! Enjoy!
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