The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

By: Brady Udall

Narrated by: Scott Shina

Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

This astonishing novel was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly and Newsweek. Contained within is the story of Edgar Mint, the half-Apache, mostly orphaned child who overcomes a serious childhood injury to embark on a life of tragedies, including a boarding school for Native Americans and a dysfunctional Mormon foster family.

©2001 Brady Udall (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"A bit of a miracle in its own right." ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

Tedious

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Could not get back the tedious description of Mint's father as a drugstore cowboy wanna-be. What could have been a truly hilarious rodeo scene with the tired, old bull and the northerner-idiot was relegated to point-by-boring point description.

One of my favorites

I've downloaded close to 100 books from Audible and this has to be one of my top 5 favorites.
A great story and a wonderful lead character.
The reader was also excellent. He handled dialogue from a range of characters with great versatility. Even his recreation of the occasional sound was a plus and not an intrusion.
I'll look for more books from the author and the narrator.

Master Storyteller

If you could sum up The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint in three words, what would they be?

Detailed, Journey, Perseverence

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint?

There were many poignant moments. I was most affected when Edgar visits Cecil for the last time.

If you could take any character from The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would take Art. He is cantankerous, unassumingly funny, and says the darndest things.

Any additional comments?

Brady Udall's first novel is a detailed, tale of a half-apache mostly-orphaned boy who travels through one difficult situation to another. The story slowly unfolds with a mixture of anguish and all-out laughter. Settle in for a good listen.

Great Book

Would you consider the audio edition of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint to be better than the print version?

I think that the print may be better for this audiobook. I found that personally the story affected me more when I was reading it in print.

What other book might you compare The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint to and why?

Anything Dickens.

What about Scott Shina’s performance did you like?

You can tell that he was committed to Edger as a character and was totally convincing in almost all of the roles. The accounts of abuse touched me more in print. I do not know if that is the fault of the narrator or a personal preference.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book touched me in a big way. Start to finish the narrative griped me.

A must hear book

Couldn't stop listening!!! The way this book was written is captivating and very inspiring!! I have listened to this book twice and actually read the book once!!@

Worth a Listen

The book starts slow, but all of the detail is used well later on, and it all comes together nicely. I would recommend you give this a listed. I liked Owen Meany and although the storied are not similar, it is like these two boys are somehow related.

Highly Recommend

This story has it all, especially unforgetable characters. It's completely unpredictable and never takes a boring turn. I don't want to revel anything about this surprising book, so just take my word that you won't regret putting this one in your shopping cart.

A gritty, humorous and rambling tale

Enjoyed this book. For one, the story narrated by a half white half Indian boy was such a unique one. From his reservation days to a long hospitalization to his time in an Indian school to living with a Mormon family the stories were fascinating. Edgar is observant and odd. A unique character who has endured atrocities of flesh and spirit. Yet he endured. At times the story rambled but still held my attention.

A worthwhile read!

Brady Udall manages to draw you in, fully develop characters, and still keep the book moving! Twists and turns along the way and times when I thought, "Nah, this won't happen - there will be some type of happy fix for this problem," I was wrong. I'm already looking for more of his books!

The narrator, Scott Shina, is also fantastic!

What a great book!!!.....

.....It definately runs along the lines of a John Irving novel which really pleases me since I adore John Irving!....Edgar Mint gets straight into your heart and you just can't let go....from the stark and sad beginning to the incredible surprise ending......Edgar Mint is a survivor and someone that you will constantly root for. He makes many mistakes along the way but he always survives the most harrowing of life events by coming out on top......as Edgar mentions in the end of the book......he lives his life backwards by starting out having to make all the hard decisions and live all the hard ways of life and ending with being protected and loved and taken care of like a child....This is definately a hard book to put down and one that will bring out many different emotions from the reader.