Strause, Brian

PERSONAL: Born in Columbus, OH.

ADDRESSES: Home—Silver Lake, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Ballantine Books, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer.

WRITINGS:

Maybe a Miracle (novel), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: In Maybe a Miracle Brian Strause presents Monroe Anderson, a clever and cynical teenager who rescues his eleven-year-old sister Annicka, who may be a saint, from drowning. The ordeal leaves Annicka, however, in a coma and hospitalized. As people pray for her recovery outside of the hospital, miracle-like events begin to occur, including a rain of rose petals and Annicka developing stigmata—bleeding from the hands like the crucified Jesus Christ. As the story's narrator, Monroe, an atheist, caustically comments on the whole affair and his family's reaction to it. While his mother becomes a devoted believer in Annicka's spirituality, Monroe's father and brother have far different reactions. As for Monroe, the worldwide attention that his sister receives further complicates his already difficult teenage life. "Monroe's barbed detachment and biting sarcasm, tempered by the awe that steals over him at unguarded moments, hold the reader," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor, who also noted that the author "juxtaposes the caustic and the poignant." Beth E. Andersen, writing in Library Journal, noted that "Monroe is a captivating narrator who will both delight and outrage readers while also making them think." A reviewer for Kirkus Reviews called Monroe "a precocious and kind-hearted theologian" and commented that the book is "an original take on a boy's coming-of-age and a sly, thoughtful look at the complexities of faith."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2005, review of Maybe a Miracle, p. 708.

Library Journal, August 1, 2005, Beth E. Andersen, review of Maybe a Miracle, p. 73.

Publishers Weekly, August 1, 2005, review of Maybe a Miracle, p. 43.