Most of the stories in "Various Miracles" provide insight into characters whose plain or predictable lives/situations are revealed to be unique or exceptional in some way. The stories are haunting, spiritual somehow, and Shields' writing is - as always - magnificent. She has a light touch so that the writing seems effortless, but the content is never "light". There's an undercurrent of significance and sadness...I can understand why it's hard for people to describe this book. My advice is to read the stories slowly (as another commentator suggested)and let them soak in. If you are prone to nostalgia, someone who likes to reflect on your "ordinary" life, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this collection.
I'm having a hard time characterizing this collection of stories. They're quiet stories about average people, but there's a twist of wonder and magic and even whimsy in them that never failed to catch me off guard.A couple blurbs on the back cover do a pretty good job: Alice Munro says "There's something so bountiful and surprising about [these stories], like the beautiful broken light of a prism"; James Wilcox says, "With deft, luminous prose Carol Shields creates a tangential world of real charm and mystery."
