"People need something to believe in . . . It's a harsh world out there."

This book is steeped in grief, misgivings, brokenness, misery and what ifs, yet ultimately it sparkles with hope, love and friendship.
Set in one of the most tragic of places, a large inner city public hospital, Marick, as the hospital chaplain, sees much of this tragedy up close. Yet it is not just the patients the author focuses on; it is all the heartbreak and grace of the ordinary human condition, shown through characters such as an overworked, mentally and emotionally drained ED doctor, the Croatian cleaning lady, an elderly hospital volunteer, the group of homeless people who have set up camp near the hospital. All these characters are fully formed and beautifully drawn, even if they only appear for a page or two.
The writing is enchanting and will you bring you to tears numerous times. So many nuances of being human are brought to captivating life, from the brutal and cruel to the gentle and caring.
I feel I cannot articulate exactly what makes this book shine, it just does. It is powerful and compelling and beautiful and heart breaking, and I loved every word.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Australia for an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marick takes a job as a hospital chaplain when his attempt as a priest don’t really go as planned. He is given a shady office in the bowels of a public hospital, next to the office of a banished scientist called Hugo, who uncovered a bacteria that not only could produce protein but produce gold. Such blasphemy! Or is it? Can it be real, can science make miracles? Especially with Christmas approaching, was this the catalyst for Marick to test his faith and to take a chance on the things he had lost forever?
I was perplexed with this book. I could see the work done to push through and text the idea of a miracle within the space of an institution that is bound by clinical governance and scientific application. Highlighting the cleaners in the hospital and those who worked in non-medical roles and the sacrifices they were making in their lives as well as the local homeless persons who lived under the hospital alcoves brought a humanistic tough to these clinical wards and hallways. The fact there was no chocolate or junk food sold in the hospital was a nice touch to promote the ideals of a healthy life and body, while those around didn’t have enough money to make ends meet. The notion of friendship, and the belief on a bond like friendship and trust was also quite poignant, and a lesson for Marick to undertake. Yet the whole discovery and publicity of the creation of this said gold was confounding. This alchemy was to be “a privilege, shared by the fortunate few, in order to benefit the many”. Why was it so hard to believe that the transformation of simple proteins into gold could occur? Why was it wrong for Marick to believe in something that defies belief, especially when it made him rethink what he had done and believed for so long? Maybe that was they premise of this story: “ … So she let the magic of the story take root and grow within her. She let the implausible in…”