Tales from the TBR: Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

[owlmoose]

The book: Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord



The summary:

A tale of adventure, magic, and the power of the human spirit. Paama’s husband is a fool and a glutton. Bad enough that he followed her to her parents’ home in the village of Makendha—now he’s disgraced himself by murdering livestock and stealing corn. When Paama leaves him for good, she attracts the attention of the undying ones—the djombi— who present her with a gift: the Chaos Stick, which allows her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world. Unfortunately, a wrathful djombi with indigo skin believes this power should be his and his alone.

A contemporary fairy tale that is inspired in part by a Senegalese folk tale.

How I found it: I'm pretty sure it was recommended at a FogCon panel, although I can't remember any specifics about the context. Also I've never read anything by Karen Lord, but she's been on my "I should read something by this author" list for awhile.

What inspired me to read it now: The jacket copy and several of the author blurbs mentioned the book's humor, and I was in the mood for something on the lighter side. (And my copy is only 188 pages, which also factored in to my decision to pick it up.)

The verdict: Overall I enjoyed this book very well. The writing is brisk and engaging, the narration style works perfectly for a tale that is both based on and feels like folklore -- and the narrator is not shy about sharing their opinions -- and once I past the first couple of chapters, I found the characters interesting and entertaining. I particularly liked the Sisters, both individually and as a community. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes folklore retellings.

It took me a little while to get into the swing of things, though. Something about the blurb text, and the way the book had been recommended, led me to expect that Paama would be the primary focus of the story. And while she is certainly the protagonist, the story had much more of an ensemble feel. As I mentioned above, I had a hard time connecting with the first few chapters. The story opens with Ansige, Paama's semi-estranged husband, and his antics, which mostly consist of eating everything he can get his hands on, and being goaded on to ever greater extremes of gluttony by trickster spirits. While the narrative never quite tips over into fat shaming Ansige, I could never get entirely past the concern that we would eventually go there, and it was a relief when the story moved on.

Eventually Paama hits on a clever plot to rid herself of Ansige for good, and in the process she attracts the attention of spirits who give her the Chaos Stick. And that's where the plot really gets rolling, and where I got much more engaged -- the djombi who originally controlled the Chaos Stick wants his powers back, and will stop at almost nothing to get it. The djombi plotting with another trickster spirit -- a spider, as tricksters so often are in such tales -- his battle with Paama for control of the Chaos Stick, the efforts of the Sisters to help Paama, and the eventual very satisfying resolution for all the characters were all a delight to read, and the narrator's voice weaves it all together, in a way reminiscent to me of oral storytelling, of a tale that grows and changes in the telling. And that's something in a story that, if well done, I will always enjoy.

So I do recommend this book, despite what was, for me, a rough start. And I look forward to seeking out more works by Karen Lord in the future -- specific recommendations are welcome!

Comments

[jhameia]

I am a HUGE fan of THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS which is essentially a science fiction romance, taking place against a backdrop of a global (galactic??) trauma. Every so often I re-read it to be charmed by a book all over again.