|
JRose
, January 13, 2013
Aah. I've been sick this last year so I had more time to read than usual, though I needed my books to be "light". I have particular demands of my books. Long ago I refused to read a book or watch a movie that was stuck on the polarity of good and evil. I have a new wish now. Even when a book lets life be more complex than good and evil, it seems we are still stuck on superheroes and the ruling class and danger. It is hard to find fiction that doesn't pin itself to one or all of these things. Redwood and Wildfire escapes most of these plot tools though it still works with special abilities and danger. So how did it get to be my favorite book of the year? Besides the artfulness of Hairston's writing, I liked her historical frame (black migration from the south of U.S.A. to Chicago) and the evolution of black music during that time. I liked imagining the transition from a more magical, land-based world view that values empathic abilities and how music and performance became the natural landing place for the people with hoodoo talent. But most of all I liked Andrea Hairston's treatment of romance. Romance is present, but redemption does not come from falling in love. Our protagonists are wounded and wounds bend their ability to love. The core of the book, for me, is Redwood & Wildfire's unwavering commitment to wholeness even though this goal is a rough go. Being triggered by past traumas does create a minefield for love. Wholeness is tough for anyone, as anyone has wounds, but in this case it is whole families and communities that are reaching for wholeness even while being oppressed, suppressed and repressed during the viciously white supremacist Jim Crow times at the turn of the 20th century. It was a joy for me. J
|