Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord fantasy book reviewsRedemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsRedemption in Indigo (2010) by Karen Lord is a beautiful, sly, innovative book that is doing much more than it seems to be on the surface. The frame story is the folktale of Ansige the glutton. Lord’s retelling takes Paama, a skilled cook and Ansige’s estranged wife, as its protagonist. At the beginning of the book, she has left Ansige and returned to her own family to decide what she’ll do next. But after missing his wife’s constant attention to his endless appetite, Ansige comes looking for her. In typical folktale logic, he is humiliated three times, tricked by djombi (who are spirits or deities), before leaving Paama in peace.

But where the folktale ends, Lord’s novel really begins. Because after Ansige leaves, Paama is left with the Chaos Stick, a magical artifact that can manipulate events. She first discovers what it can do when she saves a young girl from drowning through the most unlikely circumstances, and begins to dream of changing the world through its power: reversing horrific catastrophes and cruel massacres. But another djombi, the indigo lord, claims ownership of the Chaos Stick. He finds Paama and attempts to trick, cajole, and threaten her into giving up the stick before taking her on a journey through time and across landmasses. They both learn about the limitations of the stick and of themselves.

Lord writes Redemption in Indigo in the voice of an oral storyteller, reminding us both of the folktale nature of the original and also of the ambivalent nature of folktales. This storyteller persona constantly comments on the narrative, addressing the reader directly, reminding us that there are multiple perspectives on any story (“I have no way of knowing which of these characters will most capture your attention and sympathy”) and telling us about the purpose of such stories (“tales are meant to be an inspiration, not a substitute”). It is hard not to be utterly charmed by this narrative voice; it is funny, reflective, down-to-earth, and surprising. It helps regulate the pace of the novel, too, slowing it down in moments and interjecting the rhythm of the spoken word into the book.

While the narrator resists telling us what the story “means,” the journey that Paama and the indigo lord go on is one of self-discovery. The indigo lord in particular learns to have compassion for humans, a trait he gave up long ago. Seeing Paama’s urgent desire to use the stick to help others reminds him of his past, when he tried to use it in much the same way with disastrous results. The conclusion they come to — that they are better off helping people in more mundane, less magical ways — seems a bit nihilistic, acknowledging the cruelty of the world without finding any solutions. But when they notice the ways in which good things can come out of tragedy, and small blessings multiply over time, they each come to a sort of peace with the idea of not using the stick.

The key to all of this is human choice. While the Chaos Stick allows Paama and the indigo lord to skew probability in their favor (reminding me of lots of sci-fi stories about quantum theory and parallel universes), the choices people make — both good and bad — are what actually drive the plot. Accepting their own helplessness is part of the journey that Paama and the indigo lord undertake.

Ansige appears again, at the end of Redemption in Indigo, turned from comic relief into a tragic fool. The djombi who caused all the trouble — who I think is Anansi, the spider — shows up again, too. And both Paama and the indigo lord get their respective happy endings, although not the ones I was predicting for them. But even at the end of the book, the narrator frames their fates as a story, not a lesson, and just one of countless others that she could tell.

I listened to Redemption in Indigo as an audiobook produced by Recorded Books and narrated by Robin Miles. Miles’ voice perfectly captured the charming, clever narrator who drives this novel, and all of the other characters, but the funniest was certainly Ansige the glutton. Listening to this book certainly enhanced the experience, especially since the voice of the narrator is that of a storyteller.

Redemption in Indigo won several awards, including the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

~Kate Lechler


Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord fantasy book reviewsA delightful folktale made even more charming by Robin Miles’ narration of the audio version.

~Kat Hooper

Published in 2010. “The impish love child of Tutuola and Marquez. Utterly delightful.”–Nalo Hopkinson. Karen Lord’s debut novel, which won the prestigious Frank Collymore Literary Prize in Barbados, is an intricately woven 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. Bursting with humor and rich in fantastic detail, Redemption in Indigo is a clever, contemporary fairy tale that introduces readers to a dynamic new voice in Caribbean literature. Lord’s world of spider tricksters and indigo immortals, inspired in part by a Senegalese folk tale, will feel instantly familiar–but Paama’s adventures are fresh, surprising, and utterly original.

Authors

  • Kate Lechler

    KATE LECHLER, on our staff from May 2014 to January 2017, resides in Oxford, MS, where she divides her time between teaching early British literature at the University of Mississippi, writing fiction, and throwing the tennis ball for her insatiable terrier, Sam. She loves speculative fiction because of what it tells us about our past, present, and future. She particularly enjoys re-imagined fairy tales and myths, fabulism, magical realism, urban fantasy, and the New Weird. Just as in real life, she has no time for melodramatic protagonists with no sense of humor. The movie she quotes most often is Jurassic Park, and the TV show she obsessively re-watches (much to the chagrin of her husband) is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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  • Kat Hooper

    KAT HOOPER, who started this site in June 2007, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University (Bloomington) and now teaches and conducts brain research at the University of North Florida. When she reads fiction, she wants to encounter new ideas and lots of imagination. She wants to view the world in a different way. She wants to have her mind blown. She loves beautiful language and has no patience for dull prose, vapid romance, or cheesy dialogue. She prefers complex characterization, intriguing plots, and plenty of action. Favorite authors are Jack Vance, Robin Hobb, Kage Baker, William Gibson, Gene Wolfe, Richard Matheson, and C.S. Lewis.

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