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November 2008
Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
Carla Lee is currently a law student, and co-editor in chief of Scribbles, her law school's journal of literature and arts. Her book reviews have appeared in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley and Paper Cuts, a column at InsidePulse.com. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Journey Literary Magazine, Scribbles, and various Arts!Rolla anthologies.
Carole McDonnell's Wind Follower deals with very human struggles in a fantasy world grounded in reality. The novel is told from alternating points of view: one narrator is Satha, a poor woman who finds herself suddenly engaged and then quickly married to Loic, the other narrator, a rich younger man. Each narrator switch is labeled, which is especially useful early in the book when their voices are not fully developed and read quite similar. As the story progresses, they become easily distinguished and quite well-developed. Their story unfolds against an African backdrop where three tribes — the dark-skinned Theseni, light brown Doreni, and tan Ibeni — have a tenuous peace often marred by inter-tribe conflict. A fourth tribe — the pale-skinned Angleni — has invaded and shaken the tribes, changing the way they live and worship their ancestors. After their marriage, it becomes clear Satha and Loic are in the middle of a cultural and spiritual war. Satha in particular is the reader's entrance into the complicated politics of the tribes which are a tangle of detailed rules and customs. The culture of her tribe was complicated enough, but that of Loic's tribe is even worse, and she struggles to act correctly in her new role as his wife and important woman of the tribe. Their world is one of fierce loyalty to family and tribe, and vengeance for any slight. McDonnell's writing is filled with amazing detail; her knowledge of African tribal systems is obvious, and spread throughout the novel without detracting from the story itself. The characters are layered, believable, and by no means perfect. Loic is headstrong and used to getting his own way. He also suffers from seizures, and is ashamed of his perceived weakness. Satha is standoffish and at the same time too trusting of those around her. Nor do they always learn from their mistakes; this can be frustrating, as Satha ends up in situations she could have avoided had she actually learned the lessons which stem from her previous actions. It's a decidedly human fault, however, and makes for compelling storytelling. At that point, Satha's character has been developed so well she feels truly real, and the reader will root for her even while she makes the wrong decision. It's not a train wreck from which you can't look away, nothing so clichéd as that; instead it is as if she has become a friend, and even when she does something with which you don't agree, you can't give up on her. McDonnell has framed Wind Follower as an oral history being told by Satha and Loic, and the end of the story directly addresses their descendants. This allows for asides throughout the narrative which can further develop the setting without interrupting the story. The influence of the oral storytelling tradition is strongly felt, and is a nice addition to the novel. The frame gives the appearance of distance from the events of the story, because Satha and Loic are looking back over what has occurred. That does not take away from the impact of the sex and violence. Wind Follower takes place in a dangerous world populated with passionate characters, and McDonnell is not afraid to deal with disturbing, painful situations, nor from beautiful, gentle ones. Rape, abuse, and slavery; marriage, love, and family ties — all are handled with aplomb. Again and again the reader empathizes with the characters, whether it is in regard to their love, or their mistakes, or their heart ache, or their shame — they are truly human and believable. This is Satha and Loic's tale, and they tell it well. McDonnell tells it well. Wind Follower is not a perfect book. Just as the characters are flawed, so too is the story. The ending is rushed, the plot develops slowly, and the world is not all that accessible in the beginning. (Though the detailed glossary at the back can help clear up confusion, it breaks the flow of the narrative to have to stop look up words.) These things do not ruin the story; just as Satha's mistakes or Loic's stubborn actions make them more interesting, so too does the story capture the reader as it develops. McDonnell weaves Christian references into the story, mostly without coming across as preachy. The transition from ancestor worship to the Creator and the battles, both internal and external, it creates for the characters makes for an intriguing tale. At the same time, McDonnell handles many things very well: believable characters; a rich, well-developed world; and presentations of, as well as commentary on, race, class, and religion. This is a book filled with despair as well as love, loss as well as discovery. It is flawed, but its appeal is undeniable. It is a book which will make you want to discuss it with others, and one which you should absolutely read. |
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