Harambee K. Grey-Sun

Over their 20 years of marriage Meredith had grown to resent her husband. He didn’t satisfy her in ways that mattered, having done his duty by giving her a son. But, as her son grew older, the two bonded over her husband’s love for cars leaving her to feeling like an outsider. Meredith decided having an affair would solve her problems so went online and found Isaac.

For a while things between them worked well but, eventually, guilt came calling. When she decided to end their relationship, his daughter let her know the consequences would be dire if she dared see Isaac again. Meredith confronted Isaac but his fierce denial of what his daughter had done briefly mollified her, until she realized he was lying. Now Meredith wanted revenge but, after getting her revenge, she now wanted revenge on her husband and then on her son. She knows they’re all to blame for her problems.

I’m pretty sure Meredith was schizophrenic, and probably bipolar, and the author did a good job of making her behavior seem normal enough that her own husband didn’t try to get her help. Though she seemed to be worsening daily his answer to her strangeness was to send her upstairs to rest. Neither the person having problems nor those closest to them think anything is wrong, which is probably the biggest reason mental illness is undetected in many individuals.

QUESTION: Meredith seemed very interested in rings, focusing on all rings worn by the various females she encountered. I’m sure the rings meant something deep, but it was too deep for me to figure out on my own. If any of you “deep thinkers” out there can figure out the meaning of all these rings, feel free to leave me a comment.

Recommended for Adults.
Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/colder-than-ice-by-harambee-...… (más)

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

This book is a hard one to classify. It has many clear elements: the pressures of high school, a love of wrestling, young relationships, and the outlook of a young black man in a racially charged school environment. It sounds like a traditional young adult novel with some compelling aspects. However, that doesn’t touch on the surrealism of mystic or drug-addled wanderings along the lines of Alice in Wonderland. These are not a result of consuming illicit substances but rather because Robert Goldner has a role to play in the biblical apocalypse, something he is unaware of and which he discovers based on unreliable sources.

I learned that Harambee K. Grey-Sun is a poet when I reached the author bio in the end. That didn’t surprise me because the book is beautifully written. The descriptions are strong, and the glimpses into the different natures of being and how things come together socially are a real strength. The surrealism is shown through the mind’s eye of a rational thinker and analyzer, which adds a rather realistic feel even when the events are far from our reality. There are stories layered upon stories, each with their own meaning and twist on Robert’s tale.

Did I enjoy the ride? Yes. Am I confident in my ability to summarize the story? I’d have to say no.

There is too much going on and deliberately going sideways to confine into a reasonable length of synopsis with any hope for coherency. The book ends not with a closing door but rather a drift to the side that might offer an answer or might just be a distraction from the deeper meaning.

This is a work of philosophy and psychology wrapped around a traditional high school experience set in the near—and darkly plausible—future United States. It can lead you down a rabbit hole if you try to confine it to a traditional narrative, but that’s not to say it has no structure of its own. BloodLight is a wild and crazy ride if you relax a bit.

Some might say it wraps up nicely in a way many hate. I’d say that response is deliberately blind, much like how Robert’s father pretends not to know his son is in an interracial relationship, one of the race conflicts in the book. Personally, I think it’s worth the read if for no other reason than for the idea puzzles it tosses out there to ponder.

This is definitely a book to make you think, and it’s written with enough skill that you come out of it with several strong stories blended together when in another’s hands it could have been a chaotic mess. BloodLight is wacky, but not in a funny way. It sucked me in until I was right with Robert as he navigated his life and deviations from same.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.… (más)