Without any profession prospects after grad faculty, Alicia finds her dead-end retail job tolerable solely as a result of of two co-workers she sort-of calls associates: shiny, bubbly Heaven and jaded, targeted Mars. After a uncommon look at one of Heaven’s events, Alicia tries to return to the Toronto residence she shares together with her mom solely to be waylaid by River Mumma, the ethereal Jamaican spirit of the water. Somebody has stolen her comb, and if Alicia doesn’t return it to her in 24 hours, River Mumma will depart this world and take all her waters together with her.
Unmoored by the request, Alicia units off to seek out the thief. But as visions from her ancestors start to overwhelm her, and depraved spirits known as duppies begin to chase down her and her associates, Alicia might want to select a path, step into her household legacy and go the place the river takes her.
Millennial ennui and Jamaican legend intertwine in Zalika Reid-Benta’s propulsive debut novel, River Mumma. Alicia’s quest rests on people drugs and the oft-buried spirituality of diasporic communities, which Reid-Benta juxtaposes in opposition to trendy points of social media and poorly organized subway strains, but additionally makes use of to lend a mythic tone to her story of younger folks struggling to seek out their objective in an enormous metropolis.
The strong solid of characters, from Heaven’s spiritualist good friend, Oni, to the creepy Whooping Boy duppy, preserve the story feeling recent as Alicia catapults between previous and current, although River Mumma rightfully takes middle stage with every look. “Water heals, water nourishes, water has power,” as Heaven declares, and Alicia’s household ties to the water spirit provide her a guiding mild by means of the uneven seas of her late 20s. Ultimately, Alicia, Heaven and Mars be taught to embrace the fullness of life over the apathy that helped them survive an earthly everyday. While these themes get misplaced every now and then, particularly within the chaos of duppy assaults, the journey alongside the best way is value a typically bumpy experience.
For these entranced by folkloric fantasy, and for followers of N.Ok. Jemisin and Kat Howard, River Mumma will probably be a must-read.
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