an masterfully realized narrative, expertly producing a vivid sense of character and place. calamity seems at once unique, with her full-force charm and flair up character flaws. and yet there is something slightly archetypal about her--nothing so strong as to raise the specter of 'stock character,' but surrounded by images and concerns of fertility or lack their of, one gets the sense of having met her before...most likely in a local grocery store, but maybe in a particular culture's mythology, or maybe many mythologies. nalo has also accomplished a rare feat by portraying the caribbean location and culture (both often simplified and romanticized) with ease and a sense of natural inhabitants. one never gets the sense that the culture or the place is 'exotic,' rather it is naturally home: filled with unique beauties and idiomatic frustrations.

the book was introduced to me as 'contemporary magic realism,' and it very much fits the billing. with wonderful appearances of the fantastic intermixed with mythology, history, and science. to my great appreciation, nalo's patrol of both medicine and physicians is pitch perfect. those characters who are doctors are neither angels in white coats or pretentious maniacs with God-complexes; they're simply human, sometimes acting admirably, sometimes acting like total twits. a physician couldn't have done a better job in this regard.

however, along with the magic realism motif comes the genre's declination to explain key elements of the world. the plot is thin and those savvy to the mythologies invoked will see through the central mystery fairly quickly. i'm bias here, preferring classical plot twists, surprises, red herrings, etc. when the ending came, it felt abrupt, and i could think of no good reason why the final resolution couldn't have been reached halfway through the story.

however, my gripes about magical realism and plot did not limit my enjoyment of this richly imagined and original novel. highly highly recommended.