レビュー要約

• 歴史改変と幻想を組み合わせながら、登場人物の身体感覚や舞台芸術への情熱を厚く描く点が支持されている。社会的な痛みを扱いつつ、創造力の解放感を失わない作品として読まれている。

レビュー

• Magical and captivating from beginning to end

  I was captivated by the strength and magic of this book in the opening lines where Redwood and her family are fleeing for their lives in the post Civil War racist south. Redwood grows up knowing that the magic in her separates her from other people, but it is a deep spiritual gift passed on to her. She also knows that Aidan Wildfire, a mountain man of Cherokee and Irish descent is one of the few people like her. Each has lived through horrific events but share a bond that enable them to find the courage to fight for their lives and for the lives of the people they love. They travel through time, across the continent to pursue dreams. This is also a fascinating exploration of the evolution of theater and the roles it presented to non-whites at the turn of the 20th century. Theater becomes Redwood's life and she takes it forward in a new vision of truth and expression, away from the minstrel stereotype. Redwood and Wildfire find salvation in this new vision and in each other in spite of the adversities that confront them in their new lives. Andrea Hairston's use of dialog is wonderful. She captures an innocence and hope that lives in all of us who live in a challenging world of wonder and skepticism. I'm looking forward to her next book!

• A Gripping Tale

  This book combines touches of fantasy with a gripping tale about racial divides and struggles at a significant time in US history. It moves from a southern swamp to the sprawling city of Chicago, all the while revealing more and more about its intriguing characters. In some ways the author's style reminds me of another favorite novel, The Night Circus.

• Fantastically Poignant

  Redwood and Wildfire is different than Hairston's first novel, Mindscape, but still manages to retain some of what intrigued me in that book. It's more grounded than her debut, but still draws from fantastic elements. One could almost imagine that Redwood and others like her might be the ancestors of the griots of Mindscape, if one had the inclination. This book stands at the intersection of history and fantasy, bound together by a love story that avoids falling into the trap of too-sappy romance, and I enjoyed the journey. I especially appreciated the attention to "real world" problems facing Black Southern migrants to the North at the turn of the century--The minstrel shows and moving pictures serving both as livelihood and self-mockery, and everything that entailed. Redwood manages, somehow, but Aidan's time playing [to racial stereotypes] on screen nearly destroys him. And, of course, there are other challenges the characters encounter: alcoholism, [sexual assault], culture shock, racism... Ms. Hairston doesn't flinch from any of it. I went back and forth on the rating for this, between 3 and 4 stars. On the one hand, I had some trouble consistently connecting to the characters (especially Aidan, who I felt alternating pity and fury at in the first parts of the book). On the other hand, they are oh-so-very human and fallible, and the character development so believable, that I can't help but applaud Andrea Hairston's skill. {This Review was Originally Posted to Goodreads on 2017.03.16. Some language--as denoted between brackets--has been adjusted to meet Amazon review standards.}

• Really good story

  I was drawn into this story by the characters, imagery and history. I feel like the characters are still hoping and working for freedom.

• Good read

  Although a bit lengthy, this book makes a strong contribution to the world of multicultural speculative fiction. Hairston's intertexuality (you'll encounter sly jokes and references to early 20th century African-American texts) elevates the novel and gives readers the opportunity to ponder an alternative view of history.

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