Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

1 review

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial  
 

"But it is always my cost...Always, always. It's always me making sacrifices. Even now."

Is this where I got it from, this habit of blaming myself for anything and everything?
But no, Otera is the reason, the culprit. Its culture is. The Infinite Wisdoms - the false holy books on which I was raised-conditions women to take on the sins of everyone else. No matter the situation, no matter the person, if something happens, it's always the woman's fault. And barring that, it is the fault of the men who love other men, or the yandau, or the maimed and injured, the infirm-anyone who isn't a typical Oteran man.
It is always the fault of those on the periphery.
We are the ones Otera sees as inherently weak, shameful. We are the ones who must always shoulder the blame. 

 

"No more prescribed roles. No false holy books. No more following arcane rules, simply because you appear a certain way. Now everyone in Otera can be who they wish. Who they are inside. And that's all I've ever asked for." 

To give you a very quick recap of Deka's current situation at the beginning of this book, let me help you out real quick. Deka has discovered more and more of her goddess powers and each time she uses one of her abilities, gold sores take over her body, reminding her that her time as a human is limited. Each moment that she doesn't reconnect with her kelai (celestial essence), she is closer to scattering into a million pieces. If this happens, no one will be able to stop the Gilded Ones or the Idugu will bleed her kingdom of Otera dry. Deka searches for her Mother, visits the gods, and dodges danger at every turn with the help of her friends and her mentor White Hands. Deka is the Angoro, the slayer of the gods, and she must live up to this namesake for peace. 

Just as a recap for her mom's backstory: "The last time I saw Mother, she was lying on her deathbed, face pale and haggard, body nearly wasted away. Her dark brown skin had turned to ash, blood the color of rubies dripped from her nose, and deep sores cracked the sides of her mouth. Later, I would learn this was all a ruse: Mother was an alaki, a descendent of the Gilded Ones; she couldn't die from, or even contract, human illnesses. But she needed to keep the village elders and jatu off her trail as she tried to find a way to keep me from being discovered, so she faked her death and fled Irfut, hoping to get to White Hands so they could formulate a way to rescue me. Except somewhere along the way, she discovered the truth of the Gilded Ones, the truth of the date they wished for me. And she tried to save me. She suffered horrifically as a result."

Overall, I thought this was an inspiring and bittersweet end to this series, and while it took a bit to get there (there was absolutely some seemingly aimless filler in between these pages!), I certainly appreciated the quieter moments between the characters as they mentally and emotionally prepared to confront the inevitable (is it?! that's what I was wondering up until the very end, which I think Forna did an excellent job of - making readers guess what Deka's fate would be) choice of sacrificing herself to save her friends and the world.

Ixa gets an honorable mention because I love him; he is goofy, loyal and fiesty. I just adore this shape-shifting companion!!! Also, I absolutely adored the hot springs scene with Deka and all of her found family, Britta, Li & Keita. *tears up*

RIP to Asha, Katya, Rian, and Kweku, but I hope they're resting peacefully in the Afterlands/Blissful Lands until they're ready to be born again as the Great Circle promises in this universe! And long live Belcalis, new badass empress of the One Kingdom!!! Gosh, what a bittersweet ending for my favorite honeys!!!

 

I will miss this series and I think it would be really cool to see optioned and adapted on screen! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment