Saints in Limbo

Saints in Limbo by River Jordan is not quite fantasy, though it has magical realism in the way of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's not quite horror, though there are some hide-under-the-cover moments. It's probably closest to Southern Goth. The beginning drew me in with poetic prose. Phrases like "Perhaps it was a sense of things being torn out of their place, of the future...more

Saints in Limbo by River Jordan is not quite fantasy, though it has magical realism in the way of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's not quite horror, though there are some hide-under-the-cover moments. It's probably closest to Southern Goth. The beginning drew me in with poetic prose. Phrases like "Perhaps it was a sense of things being torn out of their place, of the future being snapped up and set on another course" or "There was a rhythm to his walk as if he were riding the earth, as if the earth was a creature that moved and breathed beneath him." At times, the rhythm and rhyme make you think perhaps this is a song, not a book. On an otherwise normal day, a man magically appears and gives Velma True a birthday present: a rock that takes her deep inside her memories. But, he warns, watch out for the scouts who want this rock. Velma's husband's been dead a year, and the memories throb bittersweet. She longs to go back, but she doesn't know if she can take it. The rock forces her to look her fears in the face. So she tries to get rid of the rock, burying it on the bottom of the creek and almost drowning herself in the process. As the story goes along, magical realism becomes an encounter with sinister, tangible, spiritual forces, bringing the gothic aspect to the forefront. The story draws together Rudy (Velma's son), Rose (the owner of the pizza place/bar), and Annie (the runaway). Jordan's characterizations dip into stews simmering for hours and hours, so real you're sure you've met them. She gives a strong atmosphere in the sultry northern Florida, which is more the South than it is the coast. In this way, she's reminiscent of Charles Martin's Floridian settings. The author uses omniscient POV, which for someone who likes to see characterizations unfold in a limited POV, could have been annoying, but her prose and depth of observations held that annoyance at bay. I recommend this book for those who like Athol Dickson, Flannery O'Connor, Charles Martin, and Walker Percy.   hide