The Downs

This was a wonderful book about redemption, the power of love and the important things in life.

The story is told almost like a fable and takes place in an alternate, but recognizable world, which is imaginatively constructed and detailed to satisfy a sense of realism.

Enitan is a well-to-do, but purposeless young man about town who through fault or omission finds himself banished to The Downs a place rumored to be populated by torturing Demons and worse. What he finds is much different thanks to his rescue by Rig, an enigmatic, healing, gentle but scared hulk of a man.

Under Rig's care Enitan starts to heal physically and spiritually and to see the true value of things and to recognize the beauty in cruel nature, flawed creatures and the power of goodness for goodness sake.

The hurt-comfort in this story had me melting like jelly inside because every emotion is hard earned and real. This is the kind of story that you want to read when you're feeling low because you'll be reacquainted with the power of love, the resilience of the human spirit and to see that blessings do sometimes come dressed as a curse. Go figure.

I'm sure I will be revisiting this story to be enveloped by the warmth of Rig and the love he freely gives.