The Saint of Bright Doors
Ratings28
Average rating4.1
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel! A 2023 New York Times Notable Book “The best book I've read all year. Protean, singular, original.” —Amal El-Mohtar for the New York Times The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant. Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen. Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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More of a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.
This turned out to be one of those books where I'm completely confused as to what I feel about it and what can I even write in this review. It was a very intriguing read in parts while very slow to get through in others, and throughout my reading I kept wondering where it was going and what was the point of it all. I can see the influences of Sri Lankan politics in the world building but I guess it was the writing style that just wasn't for me.
But I'm still glad I finally got to read this author's work. And the well narrated audiobook definitely helped me to want to pick it up whenever I could find little time.
I've never read anything like The Saint of Bright Doors – wildly inventive, totally mesmerizing, and it upended my expectations at every turn. It reads like an established author's career-defining masterpiece, rather than a debut novel.
Vajra Chandrasekera paints a vivid picture of a city on the brink – told through the eyes of a man born and raised to be a master assassin, a catalyst of change in the world, bound for one singular purpose – but his skills dull from disuse and he strays from his destined path. The synopsis may not sound unique, but the tale and its telling are wholly original.
I was so impressed with Chandrasekera's ability to craft a complex, political, and also surreal story in such an intelligible way. I was spellbound the entire time I spent with this book and I can't wait to read it again, just to recapture some of the awe I felt the first time around.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
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My experience of this audiobook was enhanced by a reviewer who urged readers to “not think about the plot details” and instead experience the world building. I second this advice and add that it helped me to view the story almost as an allegory - what colonization in the past does to a world and people in it. Even more so, it shines light on the growing darkness in our world - plague, pomgroms, ‘religion' colliding with governments to oppress those in the wrong “caste” and more. The fantastical elements were less than expected and not well explained - plot devices and symbols (like the “bright doors” of the title.) Overall, an engaging listen and a thoughtful exploration of how religion can use power and violence.??
