But even with all her power, Jason bends her like a young pine in a hard wind he makes her double in two. She has magic, could bend the natural to the unnatural. Medea sneaks Jason things to help him: ointments to make him invincible, secrets in rocks. When Medea falls in love with Jason, it grabs me by my throat. “In Mythology, I am still reading about Medea and the quest for the Golden Fleece. Esch too is blinded by love and fearful of its outcome. Her only female reference is within the romantic tragic classic she is reading, referred to often throughout the text, the tragic anti-heroine Medea. She is becoming a woman, without another to guide her, and men who don’t know how to. The children have adapted to living without their mother, though Esch is vulnerable in this all male environment which attracts other males, despite the protection of her brothers. It’s narrated from the point of view of fifteen year old Esch, the only girl in the family, their mother died after the long and difficult birth of Junior when she was eight years old. Interestingly, the French edition of the novel is called Bois Sauvage, meaning Wild Wood, the author playing with the world savage and salvage, connected to the theme of survival. It is set (as is the new novel) in a fictional, rural coastal town named Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. It’s a novel about a family struggling to stay together under already challenging circumstances, about to become even more trying with a grade 5 hurricane heading their way. I decided to read it now before her new novel comes out in November, Sing Unburied Sing (already on the short list for the 2017 National Book Award for fiction) and because with all the hurricanes and storms acting out currently, a novel set in the twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina, seemed timely.
“Beautifully written … A powerful depiction of grinding poverty, where somehow, amid the deprivation, the flame of filial affection survives and a genuine spirit of community is able to triumph over everything the system and nature can throw at it.” DAILY MAIL I’ve been meaning to read this novel for some time, I remember when it was first published it was widely read by bloggers, it won a National Book Award in the US and it is covered in esteemed comments from reviews within many well-known media titles.
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