Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark.
(This review will contain very minor spoilers for the themes, setting, and tone of the book. If you prefer to go in to it blind, please don't read any farther!)
I am not sure exactly what I was expecting with this book, but I was not disappointed.
First, I genuinely thought this book was supposed to be dystopian. Probably owing to the 'end times' tagline, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is set in 1920s Georgia. Having travelled the region pretty extensively, I knew most of the mentioned major landmarks in this book, which made it feel familiar to me and pulled me in even deeper.
I also had absolutely no clue that this was a historical fantasy. I thought it was the southern American version of the movie Inglorious Bastards, and would have been ecstatic with that - but getting fantastical elements in with it, alternative history, AND Gullah culture?! It was like all the best things I love about fiction all rolled in to one. At one point on a phone call with my sister, I called it 'Delta Blues Dresden Files' and I stand by that description as the vibe.
It was a quick read for me (although I am hyperlexic, and I read fairly quickly at roughly 1.2-1.5 pages per minute on average), it took me about 3.5-4 hours to read through, but it did not hold anything back or pull any punches. Even though we were only with the characters for a short time, I cried just as hard when one died as I have in the past over characters that I had grown to love over the course of a whole series. They all had so much depth and dimension and you can't help but love them.
Lastly, I am obsessed with the fact that the lead is female, and the diversity in this book is amazing. It's a black story, written by a black author, however there is no lack of representation for Jewish and Native characters as well, which rounded the story out and made it that much more realistic and enjoyable. The south at that time was more diverse than people wanted to talk about, and Clark does a beautiful job representing that.
More importantly, with looming possible book bans, this is an important story about good vs evil, and has fantastic metaphors for- and direct commentary on- the continual issue of racism and hatred that we deal with even today. It's a wonderful example, and I'd definitely have my two teenagers read it.
All in all, this is definitely my book of the month for January, and although I did borrow it from the library I will absolutely be buying a copy for my own collection.
If you are at all considering reading this book, especially with Black History Month coming up, please please go find it and read it. It's absolutely worth the few hours of your time and you won't regret it.
