A review by salama_assata
The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim by Marcia Douglas
5.0
For me, reading is much more than acquiring new knowledge and stories, it is a journey to decolonizing my understanding of self and nourishing my inner child who did not know that West Indian stories existed outside of VS Naipaul and Anansi stories.
To this end, listening to Marcia Douglas take us on an audio journey in "The Marvellous Equation of the Dread" was the literary equivalent of ginger tea for the soul. Although, I do not tend to revisit books once I have arrived at their final page, from the moment I began "The Marvellous Equations of the Dread" I knew this was a novel I would return to over and over again before I was satisfied that I had received every message that Douglas had laid out.
Douglas' distinct narrative style cannot be missed. Her cadence and riddim imbue an almost spiritual quality into the story so much so that I believe that it would be fundamentally altered if the narrator of the audiobook had been different. Her intonations, her pacing, her singing give a rich quality to the work and impact the reader in such a way that I genuinely felt like I was on the dubside of the world with Bob.
I feel as though this review is incomplete without my thoughts on the plot, the characters, and the themes but what can I say besides that it was all amazing? I am so overwhelmed with love for the experience of hearing this story that I feel it would be a disservice to Douglas to detract from that to discuss story elements that I have not fully absorbed yet. I will undoubtedly be returning to "The Marvellous Equations of the Dread" in both its audio and written form to not only enjoy the experience once again but also to develop my thoughts and my appreciations for the characters, their motivations, and their journeys.
To this end, listening to Marcia Douglas take us on an audio journey in "The Marvellous Equation of the Dread" was the literary equivalent of ginger tea for the soul. Although, I do not tend to revisit books once I have arrived at their final page, from the moment I began "The Marvellous Equations of the Dread" I knew this was a novel I would return to over and over again before I was satisfied that I had received every message that Douglas had laid out.
Douglas' distinct narrative style cannot be missed. Her cadence and riddim imbue an almost spiritual quality into the story so much so that I believe that it would be fundamentally altered if the narrator of the audiobook had been different. Her intonations, her pacing, her singing give a rich quality to the work and impact the reader in such a way that I genuinely felt like I was on the dubside of the world with Bob.
I feel as though this review is incomplete without my thoughts on the plot, the characters, and the themes but what can I say besides that it was all amazing? I am so overwhelmed with love for the experience of hearing this story that I feel it would be a disservice to Douglas to detract from that to discuss story elements that I have not fully absorbed yet. I will undoubtedly be returning to "The Marvellous Equations of the Dread" in both its audio and written form to not only enjoy the experience once again but also to develop my thoughts and my appreciations for the characters, their motivations, and their journeys.