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A review by richardwells
Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé
5.0
Creatures of Passage is a mix of so many magical elements it defies categorization. The setting is the Anacostia neighborhood in Washington, DC that since mid-1950's White-flight hasn't known times that haven't been hard. In this novel, it's a neighborhood where everybody knows everybody, and everybody knows everybody's business. Anacostia is tangible enough, but might as well be in a parallel universe for all the goings on that are one, two, or a dozen steps outside the normal.
Nephthys Kinwell is at the center of the story. She and her brother Osiris were born 39 seconds apart, cojoined at one of their fingers, and separated . As an adult, Osiris is murdered, and Nephthys dives deep into alcohol to ease her grief. She drives an old Plymouth that never needs servicing, never runs out of gas, it totally reliable, and haunted by a white girl in the trunk. Nephthys is always available to ferry a soul to a court appearance, hospital visit, or rendezvous. She is only one of a cast that has been touched by loss or trauma, and every one of whom is a creature of passage.
This is a novel of place, family, myth, magic, and the outright horror of a child molester who is a trusted member of the neighborhood, and its church community. The sections of the novel where this character figures are deeply disturbing. As a side note, Nephthys and Osiris are Egyptian deities, and using that as a clue it may be possible to connect them and other characters in the novel with the myths of the Nile.
Creatures of Passage has been lauded by reviewers, and longlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction. I think it deserves all its plaudits.
Nephthys Kinwell is at the center of the story. She and her brother Osiris were born 39 seconds apart, cojoined at one of their fingers, and separated . As an adult, Osiris is murdered, and Nephthys dives deep into alcohol to ease her grief. She drives an old Plymouth that never needs servicing, never runs out of gas, it totally reliable, and haunted by a white girl in the trunk. Nephthys is always available to ferry a soul to a court appearance, hospital visit, or rendezvous. She is only one of a cast that has been touched by loss or trauma, and every one of whom is a creature of passage.
This is a novel of place, family, myth, magic, and the outright horror of a child molester who is a trusted member of the neighborhood, and its church community. The sections of the novel where this character figures are deeply disturbing. As a side note, Nephthys and Osiris are Egyptian deities, and using that as a clue it may be possible to connect them and other characters in the novel with the myths of the Nile.
Creatures of Passage has been lauded by reviewers, and longlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction. I think it deserves all its plaudits.