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This month's selection for the sci fi reading group is the Nebula award nominee The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera.

tl;dr I rate the book 3 stars.

Plot

This story takes place in a surrealist modern southern India. The protagonist, Fetter, is in group therapy, having been groomed to murder his saintly father, the Perfect and Kind.

The therapy group is for the "almost-chosen" - the world is full of myth, and not all are meant for greatness. It is here that Fetter meets Koel, and joins her revolutionary movement to overthrow the Luriati government.

Luriat is a fascinating place: it's imbued with magic, whereby closed doors, when unobserved, will transform into doors that can no longer be opened. These doors are traditionally painted bright colors to identify them (hence the name of the book).

The country is also host to religious, ethnic and caste discrimination. I'm not familiar with the history, but the various occupations suggest possibly British and Mughal rule. Out of these occupations, and mixing with the local traditions, comes religious conflict between the Path Behind and the Path Above (both venerating the Perfect and Kind, but in conflict with one another).

Fetter's story follows his early adulthood, as he struggles to find his way in the world. He moved from his home town in Acusbad to Luriat. He dates, but is unable to lower his guard, keeping his partners at a distance. Fetter keeps everyone at a distance, including his mother (named Mother of Glory) and the therapy group: Fetter tells no one that he sees demons, antigods - the invisible laws and powers of the world. These creatures stalk the earth, bringing plague and ill portents.

Fast forwarding through the story, Fetter goes undercover to study the bright doors for the revolutionary movement, all the while making connections to the powerful of Luriat. The Perfect and Kind is coming to Luariat to reconcile the warrning Paths. An artifact is discovered which has the power to kill the Perfect and Kind. Fetter steals the artifact, and sets out on a mad dash to kill his father. He makes a final visit to Mother of Glory on her deathbed.

The assassination attempt fails - the Perfect and Kind rewrote history to avoid it. Mother of Glory explains the backstory to Fetter: originally, the Perfect and Kind was just a prince from another land. He learned the powers of magic from her people. In order to escape her curse, he rewrote history to bridge the island to the mainland, such that the island had always been connected to the mainland.

Fetter attempts to return to Luriat, but is arrested at the border. He is sent to a prison camp, which he wanders for possibly months before finally being freed by the Perfect and Kind.

Back in Luriat, Fetter seemingly submits to his father's wishes to follow in his footsteps. All the while, we discover there's a surprise first person narrator - Fetter's shadow, which had been taken from him as a child. The shadow kills the Perfect and Kind, and Fetter rejoins the revolutionary movement.

Parallels

Thanks to some reviews I learned that this story closely parallels a story about the Buddha, in which he leaves his wife and child to start the ascetic life. Thus the name "Fetter", or (worldly) "shackles." I didn't pick up on this myself, being unfamiliar with that story.

What I liked

While the first part dragged on, eventually I couldn't put this book down. I am reminded of Roger Zelazny: a world of demi-gods and magic, yet thoroughly modern. I enjoyed the reality of the mythology: the different "almost-chosen" characters living in the shadow of their individual destinies.

I liked the limited use of magic, especially world-shattering magic: the Perfect and Kind changes history just twice, each time to escape his demise. Afterwards, he acknowledges that such a powerful magic has unintended consequences: changing a river upstream may cause radical changes downstream (hello, chaos theory!). Thus his Path splits and fractures.

The prison sequence was well written. The description of the camp was evocative: the misery and the lack of coordination; Fetter's inability to find his particular zone, until he stumbles upon it; the mini worlds within the camp walls. It was thoroughly Kafkaesque, and a great representation of the horrors experienced by real people in real camps.

Theme-wise, I appreciated the author's attention on identity, childhood trauma, and destiny. Fetter is clearly traumatized: being raised to kill his father by his vindictive mother may be a simple allegory for a child raised by a single mother who hates the deadbeat father. Fetter struggles to define his own identity: he finds himself pulled into identities prepared for him by others, including the neighborhood "helper", the undercover role, the revolutionary, the boyfriend, assassin, and "chosen."

What I didn't like

While I have many positive words for the book, the ending ruined my enjoyment. Fetter's shadow played a grossly ridiculous deus ex machina, denying Fetter the opportunity to make the decision to kill his father or not. Fetter falling back into the revolutionary movement was disappointing: he remained living in the interests of grand ideals without reconciling his own inner emptiness.

That's to say that the themes, while explored, failed to be developed to a pleasing (whether positive or negative) conclusion - the catharsis was missing. Fetter's childhood trauma isn't eliminated by the death of his parents, nor does he construct a new identity through it. It's as if the author was unable to weave a worthy ending from the various threads employed.

Seriously. The last twenty pages let me down.

Wrap up

This book had potential, which makes its ending so frustrating. I would still recommend the book to those interested in blending modernity with fantasy, but with the caveat to keep expectations low with regards to the ending.