The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

I hated this book… and yet.

Fantasy fiction bores me (Tolkien, yuck), so I was not thrilled with our November book club read, the 2023 Nebula Award winning novel, The Saint of Bright Doors. But being a team player (!), I read every painful, gobbledygook word.

I am glad I did, because our book club conversation was thought-provoking. No one loved the book, but several members offered insights that had not occurred to me. Beyond the fantasy label, the book defies easy categorization. Is it satire, social commentary, religious criticism, coming of age-or all the above? Unclear. However, we agreed that the novel had a great opening line:

“The moment Fetter is born, Mother-of-Glory pins his shadow to the earth with a large brass nail and tears it from him. This is his first memory, the seed of many hours of therapy to come.”

Read it (only) if you are a fantasy fan, and let me know what you think.

WHO WROTE IT

Vajra Chandrasekera is from Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has published more than fifty short stories in magazines and anthologies including Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Black Static, and Clarkesworld. The Saint of Bright Doors is his first novel and the winner of the 2023 Nebula Award for best fantasy novel.

WHAT OTHER REVIEWERS SAY

Amai El-Mohtara, The New York Times: “The Saint of Bright Doors is the best book I have read all year. Protean, singular, original…” Hmmmm