Redemption in Indigo
SynopsisPlot
Paama’s husband is a fool and a glutton. Bad enough that he followed her to her parent's home in the village of Makende, now he’s disgraced himself by murdering livestock and stealing corn. When Paama leaves him for good, she attracts the attention of the undying ones—the djombi—who present her with a gift: the Chaos Stick, which allows her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world. Unfortunately, a wrathful djombi with indigo skin believes this power should be his and his alone.
Story
About this book
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord draws on a Senegalese folk tale and reshapes it into a story set in a world of its own. Paama, the central character, has left her foolish, gluttonous husband after he followed her to her parents' village of Makende and caused public embarrassment through theft and the killing of livestock. Her departure sets a larger story in motion when she comes to the attention of the djombi, powerful undying beings who exist beyond ordinary human life.
The djombi give Paama the Chaos Stick, an object that grants influence over the hidden forces shaping events in the world. This gift draws conflict: one djombi, marked by indigo-colored skin and a deep sense of grievance, considers the power rightfully his. The tension between Paama and this figure drives the story forward, raising questions about how power should be held and what it costs to wield it.
Lord is a Barbadian author, and the novel blends Caribbean literary voice with West African source material. The book's narrator addresses the audience directly at times, giving the prose the rhythm and awareness of oral storytelling tradition rather than a conventional novel structure.
