Eyes of Crow
by Jeri Smith-Ready

This isn't a review so much as homage. I finished this book earlier, and I've been mulling it over all day. Above all, Eyes of Crow is a book that stays with you. Haunting, that's a good word for it. After reading her tragic masterpiece, Requiem for the Devil, I was somewhat prepared for that when I opened this book, which I bought at Nationals.

I haven't read it before now partly because I was saving it, like a child tucks away a treasure or a sweet to savor during that perfect moment. And partly because I didn't want to -- because once I did read it, I would no longer have the anticipation of reading to look forward to. Many of you know, I read insanely fast. It's both a gift and a curse.

Well, today, I found myself home alone during a thunderstorm. Andres had to work, and the kids are in Cancun with their grandmother for another day. All the signs augured ideal confluence, so I went and got the book from its place of honor on my nightstand, and then returned to my office to curl up in my favorite armchair.

I can't express what Jeri Smith-Ready has done with this book. As all fantasy ought to be, it is simultaneously beautiful, heartbreaking, and transportive. I ceased to hear the rain outside my windows, creating a soft rush in the tires of passing cars. I did not hear the hail drumming on my roof or the hungry rumble of the thunder god.
For a space of about three hours, I visited a world that exists only in the imagination of Jeri Smith-Ready.

The heroine, Rhia, is a woman of ethereal fragility, bolstered by inexplicable strength. A dark dance, that of light and shadow, life and death, weaves through her very soul. I experienced the story with anger, wonder and sometimes trepidation. By that I mean, the author moved me. I can offer no greater compliment.

And when I finally surfaced, I felt like a dreamer awakening from a dream that was not my own. Somnolent, aching for something that was never mine, but the glory and glamor of it brushed me briefly and left an echo of its shine. This is a book that leaves you with a hole in your chest, tears in your eyes, and aching for more.

Voice of Crow? I'm so there.

Labels: homage, reviews