Too much "Mumbo Jumbo" dressed up as anthropology

*** The review is based on the abridged audio version ***

Seems to me that Gruber creates the character of anthropologist Jane Doe to achieve two things: a) to give his exploration of African religion a degree of respectability and b) to get around the tricky issue of creating a central black character which I presume would be much harder to write for a white author and which is certainly harder to sell to an mainstream audience.

And therein lies the key problem: the book claims to explore African (diaspora) religion and "race" but it just doesn't work. Throughout the book Jane Doe (and the author) feel like outsiders looking in, the character and the book lack authenticity. The racial dimension of the story is completely caricature. It starts with a drunk black woman who it is totally ok to kill and rob her of her child and nobody appears to question this. Then we end up meeting a Black American man who has turned sorcerer because he believes black people need a Hitler figure to relieve themselves from the history of white oppression. Pretty much all black people in this book seem to have a chip on their shoulder - and don't you know it - so would I - if I believed Gruber who tells us in passing that Cuba is supposedly 98% white.

The descriptions of Yoruba ceremonies aren't too far off but they just feel as if the author has simply been reading about them rather than experiencing them and it's really not that difficult to get an invite in Cuba or Miami. In the end the religious base of the plot descends into Mumbo Jumbo with characters fading out of reality and an attempt from wanna-be-Hitler to turn back time.

Gruber seems to borrow from anthropologists like Paul Stoller who has written extensively about the invisible world of sorcery in West Africa but the way Gruber mixes everything up just doesn't make sense. The Yoruba belief is a fully formed and distinct religion originally from Nigeria and the sorcery seems to come from Bamako/Mali where Jane Doe was rescued from a hospital. Mali is two or three countries away further northwest.

No crime/ thriller author needs a PHD in the subject they explore but this book gives itself the appearance of knowing what it's on about but it doesn't. Gruber says in interviews that his goal was to explore different realities but it all ends up lacking real insight and depth and I can't help feeling his whole idea of African religion and race is simply somewhat sensationalistic.

I like crime stories/ thrillers that don't just entertain but also open new worlds to me but after this book I have lost faith that Gruber can deliver authentic and credible voices which do so.

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Terrible abridgement

This is a brilliant book absolutely ruined by being abridged to the point of making zero sense. Read the actual book instead!

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1 person found this helpful

Most enjoyable, something different

This book was an enjoyable listen. The narrator is incredible, and I don't usually like female narrators. The pace is good and the story keeps your interest throughout.
I read some harsh reviews here, and while I agree, it's definitely not as good as the book, I can see why the longer parts were edited to make it more enjoyable as an audiobook.

It's a very unusual story well told. I heartily recommend you read the book, which is so expertly written, as well as an education. I read it once a year - my all time favourite book.

I usually listen to Jo Nesbo and Michael Connelly. I'll be looking out for more from this narrator too.

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