Gods of Jade and Shadow

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Moreno-Garcia (The Beautiful Ones) crafts a magical novel of duality, tradition, and change, set in the late 1920s as Mexico transitions from its post-Revolution period to the Jazz Age. Casiopea Tun leads a constrained life in her grandfather’s household in a small town, barely daring to dream of more. Such dreams are quickly snuffed by both her grandfather and her spoiled, narcissistic yet self-deprecating cousin, Martín Levya. A minor act of rebellion, opening her grandfather’s secret chest, releases the injured and imprisoned Mayan death god, Hun-Kamé, Supreme Lord of Xibalba, and inexorably binds her to his quest to regain his underworld throne. Hun-Kamé’s bond to Casiopea infects him in return with vestiges of mortality—a circumstance his ambitious twin, Vucub-Kamé, plots to use to his advantage, assisted by a somewhat reluctant Martín. Moreno-Garcia’s seamless blend of mythology and history provides a ripe setting for Casiopea’s stellar journey of self-discovery, which culminates in a dramatic denouement. Readers will gladly immerse themselves in Moreno-Garcia’s rich and complex tale of desperate hopes and complicated relationships. Agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary. (Aug.)Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled the character Vucub-Kamé's name.

Narrator Yetta Gottesman successfully tackles the worlds of gods and men in this sprawling historical fantasy set in Mexico during the Jazz Age. When browbeaten Casiopea rebels against the cruelty of her family, she accidentally frees the Mayan god of death, Hun-Kame, from imprisonment and links her fate with his. Gottesman excels at evoking the dreamlike qualities of Casiopea and Hun-Kame's quest for his lost power, gently unfurling each phrase in measured tones. Some listeners may struggle with Casiopea's initial reserve or the deliberately flat affect used for the Mayan gods. But this production rewards those who enjoy slow reveals as Gottesman ramps up Casiopea's liveliness and humor to match her growing awareness of her own power and the scope of the adventure she finds herself involved in. N.M. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine