This is a fun, fast-paced read. Brunei is a place I’ve always been a little fascinated by. A small absolute monarchy, Islamic in faith, sitting in South-East Asia with a rich history,
Two timelines run alongside each other, the introduction of Islam through the monarchy in Brunei and it’s absorption of local folkloric traditions, and the main story of Lisan’s own journey through his ego and pride.
Much is made of how others don’t understand the motivations behind his actions, and to a lesser extent how he doesn’t know himself. His ego and need to be more than others see in him is what drives the story and ultimately is the change that comes in the epilogue. Not really a spoiler as it’s one of those sorts of narratives, following Dan Harmon’s Story Circle.
The other protagonist, Baitha, is less well-written. As the female foil to Lisan, she’s very much a “waiting for the man to arrive to start the story” archetype, her narrative of coming to terms with her own grief feels underdeveloped and leaves her own narrative arc feeling shallow as a result.
Outside of the character-driven arc of the 2 protagonists sits the magical realism of the story. The acknowledgements at the end of the book didn’t really help my understanding of how much of those aspects are part of Brunei folkloric tradition Vs the author’s own narrative devices. I generally enjoy magical realism narratives (Marquez is one of my favourite writers) but not quite understanding how it fits in with overall cultural schéma has left me wanting to know more.