Okay all, I promised you a review of Auralia's Colors (I'm with you Kait, I keep writing coloUrs every time). And a review you will have. However I am completely loopy with a head cold and exhausted from spending the entire day at the pool (in the next town) doing a lifeguarding recert. With a head cold. Very loopy. I did pass, but it was not a strong showing. What I'm trying to say is that I might ramble a bit here, and it might not all make sense...but I'm guessing you've noticed that already.
Basic Overview:
The House of Abascar (think a city sized kingdom), is colourless. The Queen in her pride and need to outshine the other houses, decided that everything of value and beauty must be sacrificed to make the palace more grand and impressive. Every artist must work only on royal things and the beautiful possessions of the House's citizens are all in the royal vault. Unfortunately this isn't enough to make the queen content...and she runs away never to be seen again. The king refuses to admit that she made a mistake and continues to hoard everything of colour or value, waiting for the right moment to unveil the House's riches and make it the envy of all. That moment never comes.
This is the world Auralia is found in.
Auralia is raised outside the walls of the House by criminals and outcasts. She has the talent of finding colour everywhere in the world around her and creating beautiful things with it. She doesn't understand how anyone thinks that they can own colour and control it. Needless to say she shakes things up a little.
What I liked:
-I loved the imagery used throughout the book. It's very poetic and reminds a bit of Patricia Mckillips flowery style, which I love. The style is very fitting for a book about beauty.
-As an artist this book really resonated with me. I've always felt that one of the greatest gifts that God has given humanity is the ability to create beautiful things. Whether it's art or music or quilts...it's just such a gift. In this book, it feels like colour is an image of how God can touch the world through people, and how much we lose by not being open to it, or trying to control it, rule it, and lock it away. I'll check tomorrow and see if that made any sense.
-Without giving away too much I can only say that the ending was crazy. Much more intense than I had anticipated, and it changed the whole tone of the book, in a good way.
So I do heartily recommend it (and I don't just say that about any book people, especially not most Christian novels). It's a good solid read, and very thought provoking. It's not an allegory, but there are a lot of spiritual ideas in it that you find yourself mulling over the next day.
Come back tomorrow for my review of the cover!
