Gods of Jade and Shadow

„Words are seeds, Casiopea. With words you embroider narratives, and the narratives breed myths, and there’s power in the myth. Yes, the things you name have power.“ Casiopea lebt im Haus ihres Großvaters in einem kleinen Dorf in Mexico. Ihre Tage sind gefüllt mit Hausarbeiten, Besorgungen für die Familie und den Launen ihres Cousins. Aber auch mit Tagträumen eines glanzvolleren Lebens, in dem sie selbstbestimmt die Welt entdecken kann. Als sie versehentlich den Maya-Gott des Todes erweckt und aus seiner Gefangenschaft befreit, beginnt für sie ein Abenteuer jenseits ihrer kühnsten Vorstellungen. Die Handlung wirkt erstmal sehr klassisch - coming-of-age, mystischer Bad Boy (hier in Form eines Gottes), abenteuerliche Reise gespickt mit diverse Hindernissen, die überwunden werden müssen. Kennt man irgendwie. Und doch fesselt das Buch ungemein, wartet mit einem bildgewaltigen Setting im Mexico der 1920er auf und berührt mit einer eher ruhigen, gefühlvollen Geschichte. Besonders mochte ich die Bezüge zu Mytholohie, Folklore und Traditionen, die hier mit der schillernd-swingenden Moderne der damaligen Zeit verwoben werden. Von mir gibt es eine klare Leseempfehlung.

No unnecessary sugar coating, I really really loved it through and through. Couldn't put it down because I was so in the story with Casiopea and also didn't want to finish too soon. I absolutely recommend this book if you love fairy tales with a kind of bittersweet ending.

2.5 This wasn't what I hoped for. I lost interest in the story after very few chapters and unfortunately, this didn't change for the rest of the book. It felt like the draft of a story that could have potential, with a unique setting and the promise of something different. I never read or even heard of a book based on Mayan mythology before. One reason for why I didn't like it in spite of this: the writing style. The author tried to tell the story, thinking of old stories and fary tales that most of us listened to when we were younger. I always loved these stories, but in this case the concept did not work for me. It felt like nothing happened and even though I just finished reading the book, I mostly remember that they were usually tired and they often took the train. Therefore, it was also hard to understand the character's motivation. Casiopea may have waited for a chance to take a leave and be free from her oppressive family. However, even she could have taken a second to process that some god just materialized in her grandfathers bedroom claiming she had to help him or die. Obeying without second thought is not what I expected from an allegedly though and witty protagonist. All in all, this just wasn't for me. I wanted it to be good, but I in the end I was happy to turn the last pages and be done with it.