Redemption in Indigo

By: Karen Lord

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

This fascinating debut by Karen Lord - a retelling of a Senegalese folktale - earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and won the Frank Collymore Award. When Paama finally leaves her gluttonous husband, she attracts the attention of the undying spirit Patience, who gives her Chance’s Chaos Stick as a gift. But Chance insists that only he should wield the stick’s powers.

©2010 Karen Lord (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic Reviews

“This is one of those literary works of which it can be said that not a word should be changed.” ( Booklist)

An unusual and entertaining book

This book is a refreshing change from many standard fantasy story lines. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Best of Audible SFF, June 2011

Published by Small Beer Press in July 2010 and on several year???s best fantasy lists, Karen Lord???s Redemption in Indigo finally arrived at Audible on June 15, courtesy of a Recorded Books production, narrated by Robin Miles. Miles has 56 Audible titles to her credit, but this was my first, though her 2010 narration of Ekaterina Sedia???s The House of Discarded Dreams is waiting for me on my wish list for one of these days. Redemption in Indigo is a short listen at a shade under six and a half hours, and it???s well worth discovering. The overall arc of the story comes under the frame of a storyteller relating the events, complete with asides (such as ???we???ll learn more about this later???) and informalities (such as ???let us skip forward through time a bit so as to miss the boring parts???) and footnotes and digressions. The story comes across in a playful, light way, the way of an elder telling a favorite story around a village campfire. This is a wonderful change of pace not just from the battlefields and seriousness of much of the rest of fantasy these days, but also in its leisurely pace, delighting on simple surroundings imbued with the mythological references which have been passed down through the generations. As a work of oral storytelling goes, this one???s a keeper, and I???m glad I was able to enjoy it in this format.

An entertaining story.

Any additional comments?

An entertaining story. I felt like a folk tale more than anything else, but those that enjoy other books of this type will like this one.

Great for some, but not for all

This story was a little out of the genre of books I listen to, so that may be why I had a hard time finishing. The story seemed somewhat interesting (at parts) but it did not captivate me nor did I feel invested in the characters to care about what happened to them. Everybody talks about what an extraordinary person Paama is, but I couldn't tell from the book what she did to deserve this other than cook well. The qualities the sisters gave seemed unfounded.

In fact, I was a bit confused with who was who for a good portion of the book. It seems like the djombi had like 3 names a piece. There were some great lessons in the book but I also didn't get clarity on a few of them.

I'm sure this is a great book for some, hence the many 5 star reviews, but I'm clearly not the author's target audience.

The narrator did a great job though. I did enjoy listening to her varied voices and accents. I could feel her smiling through almost the entire book.

Cute story, read with perfection

Lighthearted, but leaves a lasting impression. Would recommend to a friend and/or share with a child. A Beautiful read story

Good old fashioned story telling

What a chance to feel like a child again. Redemption in Indigo is written with the art of telling stories at its heart. I was carried away, first by the characters, then by the story, then by the reader. Robin Miles did a wonderful job of transporting the listener to a time and place in her read. The multilayer of storytelling has to be skillfully handled to warrant a listener to feel like they've just taken a journey and this book was a joyful accomplishment.

A worthwhile listen

BG

The performance is excellent, the story is good. It starts off a little slow; but once it gets warmed up, it stays that way until the end. Worthy of your 6+ hrs to give it a listen

Not for me

I finished this book, and enjoyed the performance. The story was not for me, outside my usual reading. I am sure that fantasy and folklore readers will enjoy, though.

Amazing Narrator and Story

Not one to write reviews - but so loved this story and narration. Felt like I was a young child sitting down for story time and an intriguing, unique story was being woven by an elder.

Fable Type of Story

I listened to this on audio and it was relatively short, which are probably the only reasons I finished it. I felt that the story moved way too slowly at times, although parts were entertaining. Perhaps a fable type of story is not for me, as many others really loved this one. I thought that the narrator was very good, and I really liked the way the story was told, as if the narrator was talking directly to you.