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The House of Rougeaux is a sweeping multi-generational family history, beginning in the late 18th century on the isle of Martinique where we are introduced to the healer Abeje (Marie) and her brother Adunbi (Guillaume), bonded slaves and the children of Iya, who was herself brought over from Africa and sold into slavery in childhood.
From the opening pages of this mesmerizing book, I found myself completely absorbed into another time and place; a place that is both spectacularly beautiful, and at the same time, terrifying in its brutality.
“The tall grasses, green and gold, waving in the the wind, the many colors of the flowers, and the way the clouds sailed above in the bright blue sky like great white boats. “
The story of Abeje and Adunbi is, in a word, enthralling – (these sections of the book were my absolute favourite). Somehow the author manages to craft these characters into beings that feel so legendary, so ancient and so soul-satisfyingly “true” that while you cannot help but be sickened by the barbarity of human lives in bondage, you yearn to know more of these gentle people and their essential inseparability from the Earth, from plants, from animals, from spirits.
“Her brother and she trod the Earth, slept upon her, ate from her, helped nurture her creatures and helped bury the dead in her bosom.”
( I want to live in a world where each of us has a particular “spirit” plant or tree we are bonded to, and where the unique spiritual essence of many plants can be harnessed to heal our ailing spirits)
Abeje and Adunbi’s story is also magical in that they are the ancestors of all the other characters in this book – a multitude of interesting characters in a plot that spans continents, generations, and lifetimes; each character’s story individually relatable and engrossing, but at the same time, all of them woven together into a richly layered tapestry that is marvelously engaging.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read the next in the series.
A big thank you to the author Jenny Jaeckel for a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts presented are my own.
