UMBRA

In this debut novel, a woman may recover her forgotten past by trekking through an otherworldly forest of beasts and uncanny beings.

Having awakened on a ship at sea, Ohno Hoia can’t remember how or why she’s there. But she does know that she’s transporting “six precious bundles” of mysterious seeds. She hits land in California and stays at a river home, where she plants the seeds and watches her garden grow. But following Ohno from her ship is her shadow, a vicious entity that takes different forms, like a wolf, and which she dubs “It.” While It may be responsible for reports of missing local people and pets, night-blooming roses from the garden ultimately prove harmful to humans. Consequently, Ohno leaves, but even after she joins a traveling circus, It continues to torment her and others. Finally, in an apparent ghost town, Ohno receives a shocking revelation—the start of learning where she came from. To fully realize her origin, she takes a nightmarish excursion through a forest, where she encounters its various inhabitants, from an old witch to a “living corpse” and a hammer-sized dragonfly. Barbelo’s entrancing story steps into territory as dark as the forest. For example, there are biblical allusions, some more conspicuous than others, like the Garden of Eden. Similarly, real-life religious figures make appearances, all within a narrative that’s relentlessly harsh (for example, the disturbing ingredient in the witch’s stew). Nevertheless, the author’s crisp prose gives the harrowing story a poetic, surreal quality that makes the grimness easier to digest. Likewise, frequent metaphors and similes pack a hefty punch: “The pain was beating on her insides like a thousand drums”; “The storm was raging like a rabid beast”; “The wrong name was like a disease that killed you slowly.” Barbelo’s rich, shadowy illustrations highlight the forest’s dreamlike features and eccentric creatures.

A potent and unsettling tale of a spiritual journey.