Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen. Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.
Vajra Chandrasekera offers a wonderful vacation for readers with his first novel, The Saint of Bright Doors, a truly imaginative vision of a (mostly) modern, alternate South Asia ... An inspired and dreamy book.
Has an especially fascinating setup ... Chandrasekera builds a dizzyingly complex world, with enough ideas for 10 books, and it’s all entertaining enough that his theme — the dangers of religious extremism paired with racist totalitarianism — sneaks up on you
The lyrical, precise prose, the original, organic nature of the world building, and the complex themes of purpose, identity, and the biased, often violent, incomplete nature of history-telling will engage readers long after finishing.
