Review by Elli Karampela -- Yesterday by Samyann
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Elli Karampela
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Review by Elli Karampela -- Yesterday by Samyann
[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Review of Yesterday: a Novel of Reincarnation
by Elli Karampela
A companion to a warm mug of coffee and my unquenched appetite for immersive, unpredictable, and thought-provoking books, Yesterday certainly opened up for me a whole new world where history meets fiction and, together, they blend to leave hovering an enticing scent of longing and belonging.
In a quite unique way, Samyann introduces a tantalizing love story in the midst of modernized Chicago; through a series of seemingly random circumstances, Amanda meets Mark, a handsome, all-together Irish, policeman, with whom she (re)forms a bond that cuts across times past and present; like a "twisted" Prince Charming narrative where the love of one's life enters the story riding a horse to change everything, Chicago-native Samyann stages a reincarnation narrative where Amanda finds her own whiskey-loving prince on a horse, with whom she seems to share a past life, a mysterious present, and a promising future. Through Amanda's regressions, we travel back during the time of the American Civil War of the 1860s and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to find out about their lives, their memories, their past love story. It all happens like "[s]napshots whirled as glass shards in a kaleidoscope" (Yesterday 344).
The book serves its purpose gracefully; it is a time-travel, reincarnation narrative that does more than frame the love story between Amanda and Mark. It is neither another cheesy romance with superficial characters whose story predictably ends happily ever after, nor a cut-and-dry historical recount of what happened during the turbulent Civil War and the Chicago Fire period. Somehow, all these are brought together in perfect harmony. History's factual story-line is ameliorated nicely by the way individual and collective narratives like Bonnie's (Amanda's past self apparently) render the historical events more personal: history acquires a face, a heart that beats, and a mind that remembers in Samyann's novel, something that one can find in only a handful of other, similar time-travel, historical narratives like Octavia Butler's Kindred (1979).
What makes Samyann's novel unique, however, is the concept of reincarnation itself, this "supernatural twist" that K. D. Olson noticed in the book, and that takes "time travel" to a whole new dimension; it gives to the novel an aroma of hope, everlastingness, and honest spirituality that the reader very much desires and consciously or unconsciously expects from a book that exposes harsh truths about American history, albeit through personalized stories. Indeed, the modern reader very much resembles Amanda in her search towards meaningfulness, origin, and an eager push to the future. In this way, the past's sufferings - the American Civil War was truly a nightmarish division of a country over slavery, discrimination and havoc ruled everywhere, and the Great Chicago Fire after that left the "Windy City" with 300 people dead and 100.000 people homeless - are exposed and amended by the grace of the family's (white and black members included) sacrifice and love for each other which survived through the present. It is their story that we are accessing through reincarnation, and that makes Samyann's story vivid and alive.
I have to admit that the word "reincarnation" that comprises the title of the novel predisposes the reader to expect something more mystical happening in the story. Personally, I find the concept of "reincarnation" more smoothly integrated into what happens, so that it is presented as a connecting force, an alternative to the question J. Allan Danelek addresses when he asks, "What happens when we die?" (Mystery of Reincarnation: The Evidence and Analysis of Rebirth xi). It is handled more like a revolution in the sense of revolving, of going back to explore one's relationship to one's past, present, and future. It is as much a journey of fulfilment in the story as a journey of exploration, and the sheer need for completeness in a world of fast pace, modernization, fragmentation and loss makes the story ethics more believable both on the part of the characters and on the part of us readers. This is why I think the title "Yesterday" on its own is more appropriate to convey the mentality of the book.
For all these reasons, I highly recommend Yesterday: a novel of Reincarnation. It is a story that captures the reader with its absorbing plot, the complex, confused, and confusing characters, the beautiful setting, and the interaction of past, present, and future it hosts. It is one of these stories that makes you stay up at night, skip a meal, and be late for work. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. For me, the charm of a good book lies in its ability to hold the reader, make the reader identify with the characters, and change the mind of the reader with its magic. This is what Yesterday did for me, and the experience was exhilarating; the ending of the book deliberately coincides with a smooth re-evaluation of the self and its relationship to the past, to others, to what makes us who we are. I certainly suggest you read it. The success of this book will definitely urge me to explore Samyann's What Goes Around, a similar blend of romance and past lives that I hope will be equally admirable.
******
Yesterday
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4 out of 4 stars
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Review of Yesterday: a Novel of Reincarnation
by Elli Karampela
A companion to a warm mug of coffee and my unquenched appetite for immersive, unpredictable, and thought-provoking books, Yesterday certainly opened up for me a whole new world where history meets fiction and, together, they blend to leave hovering an enticing scent of longing and belonging.
In a quite unique way, Samyann introduces a tantalizing love story in the midst of modernized Chicago; through a series of seemingly random circumstances, Amanda meets Mark, a handsome, all-together Irish, policeman, with whom she (re)forms a bond that cuts across times past and present; like a "twisted" Prince Charming narrative where the love of one's life enters the story riding a horse to change everything, Chicago-native Samyann stages a reincarnation narrative where Amanda finds her own whiskey-loving prince on a horse, with whom she seems to share a past life, a mysterious present, and a promising future. Through Amanda's regressions, we travel back during the time of the American Civil War of the 1860s and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to find out about their lives, their memories, their past love story. It all happens like "[s]napshots whirled as glass shards in a kaleidoscope" (Yesterday 344).
The book serves its purpose gracefully; it is a time-travel, reincarnation narrative that does more than frame the love story between Amanda and Mark. It is neither another cheesy romance with superficial characters whose story predictably ends happily ever after, nor a cut-and-dry historical recount of what happened during the turbulent Civil War and the Chicago Fire period. Somehow, all these are brought together in perfect harmony. History's factual story-line is ameliorated nicely by the way individual and collective narratives like Bonnie's (Amanda's past self apparently) render the historical events more personal: history acquires a face, a heart that beats, and a mind that remembers in Samyann's novel, something that one can find in only a handful of other, similar time-travel, historical narratives like Octavia Butler's Kindred (1979).
What makes Samyann's novel unique, however, is the concept of reincarnation itself, this "supernatural twist" that K. D. Olson noticed in the book, and that takes "time travel" to a whole new dimension; it gives to the novel an aroma of hope, everlastingness, and honest spirituality that the reader very much desires and consciously or unconsciously expects from a book that exposes harsh truths about American history, albeit through personalized stories. Indeed, the modern reader very much resembles Amanda in her search towards meaningfulness, origin, and an eager push to the future. In this way, the past's sufferings - the American Civil War was truly a nightmarish division of a country over slavery, discrimination and havoc ruled everywhere, and the Great Chicago Fire after that left the "Windy City" with 300 people dead and 100.000 people homeless - are exposed and amended by the grace of the family's (white and black members included) sacrifice and love for each other which survived through the present. It is their story that we are accessing through reincarnation, and that makes Samyann's story vivid and alive.
I have to admit that the word "reincarnation" that comprises the title of the novel predisposes the reader to expect something more mystical happening in the story. Personally, I find the concept of "reincarnation" more smoothly integrated into what happens, so that it is presented as a connecting force, an alternative to the question J. Allan Danelek addresses when he asks, "What happens when we die?" (Mystery of Reincarnation: The Evidence and Analysis of Rebirth xi). It is handled more like a revolution in the sense of revolving, of going back to explore one's relationship to one's past, present, and future. It is as much a journey of fulfilment in the story as a journey of exploration, and the sheer need for completeness in a world of fast pace, modernization, fragmentation and loss makes the story ethics more believable both on the part of the characters and on the part of us readers. This is why I think the title "Yesterday" on its own is more appropriate to convey the mentality of the book.
For all these reasons, I highly recommend Yesterday: a novel of Reincarnation. It is a story that captures the reader with its absorbing plot, the complex, confused, and confusing characters, the beautiful setting, and the interaction of past, present, and future it hosts. It is one of these stories that makes you stay up at night, skip a meal, and be late for work. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. For me, the charm of a good book lies in its ability to hold the reader, make the reader identify with the characters, and change the mind of the reader with its magic. This is what Yesterday did for me, and the experience was exhilarating; the ending of the book deliberately coincides with a smooth re-evaluation of the self and its relationship to the past, to others, to what makes us who we are. I certainly suggest you read it. The success of this book will definitely urge me to explore Samyann's What Goes Around, a similar blend of romance and past lives that I hope will be equally admirable.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Elli Karampela's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Veterans Day" by J. J. Jorgens
