LitPick Review
Soonchild tells the story of Sixteen-Face John as he goes on a journey to find the World Songs that his daughter, Soonchild, needs in order to come our of her mother's womb. The spirits of the North guide John through several stages of self, as he becomes No-Face John, Dead John, Alive John, and Twice-Dead John, among others. His journey to save his daughter and save the world sheds light on the way John lives his life, and he must gather the courage to revert from a shamed man back into a shaman, and find what he once was in order to save his, his family's, and the world's future.
Opinion:
This book is pretty. I honestly don't know how else to describe it. Filled with gorgeous charcoal illustrations and impressive writing, Soonchild is an amazing thing to behold, less as a story, and more as a work of art. It's one of those books that makes so little sense that it can't help but make sense to you, and is written in a way that does little more than assert what it tells as fact. It's written in a very direct way that makes the nonsensicality of it both entertaining and endearing. I will most likely reread Soonchild several times in the future, as it is one of those books that you feel like you cannot completely understand it until you are thoroughly familiar with it. Fascinating and beautiful, I will be recommending Soonchild to many of my friends and fellow readers.
