The Brotherhood of the Conch

Here is a series that I'm incredibly excited about and enthusiastic in recommending to everyone. The Brotherhood of the Conch is a series that currently claims three books, but having just finished the third, I'm thrilled to believe that more are forthcoming. The Conch Bearer by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni is the first.

I picked up The Conch Bearer of my own accord and not based upon recommendation. I'm guessing it was the jacket summary that intrigued me. I also admit that I'm jealous of the author's long and exotic name. And I have always been fascinated by the Indian culture: the food, the colorful saries, the tales. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is beautifully written. Although the main character is a boy, the author is a woman and her writing has a very feminine and flowing feel to it.

Anand is a poor boy on the streets of modern day Kolkata. His father has moved to America to work and shows no signs of returning. To make ends meet, Anand and his sister are no longer allowed to attend school and Anand must work as a lowly street vendor's boy to help make ends meet. Anand shows kindness to an old man, Abhaydatta, claiming to be a member of the Brotherhood of Healing who wishes Anand to join him on a quest to find the stolen Conch.

The Conch is an Object of Power. It protects and sustains the nirvana-like city of the healers in the Silver Valley and must be recovered. Joining the two on this adventure is Nisha, an orphaned street-sweeper girl, who doesn't ask, but insists on coming along. Abhaydatta recognizes the magical potential in the two children and realizes that they are not only needed, but advantageous companions because of their honesty, loyalty, and compassion.

The Conch Bearer had a definite beginning and a satisfactory ending. So it stands alone and well on its own. I was not only surprised, but ecstatic to discover the second book The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. I'm always slightly concerned that I will be disappointed in the sequel and that the author should have left well enough alone especially when the book is as great the first one was. Wow is what I will say.

Anand and Nisha are both now living in the Himalayan Silver Valley with the Brotherhood and learning to be healers themselves. Anand's master, Abhaydatta, must go on a new quest because of Anand's terrifying vision of a wise woman pleading for help. Abhaydatta intends to go alone. Anand and Nisha have another idea. Not wishing to be left behind, Anand retrieves the Conch, of whom Anand has become the Bearer, and he and Nisha ask it to take them to Abhaydatta's side. Unfortunately, Anand gets separated from both Nisha and the Conch and gets sent back into the past.

Another Object of Power is required for the situation. Anand discovers the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. It is a teleportation device among other things. Step into it and you are tranported to where you want to be, need to be OR where the Mirror says you should be. Divakaruni continues to be original and does not disappoint in this second book.

I think I was completely unprepared for Shadowland, the third book in this series. I'm one of those people who likes to reread the previous books in a series so that they are fresh upon reading the newest edition. But in this day and age, that simply isn't feasible for me. Too many books and not enough time. But Divakaruni is a master. She eased me right back into the tale. I daresay, as original as ever.

Once again, the Conch is stolen from Silver Valley and the Valley is destroyed and all of the Brotherhood have been thrown into the Abyss. Fortunately, both Anand and Nisha weren't in the Valley. They call upon the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming with the help of an ancient and powerful hermit who guides and instructs them in this new quest to the Shadowland.

The people of the Shadowland have stolen the Conch to use as a source of energy. Their world is on the brink of destruction. The scientists are at war against the magicians, each faction wanting to save the world in their own way. The air is brown with pollution. There is famine and drought. And a whole class of people that are considered vermin and used as a workforce, but slavery might be a better word. Anand and Nisha get captured and labeled as Illegals and so are put in a kind of prison.

They must escape and get into the stronghold to rescue the Conch with the help of the Mirror and they must do it in seven days or the Silver Valley will not be recoverable. Who can they trust? A prisoner? A scientist? A magician? A garbage man that resembles an old friend? A chef that resembles Abhaydatta? And is it possible to do all of this and save the Shadowland too?

Anand must learn to trust the power and direction of the Conch. You can almost see a connection to the Christian God. Imagine the Conch as an all-powerful entity that knows all and sees all and has a purpose for you, but you are not always allowed to see the big picture. It leads you, but you have the free will to follow or choose not to. Anand often chooses not to because of little faith in the power of the Conch. The Conch will also come when you call upon it unless it doesn't suit its purpose. The Conch will give you strength when called upon.

Please, don't miss this series! There is nothing like it! A mixture of fantasy and science fiction that is seamless and mesmerizing and exotic. After I read The Conch Bearer I was excited to see it put on the 2006 Caudill list of nominees! Well-deserved and more original than the winner that year - Eragon.