I finished reading this book a couple of weeks ago, but have been somewhat reluctant to review it. Not because I have anything bad to say about it, but because I have much good to say about it.
Of Oysters, Pearls and Magic is one of those quiet stories that walks with you. It is a gentle story about a young woman on a distant colony planet who, through betrayal, rejection, loss, love and magic discovers who she is and the strength she carries inside herself.
The title refers to the background notes of the story – a fishing village that depends on the oysters, and their pearls, that provide the main income/trade the village depends on to survive. Mirra is scorned in her village because she is a female who used power that was considered by the men to be theirs and theirs alone. She flees to The City where her ability with magic is encouraged and trained by one who used to live in or near her village, but was also outcast because of her ability to use magic.
In the school in The City she discovers that magic is not gender specific and that there are other kinds of magic. She learns to trust, somewhat reluctantly, and to love. And then she, and everyone in The City, learn that the cruelest betrayal is from the forces of nature. But she, and her two loves, Auri and Josh, leave with the refugees to seek – what? Safety? Perhaps.
In their wanderings, each of the triad finds their strengths and weaknesses, and learn to cherish each trait in their partners and how the three of them, strong individually, are strengthened by their unity.
I don’t want to give away too much of this story. It doesn’t have intrigue or mystery or high drama, but it does have a presence. Joyce delights with some of the seemingly random things she tosses in – recipes, craft projects, observations of humanity in mundane circumstances as well as stressful events – and makes you see and feel Mirra’s world.
I would like to read more about this world. Find out how the colony was established (she hints at the mixture of cultures that make up the various regions), maybe how the magic was discovered. Was it inborn (psychic abilities the colonists brought with them) or a result of something on the planet influencing the genetic code of the humans?
I read the story online as Joyce was writing it and am delighted that she was able to get it published in Kindle format. I now have my own copy I can peruse from time to time. Yes, I will be reading this again. This story is a quiet friend who is there when you need time away from the headlong rush that permeates our world today. Thank you Joyce, for letting me visit this world.
[...] Review. [...]