John Mauro's Reviews > The Saint of Bright Doors

In my experience with magic realist fiction, I find that there is a degree of acceptance that is vital in order to enjoy the book. Whether it is what Keats refers to as negative capability or even something as accepting that while experiencing this world there appears to be sense around something you know to be nonsense.
Though magic realism is rather difficult to neatly define, I would certainly qualify Vajra's novel here as within its wiggly definition.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, K. I generally love magical realism books, but for me this novel was much too far removed from reality to earn the "realism" moniker. Hope you enjoyed the book more than I did! Best wishes.

It sounds like many of the plot points are references to Sri Lankan Buddhism. The main character is meant to be Buddha's son. Haven't read it yet but from reading other reviews I've decided that this novel requires I brush up on the lore of the religion and culture it is set in. In that light, much of it may make more sense to a westerner like me.

I like your use of the word arbitrary. That's exactly how it felt to me. An arbitrary plot about characters who the author failed to make me care about and who seemed to have no goals other than I'm not going to do the think I'm supposed to do. It seems they were there as devices to showcase the worldbuilding, but even that was a disappointment to me - lots of imagination without sophistication.