The Red Journal, by Deb Elkink (The Mosaic Collective, 2019)
At 50, Libby has lived with her
grandmother since childhood and is mourning Gram’s recent death. Her lifelong
dream is to own her own home, away from the tenement where she’s been raised. She
also longs to recreate Gram’s signature soup recipe—perhaps in hopes of
restoring the sense of home Gram provided.
Her friend, Sibyl, is about 10 years
younger and likes to think she’s found her security in spirituality and sensuality.
Sibyl is convinced she knows what Libby needs while having no understanding of
her friend’s grief.
Paige is a young woman working at the
Laird Mansion Museum in the next state, pushing to finish her research paper
before her baby arrives. She’s obsessed with finding a more personal side to
the now-deceased MDM Laird and with clearing his name of hints of scandal.
The Red Journal is a
carefully-imagined novel for the literary, even scholarly, reader who likes to
chew over a novel and tease out its depths. Libby and Sibyl are each searching
for sacred spaces in their own ways, and the heart of MDM Laird’s manor is
another sacred space.
The story begins with Libby and Sibyl en
route to visit the Laird Museum, and alternates this present with the recent
past leading up to the journey. I would have found it an easier read in a
linear timeline. Movement between multiple timelines is often done, and I’m not
sure why it didn’t work for me here. It might be the short distance back in
time, or the short duration of the “present” museum tour itself. Breaking the
tour into sections may highlight the journey to the heart of the manor, and
I’ve seen other readers commenting on enjoying the “dance” between timelines.
As well-written as each scene is, the
novel felt long to me. I don’t think we needed as much of Libby’s soup-making
and apartment-packing, Sibyl’s travels, or even as much depth in Paige’s
research. I wonder, in fact, if the story needed Sibyl’s point of view at all.
Possibly any key information in her scenes could have been introduced through
Libby’s observations. As with a good soup, condensing could have strengthened
the flavour, and readers would have still been able to observe two women’s very
different searches for sacred space.
The novel also includes journal excerpts,
perhaps to give readers extra clues to tease out the full story before Libby
discovers it herself.
Sibyl’s point of view scenes often share
rich memories of exotic travels, which will appeal to readers who love to
travel (and armchair travellers). Her mashup of various spiritual beliefs shows
its hollowness but might still sound appealing enough to lead seekers astray.
On the other side of belief, MDM Laird’s
Bible-based faith has a few mentions and there’s some reference to God as
“Father” near the end. The faith thread has enough hints for people who know
their Bibles—even MDM’s name, Moses David Melchizidek—but biblical literacy is
not a given for most mainstream readers.
I appreciated the chance to read about 40-
and 50-year-old protagonists, as well as the (fictional) historical character
MDM Laird’s exemplary relationships with the Native Americans he invited to
dwell on his estate. His focus on keeping their families together was a
refreshing counterpart to the true-life travesties imposed by both American and
Canadian governments.
Deb Elkink is a skilled, award-winning
author who writes at a deeper level than I can easily plumb. I’ve had to work
harder than I like to figure this one out, and I’m not sure I have it yet. I
think the concentric layout of the Laird Mansion Museum estate somehow connects
with the choice of narrative structure, circling back upon itself.
The Red Journal has a strong
sense of place, in the unfolding history of the land around the manor and in Sibyl’s
vividly-rendered exotic travelogues, which feel like the author has visited in
person. Although the characters sometimes frustrated me, I appreciated the
ending.
Deb Elkink has also written The Third
Grace (a novel) and Roots and Branches: The Symbolism of the Tree in the
Imagination of G.K. Chesterton (nonfiction). For more about the author and
her work, visit debelkink.com.
[Review copy from my personal library.]
