By Atseinuo Sekhose | EMN
Winner of the Hindu Prize 2015, Book of the year 2017.
Son of the Thundercloud by Dr. Easterine Kire is an allegorical novel set in a mystical land. A lone sojourner ‘Pele’ leaves his village because of a terrible famine that sweeps across the land. His journey takes to a village called “Villagers of weavers” believed to be a safe heaven. Though the story unfolds through the eyes of Pele, there are many other characters who also serve as the author’s mouthpiece. The dominant ones are the three divine sisters, Kethonuo, Siedze and Mesanuo, and the protagonist Rhalie. The allegorical style adopted by the novelist fits in with the theme of the novel, which is the fulfillment of a prophecy. The old prophecy says that the son of the thundercloud will be born under miraculous circumstances and he will grow up to avenge his father and his seven brothers who were all killed by a ferocious tiger. The prophecy emphasizes that the son of the thundercloud will bring deliverance when he comes. The village is going through a great famine when the fulfillment of the prophecy begins. The plot is intricately woven like a true weaver of stories. The novel is a story within a story. It has a calm soothing tone which makes it a relaxing read. It is rich with metaphors. One which re-establishes noteworthy universal truths that are echoed in statements like this:
“The trees and rocks are the sons of the earth. Take care of them and they will take care of you and your children” (Pg 46). This is an age-old truth about the deep connection humans share with nature which is beautifully interwoven in the story.
The author points out the problem that is affecting the village community. It is greater than the famine they are experiencing in the material world. It is the ‘Famine of stories:’
“No, I’m talking about the famine of stories and songs. They killed all the storytellers who tried to tell them about the son of the Thundercloud. They killed hope,” said Mesanuo, one of the more earthly sisters (Pg 48).
It is a reference to the prophets in the Old Testament who were killed one by one even as they prophesized about the coming of the Christ- child who would deliver the world from evil. When people stop the true stories from being told, they take away hope from the society.
The sad reality of our present Socio-political scenario is also reflected in the words:
“…and the children who were too young to know grew up thinking that a river was supposed to be dry and sandy and filled with rocks” (Pg 55).
One can read the words ‘children’, ‘river’, ‘dry’ and’ rocks’ used in comparison to the present new generation of our time who have given in to the corrupt ways of society and sadly accepted it unquestioningly. The reason why the storytellers were killed can be found here:
“Because the people sought to be free whenever they heard the stories. Free of fear, free of shame and constant desire. Without the stories, people believed they were destined to suffer, and they allowed the dark ones to enslave their minds and fill them with fear and sorrow and despair until they died” (Pg 63)
There is a sad consequence to the killing of the story tellers:
“So the drought came as a result of the people rejecting the joyful stories and accepting the dark stories” (Pg 64)
The drought is not so much a physical drought, but a spiritual famine when the speakers of truth have all been killed. The novel does not dwell too long on melancholic matters but the reader is constantly directed in a hopeful manner with every turn of the page which inches closer to the resolution of the conflict. This was artfully done by the author who adopted the third person narrative; it is imbued with wise notable sayings which are therapeutic because of the sane philosophical voice of the author. The conflict in the novel is resolved by the only thing that surpasses any loss and hatred which is ‘love’. In the words of Kethonuo, “when we love someone, we don’t want to let them die, but when we love them very much, we don’t want them to suffer” (Pg 110).
This love points toward God’s love and sacrifice for humanity.
The allegorical elements, metaphors and parallelism makes son of the Thundercloud a captivating reading experience, and you feel you are no longer reading fiction but are being confronted with reality in its stark naked truth and if the readers find themselves in a state of disbelief, the author may be quoted again,
“People prefer to believe what is more plausible rather than what is miraculous” (Pg 116)
Son of the Thundercloud is a masterpiece worth reading. It stays with you long after you have read it.
