Bound
to Tradition Book 1: The Dream by A P von K’Ory
Amazon
KDP, 2013
Kenyan
teenager Khira Caroline Oganga comes from a proud line of Luo
warriors. Orphaned before she was born, she is her mother’s jewel:
beautiful, intelligent, courageous, inquisitive and eager for
experience. Although she is deeply embedded in her family and in the
ancient traditions of her tribe, she’s also drawn to the
English-dominated society of Kenya’s former colonial masters.
Given the opportunity to study at St. Mary’s Girls High School,
Khira finds herself increasingly confused by the conflicting values
of her two worlds.
When
she meets brash, charismatic Erik Lindqvist, a brilliant but arrogant
tycoon more than twice her age, these conflicts reach a crisis. Despite the
seemingly unbridgeable gaps between their status and their cultures,
Khira and Erik fall in love, and the domineering Swedish billionaire
is determined to marry the charming and headstrong teen – even
though she has been betrothed since childhood. Khira is more than
willing to become Erik’s wife, but insists that their union be on
her terms. Somehow she needs to balance the expectations and rituals
of her native culture against the demands of Erik’s world, and her
own surging desire.
The
Dream is the first book of the Bound to Tradition trilogy,
which charts the sometimes rocky course of Khira’s and Erik’s
relationship. I found it utterly fascinating. A P von K’Ory
provides an in-depth introduction to Luo culture, conservative and
“backward” in some ways, amazingly progressive in others. The
relationship between the sexes is particularly intriguing.
Superficially, men dominate Luo society, but among the women, males
are referred to as “infants”. Women are the patient,
all-suffering goddesses who nurture, protect and care for the
fundamentally unstable, emotionally volatile men.
This
perspective, of course, applies equally to Erik, the ultimate alpha
male who nevertheless needs the balancing feminine power that Khira
wields.
I
loved the way the author managed to capture the unique cadence and
flow of Luo language, even in English. I have no experience at all
with Kenya, but the world of tradition she portrays felt genuine, as
nuanced and complex as any society.
The
book begins with Erik’s and Khira’s journey to her home village,
to seek her grandfather’s consent to the marriage, then flashes
back to recount her earlier history, her education, and her first
encounters with Erik. In general, this structure works well. The
author dispenses information gradually, letting the reader get to
know Khira bit by bit. There are occasional “information dumps”
that weaken the book – several pages of back story without any
intervening action – but mostly we learn about the characters in
more natural and organic fashion.
Apparently,
Bound by Tradition is a
prequel to the author’s Golden Shana series. Erik and Khira are
Shana’s parents. Their unusual background is mentioned in the Shana
books; I found it highly satisfying to read about it in detail. In
fact, Shana’s relationship with Roman in some ways mirrors her
parents’ history. Certainly both cases are characterized by a
ferocious clash between the masculine and feminine principles, a
supremely dominant man tempered, but not tamed, by a strong,
confident woman.
Overall,
I greatly enjoyed The Dream. I
look forward
to reading the next volume of the trilogy.
