BOOK OF THE WEEK

Blood and Gold by Mara Menzies, Birlinn £12.99

Blood and Gold is inspired by Menzies’ storytelling performance of the same title, which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019 to great acclaim. Menzies uses the powerful art of storytelling to explore the suffering caused by colonialism and enslavement from a fresh angle. Blood and Gold contains an assembly of fables deeply rooted in myth and legend, which are held together by the narrative of a young girl dealing with issues of grief, identity and self-worth.

Menzies’ words are complemented by freelance artist Eri Griffin’s striking and often haunting illustrations, resulting in an innovative and emotive experience.

Jeda is a young girl living in Scotland with her African mother and Scottish father. After the passing of her mother, Jeda is plagued by a “Shadowman” who feeds on her insecurities. That is, until she opens a gift left to her by her mother. A small box into which her mother poured “myths, legends, histories, memories, ideas, languages and folk tales” before her death.

Jeda finds herself physically inserted into her mother’s stories, which take her on a surreal journey to discover her ancestry. She is witness to violence, oppression and injustice, but also to an abundance of strength, love and sacrifice. Each of the Kafkaesque tales are filled with myth and monster; lands in the sky, transformative beasts and magical birds who sing of ancient battles. However, Menzies’ lyrical prose is rich in allegory, as she draws upon her own dualheritage. Although these tales are not tethered to a specific time or place, they are all too easily compared to real contemporary atrocities.

Blood and Gold is a testament to the power of words. When the “Shadowman” is at his most powerful he can be seen “sharpening words into

weapons”. And it is through her mother’s words that Jeda finds the strength to banish her demons. For Menzies, stories are a tool through which cultures and histories can be reclaimed, and sense of self can be strengthened.

In the foreword, Menzies expresses a need to talk about Europe and Africa’s violent shared history, stating that “a society filled with fear and hate is a lost society”. She flexes her gift for storytelling in a bid to open these conversations through the lens of fantasy and myth. Blood and Gold forces us to lean in and listen, even when it is hard to hear.