The beginning of August has us wondering where all the time has gone! As we wrap up what remains of our summer vacation, we want to discuss a very unique book release on our radar: Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta.
Mad Sisters of Esi tells the story of Myung and Laleh, two sisters who inhabit the fantastical whale of babel. Myung sets out to see the world beyond the whale, while Laleh stays behind in search of their creator, the Great Wisa.
Their story turns into an even greater story of the mad sisters of Esi. Each sister discovers their identity and purpose in the grand scheme of things. And we discovered our love for this brilliant new meta fantasy! Here are three of our favorite things about Tashan Mehta’s Mad Sisters of Esi.
Book Overview: Mad Sisters Of Esi
Content warnings: death, violence, some gore, bodies, serious injury
Summary: Ask for the story of the mad sisters of Esi, and you’ll get a thousand contradictory folktales. Superstitious sailors, curious children, and obsessed academics have argued over the particulars for generations. They have wondered about the mad sisters’ two greatest marvels: the museum of collective memory that sprawls underneath our universe, waiting for any who call for it, and the living, impossible, whale of babel.
Myung and her sister Laleh are the sole inhabitants of the whale of babel. They roam within its cosmic chambers, speak folktales of themselves, and pray to their creator, the Great Wisa. For Laleh, this is everything. For Myung, it is not enough.
When Myung flees the whale, she stumbles into a new universe full of people, shapeshifting islands, and argumentative ghosts. In her search for Great Wisa and her longing for her sister Laleh, Myung sets off on an adventure that will unravel the mystery that has confounded everyone for centuries: the truth about the mad sisters of Esi.
Fables, dreams and myths come together in a masterful work of fantasy full of wonder and awe, that asks: in the devastating chaos of the world, where all is in flux, and the truth is ever-changing, what will you choose to hold on to? And what stories will you choose to tell?
All The Excerpts
We don’t care if this makes us nerds, but we live for all the excerpts of academic research papers and Myung’s diary entries in Mad Sisters of Esi. The fact that the author had to switch tones from narrating an intricate fantasy and giving a first person account to explaining the background using academic language is beyond impressive. We almost started annotating in the margins like we were analyzing this book for a school assignment. That’s how locked in we were!
The Storytelling
Speaking of narration, another thing we love about Mad Sisters of Esi is the flow of the storytelling. We could imagine all the words and stories being spoken to us, like in the traditions of oral storytelling. It probably would’ve taken weeks to get through the truth about the mad sisters of Esi, but we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. And there was even a built in break when switching from the past to the present. The author has thought through every piece of this story, and we’re so honored to read it.
Maxing Out Our Imagination
Consider this your fair warning not to turn your brain off before reading Mad Sisters of Esi. Seriously, this book is not for the weak. You’re going to need your thinking cap on at all times because it’ll require you to use your imagination to the fullest. Be prepared to enter an entirely new world with new rules for creation, time, life, and madness. Where a whale holds universes. Where past, present, and future timelines can occupy the same space. And where two pairs of sisters face their past and find their purpose.
We used every ounce of our imagination reading Tashan Mehta’s Mad Sisters of Esi, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta comes out August 5th, and you can order a copy of it here!
What do you think of this new meta fantasy? Are you interested in reading Tashan Mehta’s Mad Sisters of Esi? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
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