The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Some reading slumps hit you hard in the face. Others hit you slowly when you start to realize that you've been stuck on the same book for weeks. Thankfully, beautiful little standalones like The Last Tale of the Flower Bride exist just to rescue people like me from such dilemmas!

Plot

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a haunting, gothic fantasy set against the backdrop of Chokshi's admirably lovely writing. it starts with the story of a young scholar, ambiguously named the Bridegroom, who cross paths with the beguiling Indigo, a mysterious woman who becomes the focal point of his quest for knowledge. The Bridegroom is smitten, enraptured by the mysterious Indigo. They soon exchange vows, but not before Indigo sets a condition for him: that he never pry into her past.

If you combed through enough fairy tales, untangled their roots, and shook out their branches, you would find that they are infested with oaths. Oaths are brittle things, not unlike an egg. Though they go by different names depending on the myth—troth and geis, vows and tynged—there is one thing they all share: they must be broken for there to be a story. Only a shattered promise yields a rich, glittering yolk of a tale.

Quick to make the promise, the Bridegroom soon marries the enigmatic Indigo. Their marriage is peaceful... for a while. Under her lovely beauty, her glittering facade, something lurks - and he knows it. The story follows two different characters: the Bridegroom as he tries to navigate the murky waters of his marriage to Indigo, and Azure, her childhood confidant, whose shared history gradually unfolds. When the health of her aunt begins to fail, It's not long before Indigo is summoned back to her childhood home, the House of Dreams. And this time, she takes her husband with her.

It is then that the story hits its stride. Setting foot into the place which molded his mysterious wife into her present self, the Bridegroom soon begins to wonder about things he shouldn't be wondering about. He is immediately drawn to its beauty and mystery, yet keenly aware of the dark secrets that the House and Indigo seem to be hiding.

I have always been intrigued by these not-quite women, whether they were sirens or mermaids, kinnari or selkie. The world can’t seem to decide whether to condemn, covet, or celebrate them.

The Bridegroom's quest to uncover Indigo's secrets is precipitously fraught with danger, throwing him into a world forcing him to question everything he thought he knew about his wife. It's hard to go into details about Azure's story without giving away too many spoilers, but it plays a pivotal role in helping us understand who Indigo is. I enjoyed how Chokshi masterfully interweaves the Bridegroom and Azure's chapters - masterfully bringing the storylines together in a way that draws out the grand reveal at the end.

While the ending hit all the high notes, I did feel that the chapters in the middle dragged on for a bit. They could have been somewhat more interesting and felt a little bit repetitive, but the great ending and the other aspects more than makeup for it!

Characters

While the narrative predominantly unfolds through the eyes of the Bridegroom and Azure, the magnetic presence of Indigo remains the focal point. Most of her relationships are problematic in some way or the other. Still, she remains a fascinating protagonist. As a wealthy heiress with a secretive past, she has a taste for the finer things in life. She's alluring, yet dangerous - a master of deception who uses her charm to achieve her ends.

For a moment, I saw a window and not my wife. When I walked to her, it was like peering straight into something primordial and desperate, where the inscrutable space between stars had once birthed myths and gods, built palaces of story and scripture in which human doubts found a place to rest their weary brows.

For me, the unnamed Bridegroom was the least engaging character in the book. Nothing is interesting about him apart from how drawn he is to Indigo's dark beauty and his blind love for her.

Worldbuilding

Darkly reminiscent of the tale of Bluebeard and his wives or Melusine and her husband, this is a story about secrets, deception, and a reminder of what it means to get too close to the truth. In particular, The House of Dreams feels as alive as any other character in this book. The House is heavy with suspense, the halls haunted by the ghosts of Indigo's past.

The narrative's stylistic choices and Chokshi's references contribute to a world veiled in mystique, akin to Indigo herself: glittering with an ornate beauty that has secrets lurking under the surface.

Writing Style

The dreamy, gorgeous writing in The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is one of its best aspects! You should take your time to devour this book's rich writing. It's a feast for the senses, and the sentences flow like honey. The author has an innate ability to wield words with eloquence, infusing them with vivid imagery.

This was our realm of honeyed light and apple blossoms, a place so steeped in wonder that if we were to plant a sonnet in the shade of the oak, we might return the next day to find it had become a tree that grew poem-plums and all who ate of it would speak sweetly.

Although this is the kind of stuff I enjoy, there are just as many people out there who are not a fan of purple prose, and if you're one of them, this book might not be for you.

In Conclusion

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride feels a little more experimental and a little less defined than your typical novel - it is a reminiscence, a tragedy, almost a Greek myth. Don't let that throw you off, though. Reading this book feels like taking a walk through the House of Dreams... examining its curious, strange antiquities while feeling the dread creep up on you. If you don't mind the darkness, the moment the beauty turns to horror, then you'll enjoy this one too.