JULY 2009

 ABOUT   ARCHIVES   AWARDS   LINKS   SUBMIT   HOME

A Review of Henry’s Chant
By Jason Jordan, Jun 16, 2009

Kudos to Rick Henry for successfully experimenting with form. Specifically, Chant (BlazeVOX [books], 2008) “is structured by a chant, written in square notation,” according to the promo sheet, and the “characters...are identified by the notes they represent on the scale.” Thus, instead of full names, the characters are known as A, B, C, and other notes. Every section begins with a note, making it relatively simple to keep track of the events that take place and the characters involved. As for the story, it focuses on a group of people living in a seaside monastery. Each year, a bean is placed in a cake. Whoever receives the piece with the bean in it is named the Ordinate. With said position come a robe and the duty of deciphering the mysterious book of chants. The wrench in the machine, however, is that a stranger, brought ashore near the beginning, is the one whose piece contains the bean. And when he, D, introduces the concept of love to the group, the results lead to the unraveling of their work ethic and communication.

Henry’s descriptions are consistently good and create vivid settings: “A stood naked, looking out the small window of his room, out at the rows and rows of grapes that were wet with the morning mist.” The characterization, dialogue, plot, and other fundamentals are strong, too, making for a compelling narrative. The drawbacks are minor, but still worth noting. For example, while I like most of the characters, I do feel that I’m kept at arm’s length from them. This may be partially due to little back-story. Also, though I’m accepting of notes also serving as names, it’s difficult for me to remember which characters are male and which are female. The lack of page numbers isn’t to my liking—similar to the bland cover art. In fact, I’d pass this over if the decision were based on cover art alone. And for those who stumble on Chant unaware of its method of organization, an explanation in the book itself would help.

On the whole, Henry’s latest triumphs in spite of its flaws. If you’re a reader who enjoys the offbeat—and a writer taking risks that pay off—Chant deserves to be in your queue.

decomP Editor-in-Chief Jason Jordan has a large red beard. Visit him (and his beard) at his blog.

Back