When the River floods the town and finds himself in Courtroom 9, he stands trial for the right to exist (which includes living free from pollution and siphoning). He brings the admiration of women who were drawn to the light shining from him, as well as the scent of a fox who has just given birth to cubs. He also brings memories of children who stripped down in the summer to cool themselves in the water, of women who needed the peace that only water could bring, and of teenagers who lay intertwined on its banks. Though separate, the River's life has been melded with the people of the town. “We loved being barefoot in the River," says Hazel. “Back then, I was as smooth as a cup of cream.”
With OPEN THE FLOODGATES, author Nina Schuyler has written a lovely book about the difference between human and natural law. This is a deeply philosophical piece of literary fiction that explores how human beings are connected to nature and how, despite this premise not being a part of Western psychology, they live in sync with one another: “There’s no such thing as a solitary person; the person extends to family, friends, pigeons, cottonwood trees, and flowers.” In support of that theme, though she emphasizes the difference between beings with more-than-human imagination (“The River, too, is dreaming but in its own language, which to me can only be translated into sounds”), Schulyer also demonstrates throughout the trial how the townsfolk heal relationships with both themselves and each other when they reconnect with their individual memories of nature.
The prose is very much alive, filled with memory and emotion. With Schuyler's sensory language, the River’s memories flow as poetically as he does. It brings readers, as David Abram would say, "to our senses." Even though Schuyler uses her text to challenge humankind's power over nature, she also uses it to evoke the memory of our true connectedness with our much older surroundings. OPEN THE FLOODGATES is an absolute must-read for people who want to reconnect, who are caught in grief, or who wonder if there is something missing in life.
Nina Schuyler's OPEN THE FLOODGATES is a gorgeous work of literary fiction that will remind readers of the wonders of the more-than-human world.
~ Nicci Attfield for IndieReader