Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens
A woman allies with vengeful river spirits in Lynn Hutchinson Lee’s eerie novel Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens.
In Carminetown, Orchid and her mother hide their Romani identity to prevent another forced exodus. At the nearby orchid fen, Orchid falls in love with Jack, a local mine worker, and gravitates toward the panni raklies, spirits of women victimized by men. As the powerful Galvestons plan to expand their mines into the fen, Orchid falls into the panni raklies’ revenge plot against Heron Galveston, a prime perpetrator of the violence.
The prose is sensuous and lyrical, saturated with earthy, evocative enchantment. Of the beautiful yet horrifying symbiosis of the panni raklies with their environment, Orchid makes note of “the girls and grasses decomposing slowly, softening into each other.” Sensitive and self-aware, Orchid’s narration is vulnerable yet fierce. The organic union metamorphosing from the love she and Jack share for the orchid fen is tender and passionate, and the scene of her unconventional marriage ceremony at the fen is triumphant and joyous, despite her mother’s boycott and disparagement.
Though the story is filled with collective women’s rage, its relationships between women remain fissured. With lingering resentment, Orchid admits “I don’t like my mother but love her.” Heartbreaking, too, is Orchid noting that the women she is close to, including a teacher who encouraged her interest in botany, would treat her with prejudice if she confessed her Romani background. The grim panni raklies inspire fear and fellowship, but true menace lies within abusive men who violate women, Carminetown’s working class, and the orchid fen’s lush environment.
In the powerful and intimate novel Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens, a bold, loving heroine confronts racism, sexism, and classism.
Reviewed by
Isabella Zhou
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