Cosmically Queer
A Reflection On Alechia Dow's "A Song of Salvation"
As stated in my previous post, I’m a big fan of Alechia Dow and her sci-fi YA novels. Today, I’ll be focusing on her work A Song of Salvation and all the reasons I adore it. The novel’s character descriptions and unapologetic queerness are reasons why it deserves far more attention and accolades.
I love how A Song of Salvation describes its characters and their features. While technically human-esque aliens, protagonists Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin are all beautiful shades of brown. The textured hair of the protagonists adds to their individual characterizations. How Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin feel about and style their hair reveals a lot about their personalities.
Zaira is described as having a short afro. Nothing glamorous or time consuming. An afro like hers would take a relatively short time to tend to. This matters because Zaira is resigned to her fate. At the beginning of the novel she’s under the assumption she’ll be dead soon. Whether or not her curls are popping is irrelevant when the Ilori are plotting to sacrifice her. Only after Zaira escapes and regains her sense of agency does she start to lament how little time there is to maintain her afro. Zaira caring about her appearance signals she no longer views herself as being born to die. She is reclaiming ownership of her body after a lifetime of it begin defined by others.
Wesley describes his own hair as “nappy curls.” There are few hair related insults that hit as hard as “nappy”. Wesley degrading his hair is reflects a tendency to self deprecate. He doesn’t take care of himself or his hair. Neither matters as much as saving enough money to fly away from his past and problems.
Compare Wesley’s low self esteem to that of his love interest. Rubin Rima is introduced to the reader as having “beautiful locs twisted in a crown.” Rubin is the epitome of extra. He’s flashy and fashionable. His locs are beautiful because Rubin cares a lot about his appearance. As a podcaster he doesn’t need the elaborate hair and outfits. He wants them. Rubin desires to be seen and heard. For Rubin, his hair signifies his inner confidence. Notably, he never speaks negatively about Zaira or Wesley’s appearance. Rubin believes they are both beautiful and jumps at any opportunity to dress them up in clothing that accentuates their features.
The second thing I love about A Song of Salvation is how delightfully queer it is. Wesley is stated early on to have a crush on Rubin. There’s no hidden implications or ambiguity. Wesley is a male who has a celebrity crush on another male. At no point is this treated as unusual or unacceptable. It just is. Wesley’s feelings don’t come with any editorializing about tolerance or homophobia. They just exist. Once the three of them start their epic adventure, Rubin and Wesley tell Zaira they are gay. She has little reaction as their sexuality isn’t as important as saving the universe from the Ilori. Zaira doesn’t express shock, disappointment, or curiosity. Zaira and the narrative keep it moving. I respect that.
Rubin is initially Wesley’s idol and inspiration. Before their paths collide, Wesley believes Rubin’s podcast is the best thing in the universe. When they do finally meet, Wesley expresses brief annoyance Rubin isn’t quite as perfect as he imagined. As they get to know each other Wesley slowly realizes the real Rubin is far better than any idealized version. Wesley learns to love the compassionate man and not the manic pixie dream boy. Rubin and Wesley’s relationship is a lovely queer romance. It’s a slow burn built on shared experiences and mutual admiration. Their mutual attraction proceeds slowly due to the inherent chaos of saving the entire universe from colonizing warlords.
The two are a clear case of opposites attract. Rubin is charismatic, optimistic, and outspoken. Wesley is a withdrawn pessimist with a mild selfish streak. They make each other a better person. Wesley provides Rubin with some much needed grounding. Rubin gives Wesley the support and encouragement Wesley never received from his family. Rubin is quick to declare Wesley his boyfriend, his beloved, the one who’s going to put things back in order. Wesley eventually comes around to the same conclusions about Rubin. Their love is equal and reciprocal without being shallow. The novel shows us why they work as a couple rather than tells us that they just do because the plot demands it. The fact they are both male is never shown to be an issue. The Wesley/Rubin romance isn’t a coming out story, it’s fully fleshed out love story.
As for Zaira, my interpretations is that she is either demisexual or asexual. She is uncomfortable with the amorous advantages of Ciaran, her only ally along the Ilori. Zaira remains solely focused on the boy she sees in her dreams. Since her dream boy is her literal destiny, Zaira can’t fake an interest in Ciaran no matter how much he wants her to. When Zaira finally gets some alone time with her destined lover, she makes it clear she’s looking forward to getting to know him before anything else. At no point does she indicate interest in Rubin or Wesley. I would best describe the trio’s relationship as queerplatonic.
Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin are a queer found family that isn’t arranged in a patriarchal, nuclear family structure. There is no “mother”, “father”, or “child”. They’re just three young people trying to save each other, themselves, and the universe. I think that’s the real song of salvation Dow was writing about.