** Yes, it's stupid to talk about "African SFF" as if the entire continent could be encapsulated in a single experience. Oddly enough, Okorafor's parents are Nigerian, but this book takes place in Sudan, and after finishing this, I began A Stranger in Olondria, which was written while the author was living in South Sudan, but has a different feel.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Who Fears Death; Nnedi Okorafor; 2010
There are few black SFF writers, and the ones I have read are grounded in the American experience (Sam Delaney, Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison) or the Caribbean experience (Nalo Hopkinson). So it's high time for an African SFF novel**, but are you, gentle reader, ready for a frank discussion of tribal warfare, female genital mutilation, tribal elders berating teenage girls for making stupid decisions in the absence of information that the tribal elders had withheld from those girls...? Yep, I want to throw this book across the room every few chapters. Okorafor has done a beautiful job of helping us to feel Onyesonwu's anger and frustration.
** Yes, it's stupid to talk about "African SFF" as if the entire continent could be encapsulated in a single experience. Oddly enough, Okorafor's parents are Nigerian, but this book takes place in Sudan, and after finishing this, I began A Stranger in Olondria, which was written while the author was living in South Sudan, but has a different feel.
** Yes, it's stupid to talk about "African SFF" as if the entire continent could be encapsulated in a single experience. Oddly enough, Okorafor's parents are Nigerian, but this book takes place in Sudan, and after finishing this, I began A Stranger in Olondria, which was written while the author was living in South Sudan, but has a different feel.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment