Nnedi Okorafor

Though the premise of the book is VERY familiar-- a young protagonist feels like a total outsider until they learn they have ~~**special powers**~~ in a magical world they never knew existed-- Okorafor pulls it off by creating a compelling Nigerian-inspired fantastical setting. At first glance, the Leopard World seems almost downright utopian (your characteristics that makes you different are celebrated instead of ridiculed! you earn money when you LEARN things!), but Sunny soon learns that there are some major drawbacks to her new identity #childendangerment… (more)

Binti is a curious little novella by Okorafor, an author who has been my radar for bringing winds of Africa into science fiction and fantasy, and it does not disappoint. A sixteen-year old woman of the Himba tribe has been accepted into the prestigious Oomza University on a mathematics scholarship. The trouble is, “we Himba don’t travel. We stay put. Our ancestral land is life; move away from it and you diminish. We even cover our bodies with it… Here, in the launch port… I was an outsider; I was outside.“

An auspicious, classic beginning, one that captures the uncertainty of an unusually talented woman stretching beyond her tightly knit culture to experience something larger. “No matter what choice I made, I was never going to have a normal life, really.” Okorafor deftly creates Binti’s character, bringing to mind the old days when I was seventeen and heading off across the country to college. Binti also faces all the prejudices that come from those unfamiliar with her culture. However, once she gets to the transport ship, she meets other young people also heading to the University and begins to find a kind of equilibrium and friendship. Until the Meduse come, five days before they are supposed to arrive at Uni.

Once the alien Meduse attack, it evolves into first a survival story and then an alien outreach, with the plotting and writing less deft as the themes shift. Another incomprehensible alien artifact becomes a deux ex machina until rapport can be developed. Actually, I suppose that is very normal for the fantastical young adult-discovery tales; some magical object that gives them an unusual edge or specialness. In this case, I rather felt like it diminished the focus on Binti, who earlier was in the process of trying to recognize and honor her personal uniqueness.

The ending didn’t quite work for me; I felt like it dismissed early losses for the ‘greater good,’ the satisfactory resolution of the idealistic ethical issue, and I’m not sure that was the message meant. More significantly, like [b:Lagoon|18753656|Lagoon|Nnedi Okorafor|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383619801s/18753656.jpg|26643213], I wondered if there was a bit too much attempted in such a limited format. There’s a galaxy of other beings, unknown alien artifacts, a future-Earth that has technologies unusual to our own, living ships, and then the very fascinating concept of mathematical harmonics. I would have thought either expanding more, so more organic integration of information could occur (ie, no pseudo-technology info-dumping), or limiting the scope would service the complexity of the story better.

The overall verdict is that one should read it, if you are interested in diving into fresh voices in science fiction, and in stories where cultural and ethnic issues are woven into genre traditions. Okorafor is worth trying.

Cross posted: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/binti-by-nnedi-okorafor-or-watch-for-...… (more)

"We are change," Ayodele calmly responded. "The sentiments were already there. I know nothing about those other things."

When I was young, I read every fantasy-like book I could lay hands on. Dragons, fairy tales, books about witches, Greek myths, folk tales, origin stories, 'just so' tales, you name it--if it wasn't real, I read it. By far my least favorite were the parables, particularly [b:Aesop's Fables|21348|Aesop's Fables|Aesop|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389064715s/21348.jpg|868263]. The overt messaging and the general lack of a plot quickly led to waning interest.

Lagoon doesn't seem to know what kind of story it wants to be, but feels mostly like a woven series of morality tales. Beginning with a giant swordfish determined to kill the 'snake' polluting the coastal water, it headed in an interesting direction. Three people who are drawn to the water's edge are similarly pulled in and transformed. Following them out of the water is an alien who assumes the form of an attractive woman. It seems to settle into a first-contact story of how the three people and the alien come to believe in each other. Before long, the alien presence ripples through the local population. Another team of characters are introduced, and almost everyone but the three has an angle to play the alien.

Once the narrative starts expanding past the three main characters, tone and plot starts to feel more didactic, more 'just so' type of story demonstrating consequences. The most complexity is probably obtained with a character who is determined to use the alien for personal gain--but is also a member of a LGBT group who wants to capitalize on the opportunity for positive change. Most characters don't have enough time to be more than a type, but at least there is a wide range of them. It might be that Okorafor's intention is to demonstrate the wide variety of types in the African people; if so, she certainly succeeds.

Interestingly, Okorafor makes use of ubiquitous phone technology in her story. Cell phones and YouTube have a tremendous impact on information-sharing and understanding, much like current places in Africa with unreliable and expensive electricity. Setting is well-written and integrated well. There's a lot here that gives a sense of place, from the "garden eggs" the alien enjoys to the cafes where the 419 scams are run.

Language is generally lovely and is one of the reasons I remain attracted to Okorafor's writing. "She had piercing brown eyes that gave Adora the same creepy feeling as when she looked at a large black spider. Her mannerisms were too calm, fluid and... alien." However, a couple of the narratives use a slang dialect, and it absolutely did not work for my read. I ended up setting it down until I had time to pay closer attention. On the plus side, it reinforces the idea of tremendous diversity, as well as lending the sound of a youthful perspective.

I wanted to like this much more than I did, because I love the idea of it. I love the concept of basing a story around forced change, but I'm not sure a cohesive plot was ever realized. I did run into a conceptual bump or two--it was odd to me the way that alien 'Moom!" noises would end up destroying so many small fish when aliens were clearly uncomfortable with killing. I also wasn't sure about how the aliens changing sea life wouldn't lead to fighting against alien-changed humans. And, while I liked the inclusion of a couple local deities, their inclusion seemed to make it more of a 'just so' story. In the Afterward, Okorafor states that this story had its genesis in her reaction to District 9. I didn't see it, but a synopsis I read makes it sound like Africans were heavily stereotyped. So perhaps my problem lies in a narrative that is more of a movie script feel. Still, high praise goes to any writer who can create in perspectives of a swordfish, a spider and a bat--and make me care.

Three and a half star... fish.… (more)