#48 Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Due to her appearance, everyone can tell that Onyesonwu is a child of rape. Although her mother and step father love her, everyone else
considers her to be an outsider. But Onyesonwu also has special abilities. She can call owls to her when she sings. She can shapeshift into a bird. She desires someone to teach her how to develop these abilities, but her efforts are thwarted because she is a girl. But dark times have arrived, and Onyesonwu's abilities may be needed to save the world.
There are so many words I can think to describe Who Fears Death: daring, complex, epic, disturbing, unpredictable, frustrating, and original. Forming these words into a coherent review is far more difficult. Who Fears Death is a science-fiction novel with fantasy sensibilities, a bildungsroman set in a postapocalyptic Sudan. Okorafor tackles many weighty issues in Who Fears Death, such as rape, genocide, race relations, and female genital mutilation, the last which I personally have never seen tackled in a science-fiction novel before. Not only does Okorafor not shy away from facing these disturbing issues, but she does not oversimplify them. The results are often uncomfortable to read, but extremely well done.
I'm not going to lie. I felt that Who Fears Death had a lot of issues, but there were enough positive aspects of the book that my enjoyment was not dragged down too far. A good example of this can be found in the character of Onyesonwu herself. For the most part, I really liked her. She is a tough, unapologetic character with an engaging voice. She manages to maintain her strength even though the world often seems to be against her. Unfortunately, there were a few times though when I wanted to strangle her for the poor choices she made (admittedly, these choices make sense, given her impulsive nature). I really enjoyed the coming-of-age storyline, but I felt the pacing was somewhat inconsistent. Starting from the beginning, most of the book is fantastic, but too much time is spent on in-fighting, and the ending is rushed to the point where it's confusing.
Although Who Fears Death is not a perfect book, there was some much about it that I appreciated. Nnedi Okorafor has created a fascinating novel filled with complex characters and situations (and even a nice romantic storyline). I would read other books by this talented author in the future.
Rating: four stars
Length: 386 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
Next I will be reviewing Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads
considers her to be an outsider. But Onyesonwu also has special abilities. She can call owls to her when she sings. She can shapeshift into a bird. She desires someone to teach her how to develop these abilities, but her efforts are thwarted because she is a girl. But dark times have arrived, and Onyesonwu's abilities may be needed to save the world.
There are so many words I can think to describe Who Fears Death: daring, complex, epic, disturbing, unpredictable, frustrating, and original. Forming these words into a coherent review is far more difficult. Who Fears Death is a science-fiction novel with fantasy sensibilities, a bildungsroman set in a postapocalyptic Sudan. Okorafor tackles many weighty issues in Who Fears Death, such as rape, genocide, race relations, and female genital mutilation, the last which I personally have never seen tackled in a science-fiction novel before. Not only does Okorafor not shy away from facing these disturbing issues, but she does not oversimplify them. The results are often uncomfortable to read, but extremely well done.
I'm not going to lie. I felt that Who Fears Death had a lot of issues, but there were enough positive aspects of the book that my enjoyment was not dragged down too far. A good example of this can be found in the character of Onyesonwu herself. For the most part, I really liked her. She is a tough, unapologetic character with an engaging voice. She manages to maintain her strength even though the world often seems to be against her. Unfortunately, there were a few times though when I wanted to strangle her for the poor choices she made (admittedly, these choices make sense, given her impulsive nature). I really enjoyed the coming-of-age storyline, but I felt the pacing was somewhat inconsistent. Starting from the beginning, most of the book is fantastic, but too much time is spent on in-fighting, and the ending is rushed to the point where it's confusing.
Although Who Fears Death is not a perfect book, there was some much about it that I appreciated. Nnedi Okorafor has created a fascinating novel filled with complex characters and situations (and even a nice romantic storyline). I would read other books by this talented author in the future.
Rating: four stars
Length: 386 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
Next I will be reviewing Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads