True storytelling has always been one of the few great things humanity could produce that no automation could.
Wow. It is not often I am without words, but Death of the Author has left me speechless and astounded.
I don't even know how to talk about this book because it isn't like anything else I've ever read. I'm going to try to come at it from a few different angles, so bear with me as I get my thoughts and feelings untangled here.
First, the genre. This is the perfect symbiosis of science fiction and contemporary lit. (If you're already thinking to yourself, huh? Yeah, like I said, you haven't seen anything like it before.) We alternate between the story of the writer, Zelu, and the story within the story of the robots, and each is its own riveting tale.
Zelu's narrative is instantly arresting. There is a lot going on, so I imagine every reader will bring their own experiences into it and take away something different. Racism, ableism, fame, social media, societal and familial pressure, the immigrant experience in general and the Nigerian American experience in particular were all integrated seamlessly and explored deftly within this compelling narrative.
Zelu is so richly drawn, she just leaps off the pages. You don't see many books featuring disabled main characters, so my interests were instantly peaked. Then the more I got to know her, the more dynamic and fierce she became. I wouldn't say she is particularly likable, but she's undeniably fascinating. And this narrative is her journey of formation and transformation, her coming of life, if you will.
Then we arrive at my favorite part of the book, and that is the robot story. (Come on now, you know how much I love sci-fi, so you can't possibly be surprised.) I adored every minute of this science fiction journey. It was such a creative tale through and through, embedded with social and political commentary relevant to our times. Every scene felt both captivating and profound, and it evoked such WALL E-esque feelings in me.
What does it mean to hold onto humanity when there are no humans left? And can the power of storytelling transcend those who invented it? Those are the questions Ankara the robot faces as she traverses a post-human apocalyptic world to make sense of herself and what's around her.
I know a lot of people think science fiction is inaccessible, but to me, the best of this genre always zeroes in on precisely what it means to be human. It encompasses our hopes and dreams, our emotions, our faith, and our will to survive. And so this story does too.
With her clear, precise prose, Nnedi Okorafor is able to hold a multitude of emotions within her sentences. They evoke feelings of love and conflict, logic and passion, nostalgia for the past but also hope for the future. To write a story partially from a robot's point of view and to inject so much emotion into the whole thing is nothing short of remarkable.
To experience this story and to see the two narrative strands weave back and forth, reflected in each other, as they slowly grow closer and closer, is to watch a master storyteller in action. And that ending, goodness me. I'm going to need many moments (days, weeks, months) to think on it and then think on it some more.
You know that feeling you get when you're in the midst of an extraordinary book, where every page causes goosebumps on your arms and tingles to run up and down your spine? And the moment you're done, you just want to go back to page one and start all over again? Well, that's this book right here.
More than anything, this pays homage to the power of storytelling. If you're a reader—and surely we all are—then this book comes as close as any to put into words why we read and what stories do for our hearts and our souls.
“I feel satisfied, but also not. It reminds me of myself, but it is not about me. I feel like I’ve met those I have never met. I’m thinking things I never thought before. I have many questions. Will you help me understand this?”
A singular and audacious tale deserving of all the praise. Surely one not to be missed.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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