Time now for the sixth installment of #AYearInBooks, in which I track the non-academic reading I do. Here’s why I’m doing this.
Who Fears Death (Nnedi Okorafor, 2010). Wow, this book is terrific. I guess I’d call it magical-realism-meets-urban-fantasy, set in (approximately) Sudan in an undefined but near future. It follows a young sorceress, Onyesonwu, who comes into her power while seeking revenge for her mother’s rape and resolution to a genocidal conflict (content warning, the scenes of rape and genocide can be difficult to read). Onyesonwu is a terrific character, both impressive and relatedly human, and the story is fascinating both for its plot and its setting. This is one of those books that takes you somewhere absolutely new, and gives you a bit of a shaking along the way. Continue reading