I commend this one to your attention. . .


I've been intrigued by Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death ever since Ken's review piqued my curiosity last spring. The novel sounds like something different, something special, and I was expecting to find many other reviews when I came back from my month-long trip around the Balkans.

Unfortunately, book reviews appear to be few and far between. But they all have one thing in common: They are all positive. So I contacted the folks at Daw to request a review copy. . .

Here's the blurb:

International award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor enters the world of magic realist literature with a powerful story of genocide in the far future and of the woman who reshapes her world.

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her child Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient tongue.

From a young age, stubborn, willful Onyesonwu is trouble. It doesn’t take long for her to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her violent conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by both tribes.

But Onye is not the average Ewu. As a child, Onye’s singing attracts owls. By the age of eleven, she can change into a vulture. But these amazing abilities are merely the first glimmers of a remarkable unique magic. As Onye grows, so do her abilities—soon she can manipulate matter and flesh, or travel beyond into the spiritual world. During an inadvertent visit to this other realm she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.

Desperate to elude her would-be murderer, and to understand her own nature, she seeks help from the magic practitioners of her village. But, even among her mother’s people, she meets with frustrating prejudice because she is Ewu and female. Yet Onyesonwu persists.

Eventually her magical destiny and her rebellious nature will force her to leave home on a quest that will be perilous in ways that Onyesonwu can not possibly imagine. For this journey will cause her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately to learn why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death?

For those of you looking for something different, this just might be what you need. I know I'm reading Who Fears Death as soon as the package arrives in the mail.

To learn more about the novel, the author, and a panoply of other details, check out Okorafor's website.

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe, and AbeBooks

3 commentaires:

Jazz said...

This sounds jaw droppingly awesome. I'm getting a copy asap!

Adam Whitehead said...

Off-topic, but GRRM just killed you, Pat :-)

http://grrm.livejournal.com/165455.html

Ryan said...

Hey Pat-

I'll certainly be interested in your take. I've read and reacted to this novel on my own site, and a couple weeks later, I am still digesting it. It is certainly a book that warrants attention.