This anthology was interesting, topical, different from anything else I’ve read before, and really challenged me as a reader.
I’m always quick to snap up books based on cultures I’m unfamiliar with, so a collection of writings from African spec fic writers was super appealing to me. I was a little dubious of the “Africa and the African Diaspora” thing, though, for several reasons. One, Africa is about as far from monolithic as one can get, and lumping Ethiopia in with Senegal in with Nigeria in with Botswana is a thing racists have been doing for a long time. The other is the notion of the “African diaspora” thing. The Black population of the Americas can certainly be called that, but again, lumping Black Americans with Africans is another thing racists do. It all made me a little bit uncomfortable, but as a white dude, really not my place to judge. Just thoughts that were in the back of my mind as I read.
Where I’m going with this is that there was a theme working through the entire book, regardless of whether the writer in question was from Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, wherever. It was a common theme of injustice. Maybe it showed itself in a future story with China relentlessly stripping Africa of its mineral wealth, or in a story of people trying to survive the radioactive fallout of a war they had no part in, or in a story of a white Southern cop facing the consequences for his actions. Not every story was the same, and the experiences of people in Africa are naturally quite divergent from those of Black people in the United States. But especially given, well, <*gestures vaguely at everything*> now is a good time to read this anthology.
My favorite stories:
The Unclean by Nuzo Onoh, about a woman who will do anything to have a son and prove her worth (the only path open to women to be worth anything being to have a boy). This was a truly horrible story, in the sense of invoking horror. It was tough to read at times. The author did a particularly good job of showing the colonialism-imposed Christianity merging with, rather than strictly superseding, the local beliefs. The protagonist has faith in both
A Mastery of German by Marian Denise Moore. Good Golden Age style science fiction story about taking an idea and exploring it - in this case, the ethics of memory transfer.
To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines by Rafeeat Aliyu. This one reminded me quite a lot of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth books, which is a good thing. A magician is going to an isolationist, xenophobic, anti-human world to recover part of his magics that have been stolen. His presence is tolerated - barely - only because he’s permanently accompanied by a half-human border guard who is herself eager to leave for friendlier environs.
Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald. This is another powerful, horrible story, in this case about an isolated, hidden village of people who have gained extraordinary powers as a result of exposure to nuclear fallout. A story of xenophobia, misogyny, self-determination, this is probably my favorite one of the book.
All in all highly recommended, if not an easy book to read.
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