I’ve read a few things by Suyi Davies Okungbowa in anthologies, and enjoyed them. This novella is the first thing I’ve read from him longer than a short story. Okungbowa is Nigerian, and as I’m always a sucker for books that draw on cultures I’m unfamiliar with, I was happy to snap this one up.
It’s set in the not-too-distant future, post climate collapse. The entire book takes place in the Pinnacle, an arcology (not a word used within the novella, but it's what the Pinnacle is) that had been built off the coast of Lagos before the seas rose. Life in the Pinnacle is strictly hierarchical; everyone lives on their assigned level, and is only permitted to travel to a different one if their job requires it. The elite, the Uppers, live on the top floors of the tower; the Midders live between the Uppers and the waterline; the Lowers live on the levels that are underwater. No one leaves the Pinnacle. The status of the not-flooded lands are never addressed in one way or the other, and there are stories of strange creatures in the water, evolved out of the wreck of the old world.
The story addresses such themes as class divides, responsibility for climate change, coping with climate change, and valuing indigenous cultures. On the whole, I enjoyed it - it was creative and compelling, and (as implied above) I love getting a window into a different culture. But it also felt lacking to me, like it was trying to do too much in too few pages. I felt like it tried to do too much, at the cost of not doing enough of anything. So it left me rather unsatisfied. It left me more interested in Okungbowa’s novels - I’d like to see what he can do in a longer form.
Comments