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olivi_yeah's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
There is a frustrating lack of development on a lot of the major plot points. It feels like things come up and are never quite explained again. Much of the middle section felt contrived to just get the characters from one point to another.
It felt like much of the world was never really fleshed out. I feel like the setting had so much untapped potential.
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Gun violence, Car accident, and Hate crime
novella42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I had the rare experience of talking with the author briefly yesterday in a thread on social media (I feel okay sharing this here because it was in a public post). I mentioned I had picked up Noor recently because friends in disability circles had recommended it. She responded, "Noor was my first time (aside from my memoir) nakedly letting the story be about disability. My forthcoming novel is even MORE so. It’s time. I’m glad that Noor is making it to those circles! Yes!"
Needless to say, I went and found a copy of her 2019 memoir Broken Places & Outer Spaces immediately, since I wasn't aware such a thing even existed. And then I finished Noor. This is another long review, but it's partly to help myself remember details when I bring it up at a book club.
There were some powerful elements at play in Noor. I felt moved by the protagonist's rage and was grateful so much of the story centered on the impact of others on her disability--not just her parents, brother, and romantic partners, but also the systemic factors at play like the government and the corporation that made her prosthetics. The way strangers from different strata of society viewed her disability and her enhancements was very telling.
The way she grapples with her congenital disability and internalized ableism reminded me a lot of my own struggles with the same. I was born with a fragile skeleton. A mess, too.
I'd always had it coming. In the dark this was all clear. I emerged from the warm protective darkness of my mother's womb poorly made. A mess. And then years later, fate had unmade me. How dare I embrace what I was and wasn't, and build myself?
Sometimes the language around injury, surgery, brokenness, and body horror got to be too much for me and my C-PTSD. I had to rest several times and asked for help from my partner to co-regulate my nervous system before I could continue. But I felt it was worthwhile, for lines like this:
Sometimes when something breaks, things come out of the cracks.
It felt like the concept of kintsugi, only instead of using gold to repair ceramic, this felt more like repairing a body with fury and power, in response to injustice. It tied in with a theme of just wanting to be left alone to repair and rebuild and live your life.
I think my favorite parts were related to the way she embraced her own identity and strengths and gravitated toward others who saw her worth as a human being. My favorite scene was a tiny detail but it rang especially true for me. (Very mild spoilers for one small moment.)
Let me explain. People who are not yet disabled or who haven't dealt with chronic pain seem to see body-based mindfulness as some kind of panacea, but going inward and scanning your body is a terrifying experience when your body is a war zone. Rather than telling the person struggling that they're doing it wrong, that there's something broken with them and they won't be able to find inner peace, I love how this scene skipped right to the solution of turning outward for mindfulness in other ways. I wish more people knew that was an option. In 2019 it took me months of shame and depression to figure out why my repeated attempts at mindfulness and body scan meditations seemed to make everything worse. I only figured it out because I finally tried my luck on a therapist.
Anyway. Seeing this phenomenon depicted so easily and clearly felt absolutely wonderful and affirming.
The book felt a little uneven at times with choices I didn't understand, both by the characters and the author, but then again I am not Nigerian or Nigerian American. Just because I don't fully understand it, doesn't mean it's not an understandable choice.
I'm very glad this book exists, and very glad to have read it.
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Drug use, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Body horror, Ableism, Violence, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Sexism, Classism, Blood, Chronic illness, Medical content, Abandonment, Grief, Misogyny, Gun violence, Murder, Hate crime, Self harm, Dysphoria, Gore, and Bullying
Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Genocide, War, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Child death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Though I liked the themes, they were a little heavy handed and I wish there was more depth. There's a lot of interesting ideas, especially with cyborgs being disabled so I wanted this to be more thought-provoking. The plot is a bit of a mess and could have used more foreshadowing, it would have benefited from either being longer or more focused.
Graphic: Ableism and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, and Gore
michaelion's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief, War, Murder, Self harm, Body shaming, Blood, Death, Violence, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Genocide, Gore, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Police brutality, Body horror, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Car accident, Drug use, and Sexual content
vegabela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Animal death, Ableism, Violence, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Car accident, Grief, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child death, Colonisation, Car accident, and Hate crime
tinyflame4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Sexism, Chronic illness, and Racism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide, Abortion, Car accident, Classism, Death, Animal death, and Misogyny
zombiezami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Violence, Death, Chronic illness, Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, Gun violence, Colonisation, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Genocide, Gore, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Car accident, and Toxic relationship
Eugenicslaurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Death, Medical content, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Car accident
albernikolauras's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Out of the 3 works I have read by Nnedi Okorafor, this is my favorite. The world was captivating and the all-seeing, all-controlling company and the way power was generated in this book brought forth a lot of themes on capitalism, whose land can you take to provide power for the masses, personhood, the value of life, and your privacy (or lack of it) within the tech you own. The characters were very interesting to follow - AO and DNA were such interesting characters to follow.
The issue for me came from Okorafor's writing. I can say for a fact I probably won't try any of her longer form fiction because it takes me so long to decipher her sentences and leaves me a little disconnected from the story. I am not deadset against her shorter fiction though, because her ideas are always fascinating.
Moderate: Violence, Chronic illness, Animal death, Ableism, and Car accident
bluejayreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content