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novella42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
It means the world to me to see disabled characters in speculative fiction written by disabled authors.
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 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.
Content Warnings
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
doesntread's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is going to stick with me for a very long time. It is the real kind of science fiction, with imaginative rich world building that help us process the issues (privacy, renewable energy, natural disasters, and corporate exploitation for example). We experience the drama of this world through AO and DNA, two very different but similarly tortured characters. They are excellent foils for each other, and I quickly found myself rooting for them.
AO is a disabled character who feels real. I am thankful that the author is speaking from experience here because it really really adds to the richness of AO as a narrator. Technology is not a cure that erases all disability in the future, but something that has pros and cons. Taking a psych med might help you but might have side effects too. AO speaks similarly at the beginning of the book about her high-tech sci-fi treatments. If you are disabled and/or chronically ill oh my god please please at least check out the first chapter of this book, it will feed your soul.
Plot-wise, this book is fast paced and stays pretty tense throughout, though there are times of rest for our heroes as they find shelter for a bit while on the run. This is a very hopeful book, but it is the kind of hope that is generated through very very bleak moments, making it even stronger. I really adore this book.
AO is a disabled character who feels real. I am thankful that the author is speaking from experience here because it really really adds to the richness of AO as a narrator. Technology is not a cure that erases all disability in the future, but something that has pros and cons. Taking a psych med might help you but might have side effects too. AO speaks similarly at the beginning of the book about her high-tech sci-fi treatments. If you are disabled and/or chronically ill oh my god please please at least check out the first chapter of this book, it will feed your soul.
Plot-wise, this book is fast paced and stays pretty tense throughout, though there are times of rest for our heroes as they find shelter for a bit while on the run. This is a very hopeful book, but it is the kind of hope that is generated through very very bleak moments, making it even stronger. I really adore this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Xenophobia and Animal death
The book holds your hand through it as you gradually get more information of the hate crime that triggers the events of the book. There is not a sexual violence component. If an ableist hate crime with some misogynistic and racial components is a trigger, proceed with caution, but know you are in good hands with the author and it is never trauma porn or left unresolved. Chronic illness:juniperbranches's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
‘So why revere the aesthetics of traditional beauty? It's like worshipping a god who cannot see you. It is choosing to never be celebrated. I wanted to be celebrated.’
Noor is the final book in this months Black authors book bag. AO is a physically disabled woman that was able to re create her damaged legs and arm with the help of cybernetic technology. Her implants are crucial to her survival and comfort, but because of them she is looked down on, shunned, and occasionally faces violence. One day it all goes wrong and she is run out of her local market. Unsure of where to turn she takes refuge outside of the city, in Nigeria’s vast deserts, where she befriends a herdsman and his cattle who is filled with his own dark secrets. The two travel the desert into the eye of a massive dust storm caused by ongoing climate change, seeking answers to problems of racism, ecology, poverty, late stage capitalism and disability justice.
My little synopsis isn’t remotely enough to communicate everything this slim volume contains. This is a story, but it’s also a critique of the way our world operates. I cannot say enough good things, go read this book.
Noor is the final book in this months Black authors book bag. AO is a physically disabled woman that was able to re create her damaged legs and arm with the help of cybernetic technology. Her implants are crucial to her survival and comfort, but because of them she is looked down on, shunned, and occasionally faces violence. One day it all goes wrong and she is run out of her local market. Unsure of where to turn she takes refuge outside of the city, in Nigeria’s vast deserts, where she befriends a herdsman and his cattle who is filled with his own dark secrets. The two travel the desert into the eye of a massive dust storm caused by ongoing climate change, seeking answers to problems of racism, ecology, poverty, late stage capitalism and disability justice.
My little synopsis isn’t remotely enough to communicate everything this slim volume contains. This is a story, but it’s also a critique of the way our world operates. I cannot say enough good things, go read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Xenophobia, Violence, and Animal death
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