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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Si Binti ya me gustó, esta segunda parte me ha encantado todavía más. La traducción de Carla me parece maravillosa y me había propuesto leer los tres en castellano por ella, pero con ese final, no sé yo si seré capaz de aguantar. ¡Madre mía!
For some reason, I didn't expect to enjoy this quite as much as I did. I did like the first book well enough, but I guess I didn't really believe the sequel could have as big of an impact. I'm glad I enjoyed this as much, though! The themes touched upon here are pretty deep, and to me they felt well handled. (That ending was a bitch of a cliffhanger though, I'm glad I've got the third book already lined up.) Aside from the story itself, I really like Okorafor's writing. Right up my alley.
It's hard to evaluate this series because the 3 books all happen one right after another but I took a long break between the first and second. But I liked this one, particularly I liked the casual trans character, the positive depictions of therapy, and the way the main character confronts her own prejudices.
3.75 stars ( a small deduction for ending on a cliffhanger)
Home picks up a year after the events of the previous novella. Binti and Okwu are attending to their studies at Oomza Uni, where they are both having difficulties adjusting to their new lives. Okwu, warlike and at odds with its instructor, is always a hair trigger away from a violent outburst. Binti, while more successful in her relationships with her professor, is hindered by bursts of blazing rage or moments of pure panic after her experiences with the Meduse on her journey to Oomza Uni. The rages make her feel unclean, because it is not the Himba woy, or that of a master harmonizer, to cause discord. In distress, she decides she needs to return home, face her family, and go on a pilgrimage with other Himba women. Her journey to find peace is not easy and does not go as planned.
I completely empathized with Binti and her panic attacks. Her time on the ship after the Meduse attacked it and slaughtered almost everyone on board haunts her, and even little things bring the memories flooding over her. I still don't know that I would have been able to forgive Okwu - the Meduse are part of a hive mind, and it most definitely had a part in the murders of her friends on the ship. Instead, they are best friends, and Okorafor does a good job emphasizing the differences between the two species. Okwu is unquestionably alien, and Binti is challenged on the trip back to Earth to not allow her past trauma on the ship to change her friendship with it.
It's when Binti returns home to her extended family that things get dicey for her. She has done everything against the Himba way of thinking, and her family, while happy to have her home, harbor grudges against her. By leaving in secret, she has caused hardships for her father, and her siblings just don't understand and can't forgive her. It's obvious that Binti doesn't belong in her little village any more; her experiences have changed her, and not always for the best. When the desert people come unexpected to collect her and instruct her in the use of her edan, she is forced to confront the same prejudices that are often directed at her for following her Himba customs. Like in the first story, she is forced to see that not everything is black and white, and that just because something is different, alien, doesn't mean it is to be scorned or seen as primitive.
I am bummed beyond words that this ended in a cliffhanger. I made a slight rating deduction because of that. The last story was a complete adventure, and I was so enthralled by the characters that I wanted more. This is NOT a complete adventure; it's an adventure that is cut short before it begins. I would have preferred a longer wait and a longer book that had an ending, but your mileage will probably vary.
Home picks up a year after the events of the previous novella. Binti and Okwu are attending to their studies at Oomza Uni, where they are both having difficulties adjusting to their new lives. Okwu, warlike and at odds with its instructor, is always a hair trigger away from a violent outburst. Binti, while more successful in her relationships with her professor, is hindered by bursts of blazing rage or moments of pure panic after her experiences with the Meduse on her journey to Oomza Uni. The rages make her feel unclean, because it is not the Himba woy, or that of a master harmonizer, to cause discord. In distress, she decides she needs to return home, face her family, and go on a pilgrimage with other Himba women. Her journey to find peace is not easy and does not go as planned.
I completely empathized with Binti and her panic attacks. Her time on the ship after the Meduse attacked it and slaughtered almost everyone on board haunts her, and even little things bring the memories flooding over her. I still don't know that I would have been able to forgive Okwu - the Meduse are part of a hive mind, and it most definitely had a part in the murders of her friends on the ship. Instead, they are best friends, and Okorafor does a good job emphasizing the differences between the two species. Okwu is unquestionably alien, and Binti is challenged on the trip back to Earth to not allow her past trauma on the ship to change her friendship with it.
It's when Binti returns home to her extended family that things get dicey for her. She has done everything against the Himba way of thinking, and her family, while happy to have her home, harbor grudges against her. By leaving in secret, she has caused hardships for her father, and her siblings just don't understand and can't forgive her. It's obvious that Binti doesn't belong in her little village any more; her experiences have changed her, and not always for the best. When the desert people come unexpected to collect her and instruct her in the use of her edan, she is forced to confront the same prejudices that are often directed at her for following her Himba customs. Like in the first story, she is forced to see that not everything is black and white, and that just because something is different, alien, doesn't mean it is to be scorned or seen as primitive.
I am bummed beyond words that this ended in a cliffhanger. I made a slight rating deduction because of that. The last story was a complete adventure, and I was so enthralled by the characters that I wanted more. This is NOT a complete adventure; it's an adventure that is cut short before it begins. I would have preferred a longer wait and a longer book that had an ending, but your mileage will probably vary.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An absorbing and beautifully woven tale.
This book was very good, but did not really have a satisfying ending. And my library doesn't have book three yet. So it's a little tough to rate. I will say we learn a lot about Binti.
adventurous
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:
Complicated
My wish that this was longer will be a running theme, I think. There was so much to cover, and not a lot of words to do it with! But I could not stop reading it, and it improves on the first in the best ways.
Representation:
- the MC and her family are Himba, indigenous people from parts of Namibia & Angola
- a few secondary characters are nomadic people described as “old old Africans”
Binti has been at Oomza Uni for a year now, after having been the lone survivor of a mass murder committed by the Meduse on her way to the university. She’s decided it’s time to visit home and go on the pilgrimage that would traditionally make her a woman, even if her people might not accept her anyway. As a symbol of the truce Binti created on her flight to Oomza Uni, the Meduse Okwu will be coming with her to visit home. He will be the first Meduse ever to see Earth. Will it create further harmony, or will the Meduse and the Khoush of Earth never be able to coexist?
You don’t even know how happy I am that this second installment deals with trauma. There was no way Binti would be able to live through all she did in the first book and not be greatly affected by it. I have PTSD, too, and the panic attacks, the flashbacks … it all feels very real and genuine.
Binti: Home is written in the same style as the first, with somewhat simple language and a few typos here and there, but it feels much more mature. Not only does Binti have to face what happened on the ship with the Meduse, she has to confront her own decision to run away from home and the pain it caused her family. As well as the judgement from her very own people -- and some prejudices within herself.
I couldn’t put it down.
Representation:
- the MC and her family are Himba, indigenous people from parts of Namibia & Angola
- a few secondary characters are nomadic people described as “old old Africans”
Binti has been at Oomza Uni for a year now, after having been the lone survivor of a mass murder committed by the Meduse on her way to the university. She’s decided it’s time to visit home and go on the pilgrimage that would traditionally make her a woman, even if her people might not accept her anyway. As a symbol of the truce Binti created on her flight to Oomza Uni, the Meduse Okwu will be coming with her to visit home. He will be the first Meduse ever to see Earth. Will it create further harmony, or will the Meduse and the Khoush of Earth never be able to coexist?
You don’t even know how happy I am that this second installment deals with trauma. There was no way Binti would be able to live through all she did in the first book and not be greatly affected by it. I have PTSD, too, and the panic attacks, the flashbacks … it all feels very real and genuine.
Binti: Home is written in the same style as the first, with somewhat simple language and a few typos here and there, but it feels much more mature. Not only does Binti have to face what happened on the ship with the Meduse, she has to confront her own decision to run away from home and the pain it caused her family. As well as the judgement from her very own people -- and some prejudices within herself.
I couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
also: PTSD flashbacks