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holasisoymaca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
¿De qué les sirve cualquier forma de literatura a las personas negras?
¿De qué le sirve la reflexión sobre el presente, el futuro y el pasado que ofrece la ciencia ficción? ¿De qué sirve su tendencia a advertir de peligros o a considerar formas alternativas de pensar y hacer? ¿De qué sirve su análisis de los posibles efectos de la ciencia y la tecnología, o de la organización social y la dirección política? Los mejores ejemplos de ciencia ficción estimulan la imaginación y la creatividad. Saca a lectores y escritores del camino trillado, de la estrecha senda de lo que «todo el mundo» dice, hace, piensa, sea quien resulte ser «todo el mundo» ese año.
¿Y de qué es sirve todo esto a las personas negras?"
Hombres embarazados, enfermedades extrañas y alienígenas dominando el planeta son algunos de los temas centrales de esta colección de relatos, con un mundo violento y desesperanzador que se derrumba de fondo.
Es la primera vez que leo a Octavia y me maravilló su forma de escribir tan sencilla pero tan potente a la vez, donde utiliza la ficción para reflexionar sobre el racismo, las clases sociales, los sueños, la ciencia, y fundamentalmente, el antropocentrismo, que atraviesa fuertemente todos los relatos. ¿Es la historia humana la única digna de ser contada? ¿Es el humano el único objeto de estudio, el único protagonista de este vasto universo?
Algo que quiero resaltar respecto de esta edición de la editorial Consonni (pues desconozco si está presente en otras) son los epílogos incluídos luego de los relatos, donde tenemos una explicación más personal de la autora sobre cómo nacieron esas historias y/o las temáticas que quería reflejar al escribirlas.
Los cuentos que más me gustaron fueron "Hija de sangre" (aunque debo admitir que me dió bastante impresión), "Sonidos del habla", "Amnistía", y mi favorito por lejos, "El libro de Martha".
Por otra parte, en los ensayos que contiene el libro se hace dos preguntas: en primer lugar, si podrá vivir de sus escritos, y en segundo lugar (y sobre todo), si podrá vivir de sus escritos siendo una mujer negra, en un mundo donde sólo los hombres blancos triunfan haciendo ciencia ficción.
Tanto sus cuentos como sus ensayos hablan sobre la desigualdad de ese mundo tan gris y hostil; pero también nos muestran esa esperanza, esa luz al final del túnel, ese poder que tenemos de revolucionar el mundo desde nuestro lugar, que a veces parece tan minúsculo pero es tan necesario.
Desde el amor y desde los sueños se pueden hacer muchas cosas. Queda en nosotrxs descubrir qué.
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
thewillowwood'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: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
krisheiney'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Racism and Incest
growintogardens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, War, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Incest, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Slavery, Body horror, Confinement, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, and Racial slurs
I'm probably forgetting stuff- there's a lot of triggers.moon_dude's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual violence
Minor: Torture and Suicide attempt
allymute's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Minor: Incest
savvylit's review against another edition
4.5
Lastly, one of my favorite features of this particular collection was the afterwords written by Butler explaining her reasons for writing, which appeared after each story. This is the first time I've read a collection with that level of behind-the-scenes insight into an author's mind and I really appreciated it!
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death
trips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't really want to spoil anything, so here is how I felt about each story in a few words:
Blood Child: Oh wow, that is terrifying.
The Evening And The Morning And The Night: Creepy, yet made me feel empathy towards the characters.
Near of Kin: Eh? Huh?...Why?
Speech Sounds: Powerful in an unexpected way.
Cross over: Haunting.
Positive Obsession: I loved this!
Furor Scribendi: Beautiful and helpful!
Amnesty: What did I just read??
The Book of Martha: I wonder how it would work!
That is all I will say. I hope to read more Butler in the months to come, her words are always so powerful and gripping to me.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gun violence
Moderate: Gore, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death
Minor: Alcohol
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My favorite stories in the book are The Evening and The Morning and The Night, Speech Sounds, Amnesty, and The Book of Martha. Although the other stories aren't my favorite, I still think they were very good.
Overall I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, and Sexual violence
alspacedout's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Least Favorites: Crossover by a good margin, can't remember what happened in it for the life of me, even after rereading the afterword to try to spark my memory.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Self harm, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Rape
Every short story has its own number of content warnings as they are all pretty dark, but none are tittilating or explicit with the exception of BloodChild. light spoiler ---->