A review by cpaig
The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

A young Malian man studying in Chicago returns home to Timbuktu at a moment of violence as a fundamentalist religious group burns the library. The destruction releases an ancient ghost who rescues a mysterious book of black pages. After discovering the connection of his family to the effort to save sacred documents, a violent encounter sheds light on the meaning of the book, his ancestor’s sacred connection to protecting history, knowledge, and identity, as well as his own obligation to it. He and the book are led to safety by the ancient ghost but never away from the generations of pain and loss. 

 

So much happens in the 31 pages of this short story it is almost magic. A tragic story with the burned edges of hope and perseverance.