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A review by plantbasedbride
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sankofa has been bestowed with a terrible gift, relegating her to a life of solitude, wandering through Ghana eliciting fear with every step. The adopted daughter of death, she glows green and can kill with a single look.
I read Binti by the author last year and quite enjoyed it, and was looking forward to dipping my toe in Okorafor's flavour of Afrofuturism yet again! For those uninitiated, Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and philosophy of history that explores the developing intersection of African diaspora culture with technology.* This short tale has a dreamlike quality to it and reads like a fairy or folktale, with little explanation of the scientific cause of Sankofa's condition. Typically this would frustrate me, as a Sci-Fi reader with a love of technobabble, but in this case, it felt right. Sankofa is young and alone, with no way to determine the origin of the seed or her curse. She (and those she meets) interpret her powers in a culturally significant way, which is an incredibly human thing to do.
This book is fascinating and incredibly sad, with wonderful world-building and characters. I fell in love with Sankofa and felt completely pulled into this immersive tale. My only gripe is that I wish it was longer (and, selfishly, that more of the mystery was revealed - though I believe it was more powerful without it). This book takes a hard look at human nature and how we treat each other, the fear of the unknown, and how we perceive feminine presenting children and expect them to behave. Sankofa protects herself and helps those who are suffering, but she is feared and ostracized, echoing the witch hunt against women working with herbs and plants to practice medicine or self-defense around the world and throughout history.
I'm looking forward to picking up more work from Okorafor soon!
I read Binti by the author last year and quite enjoyed it, and was looking forward to dipping my toe in Okorafor's flavour of Afrofuturism yet again! For those uninitiated, Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and philosophy of history that explores the developing intersection of African diaspora culture with technology.* This short tale has a dreamlike quality to it and reads like a fairy or folktale, with little explanation of the scientific cause of Sankofa's condition. Typically this would frustrate me, as a Sci-Fi reader with a love of technobabble, but in this case, it felt right. Sankofa is young and alone, with no way to determine the origin of the seed or her curse. She (and those she meets) interpret her powers in a culturally significant way, which is an incredibly human thing to do.
This book is fascinating and incredibly sad, with wonderful world-building and characters. I fell in love with Sankofa and felt completely pulled into this immersive tale. My only gripe is that I wish it was longer (and, selfishly, that more of the mystery was revealed - though I believe it was more powerful without it). This book takes a hard look at human nature and how we treat each other, the fear of the unknown, and how we perceive feminine presenting children and expect them to behave. Sankofa protects herself and helps those who are suffering, but she is feared and ostracized, echoing the witch hunt against women working with herbs and plants to practice medicine or self-defense around the world and throughout history.
I'm looking forward to picking up more work from Okorafor soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death