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A review by cecile87
Rosewater by Tade Thompson
5.0
I’m still savoring this book and trying to figure out my thoughts about it.
I’m glad to have read some other reviews which mention other sci-fi books set in non-traditional places, such as China, Japan and India.
There was a unique mood in this story—sort of like Haruki Murakami—sort of like my first exposure to Toni Morrison with her book Sula. Culture can be imposing, suffocating, dangerous, sadistic, destructive. Look at the trumpian culture. This story displayed the worst of human nature. But it looks as though the alien culture might not be any better, with its factions and agendas.
The women, I’m happy to say, were all honorable if flawed.
This story makes me think of extreme colonialism. It is ironic that London is one of the places the alien sets down on. And the USA. These colonialist cultures, a white people tendency noted in the movie Black Panther with some humor, try to fight being colonized by aliens. Good luck with that considering the viral level of it all. The aliens see us as all human, even if some humans do not.
I’m African American and I was enthralled with this Nigerian tale. I’ve not read Octavia Butler, another black extrapolatory author, so this is my first encounter with a black sci-fi writer. I’ve learned of others recently.
I found the time shifting between chapters challenging, but I understand that the story would not have had as much tension and wonderment if it had followed a strict chronological path.
I know I missed a lot of whatever the author was pointing out, but I did enjoy the book in spite of the not-so-noble protagonist, the violence and the casual descriptions of the wretched aspects of Nigerian culture.
I hesitate to read the rest of the trilogy given the violence and the promise of ugly political machinations. I can only hope that strong women, as depicted in the first book, prevail. I wonder which stories from this first part will insinuate into the second and third books.
I’m glad to have read some other reviews which mention other sci-fi books set in non-traditional places, such as China, Japan and India.
There was a unique mood in this story—sort of like Haruki Murakami—sort of like my first exposure to Toni Morrison with her book Sula. Culture can be imposing, suffocating, dangerous, sadistic, destructive. Look at the trumpian culture. This story displayed the worst of human nature. But it looks as though the alien culture might not be any better, with its factions and agendas.
The women, I’m happy to say, were all honorable if flawed.
This story makes me think of extreme colonialism. It is ironic that London is one of the places the alien sets down on. And the USA. These colonialist cultures, a white people tendency noted in the movie Black Panther with some humor, try to fight being colonized by aliens. Good luck with that considering the viral level of it all. The aliens see us as all human, even if some humans do not.
I’m African American and I was enthralled with this Nigerian tale. I’ve not read Octavia Butler, another black extrapolatory author, so this is my first encounter with a black sci-fi writer. I’ve learned of others recently.
I found the time shifting between chapters challenging, but I understand that the story would not have had as much tension and wonderment if it had followed a strict chronological path.
I know I missed a lot of whatever the author was pointing out, but I did enjoy the book in spite of the not-so-noble protagonist, the violence and the casual descriptions of the wretched aspects of Nigerian culture.
I hesitate to read the rest of the trilogy given the violence and the promise of ugly political machinations. I can only hope that strong women, as depicted in the first book, prevail. I wonder which stories from this first part will insinuate into the second and third books.