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A review by 2treads
Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Son Of The Storm is heady with political and tribal nuance, inflected with the richness of place and cultural practices and a hierarchy based on complexion with deep, lavishly pigmented melanin at the top; a caste system indicated by hair and clothing style and colour used to indicate guild and social standing.
Davies has also depicted the troublesome perceptions of albinism as it exists even to this day on the continent and within the diaspora and is also weaving in the complexities of existing within a society that demands excellence through mastery of a craft and elevation of the family name at the expense of self-expression and freedom.
He also explores the complexities of immigration, forced or chosen and how the treatment and relationships forged between immigrant and country can have less than humanitarian purposes; serving to demonize a people while indenturing another.
Davies is also committed to giving us rich characters with personalities that leap off the page: ruthlessness, strength, cunning, and drive. Building the foundation of his story amidst power plays, resistance, and a nation's crumbling influence and reach.
He uses this fantastical setting as a medium to examine how societies can establish standards and borders to elevate a people above all others, engendering systems of oppression and exclusion; where collaboration is sneered upon and differences in culture, speech, and ways of being are stamped out of any who come within its walls.
This is a complex, layered and nuanced telling and reflects the many ways in which peoples are being failed by their leaders.
Davies has also depicted the troublesome perceptions of albinism as it exists even to this day on the continent and within the diaspora and is also weaving in the complexities of existing within a society that demands excellence through mastery of a craft and elevation of the family name at the expense of self-expression and freedom.
He also explores the complexities of immigration, forced or chosen and how the treatment and relationships forged between immigrant and country can have less than humanitarian purposes; serving to demonize a people while indenturing another.
Davies is also committed to giving us rich characters with personalities that leap off the page: ruthlessness, strength, cunning, and drive. Building the foundation of his story amidst power plays, resistance, and a nation's crumbling influence and reach.
He uses this fantastical setting as a medium to examine how societies can establish standards and borders to elevate a people above all others, engendering systems of oppression and exclusion; where collaboration is sneered upon and differences in culture, speech, and ways of being are stamped out of any who come within its walls.
This is a complex, layered and nuanced telling and reflects the many ways in which peoples are being failed by their leaders.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Violence