A review by d3monology
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

fast-paced

3.0

I would not say this is a perfect anthology. Butler wouldn’t either, and that’s kinda what made me really enjoy reading it. She begins by telling us that she is not a short story writer — it shows. But because of that, for me, Bloodchild is emblematic of what any great author must do — write, write, and write! She says to PERSIST in one of her essays, that this is the key to her success as a black author in a white dominated genre. And she’s right!  As an aspiring novelist, I found reading Bloodchild to be the exact comfort that I needed — that my stories don’t have to be good, even great, that I just need to keep writing them. I wish the powers that be published more “iffy” art that was holistic and genuine like Bloodchild OR at least for the art community to cherish more subpar art (not bad, not art for simple entertainment).  that is the beauty of the artist — we try and fail and sometimes we succeed. We are trying to communicate such complicated subjects, to distill them down to their smallest parts, and to entertain while doing it.