Take a photo of a barcode or cover
#OWLsReadathon2020
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Book set at the sea
3.5 stars
Wow, this is such a unique story of merfolks originating from pregnant African slaves being thrown overboard by salves owner. Whales nurtured their babies, and they adapted to underwater life. Moreover, while reading the acknowledgment, it took me by surprise that this book was inspired by the song "The Deep by clpping." You have to listen to it, it's great. The song was based on the underwater mythology of the 90s Detroit electro band Drexciya.
The writing is beautiful, and it's a relatively short book. However, don't let the length of the book deceive you. Even though it was quick, there are so much to digest.
I enjoyed the historian part more than Yetu's part. In the historian part, we get to know about the origin of the merfolks, how language was found, their culture, and how they build their community. Plus point, merfolks had both female and male organs, and they have the choice to be either (basically they don't have a gender, which is incredible!). For the rest of the plot, please read the book for yourself as I do not want to spoil it further.
The reason I didn't give this a higher rating is that the pacing can be a little slow at some parts, and I find it very difficult to connect with the characters (maybe if it was longer, we could get to explore more of the characters).
Despite it being dark, this book still filled with hope. Merfolks coming together as one to share this pain and overcome it. The message of this book is very important too. The importance of carrying those memories even though it is painful, to not forget about their origin and the places they came from. If the memories perish, the entire culture and the community will be erased and no one to remember it.
Overall, this is such a haunting, beautiful and emotional book, and if you like a new take on merfolks, you should read this!
QUOTES THAT I LIKE:
"Forgetting was not the same as healing."
“What is belonging?” we ask. She says, “Where loneliness ends.”
"A people needed a history. To be without one was death."
“You say madness such as mine doesn’t exist, but it would exist in you, too, if you had to experience the ugly things I do all the time."
"I know you have a complicated relationship with the past. I do too. But if I don’t protect what is left of it there, I will have no homeland. It will just be another place."
"Nothingness was a fate worse than pain."
"At least with pain there was life, a chance at change and redemption. The rememberings might still kill her, but the wajinru would go on, and so, too, would the rest of the world."
"We cannot understand a people that would willingly choose to cut itself off from its history, no matter what pain it entails. Pain is energy. It lights us. This is the most basic premise of our life. Hunger makes us eat. Tiredness causes us to sleep. Pain makes us avenge.
We are not wajinru if being wajinru means distancing ourselves from pain. We embrace pain, seek it out.
We make a path through the water, people splitting their parties to accommodate us. They fear us. This reaction doesn’t bother us. We aren’t to be trifled with. It is good that they recognize this."
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Book set at the sea
3.5 stars
Wow, this is such a unique story of merfolks originating from pregnant African slaves being thrown overboard by salves owner. Whales nurtured their babies, and they adapted to underwater life. Moreover, while reading the acknowledgment, it took me by surprise that this book was inspired by the song "The Deep by clpping." You have to listen to it, it's great. The song was based on the underwater mythology of the 90s Detroit electro band Drexciya.
The writing is beautiful, and it's a relatively short book. However, don't let the length of the book deceive you. Even though it was quick, there are so much to digest.
I enjoyed the historian part more than Yetu's part. In the historian part, we get to know about the origin of the merfolks, how language was found, their culture, and how they build their community. Plus point, merfolks had both female and male organs, and they have the choice to be either (basically they don't have a gender, which is incredible!). For the rest of the plot, please read the book for yourself as I do not want to spoil it further.
The reason I didn't give this a higher rating is that the pacing can be a little slow at some parts, and I find it very difficult to connect with the characters (maybe if it was longer, we could get to explore more of the characters).
Despite it being dark, this book still filled with hope. Merfolks coming together as one to share this pain and overcome it. The message of this book is very important too. The importance of carrying those memories even though it is painful, to not forget about their origin and the places they came from. If the memories perish, the entire culture and the community will be erased and no one to remember it.
Overall, this is such a haunting, beautiful and emotional book, and if you like a new take on merfolks, you should read this!
QUOTES THAT I LIKE:
"Forgetting was not the same as healing."
“What is belonging?” we ask. She says, “Where loneliness ends.”
"A people needed a history. To be without one was death."
“You say madness such as mine doesn’t exist, but it would exist in you, too, if you had to experience the ugly things I do all the time."
"I know you have a complicated relationship with the past. I do too. But if I don’t protect what is left of it there, I will have no homeland. It will just be another place."
"Nothingness was a fate worse than pain."
"At least with pain there was life, a chance at change and redemption. The rememberings might still kill her, but the wajinru would go on, and so, too, would the rest of the world."
"We cannot understand a people that would willingly choose to cut itself off from its history, no matter what pain it entails. Pain is energy. It lights us. This is the most basic premise of our life. Hunger makes us eat. Tiredness causes us to sleep. Pain makes us avenge.
We are not wajinru if being wajinru means distancing ourselves from pain. We embrace pain, seek it out.
We make a path through the water, people splitting their parties to accommodate us. They fear us. This reaction doesn’t bother us. We aren’t to be trifled with. It is good that they recognize this."