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Kabu Kabu
Kabu Kabu - unregistered, illegal Nigerian taxis - generally get you where you need to go, but Nnedi Okorafor's Kabu Kabu takes the reader to exciting, fantastic, magical, occasionally dangerous, and always imaginative locations. This debut short story collection by award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor includes notable previously-published short work, a new novella co-written with New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster, and a brief foreword by Whoopi Goldberg.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2013
177 people are currently reading
3512 people want to read
About the author
Nnedi Okorafor
153 books17.8k followersNnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com and follow Nnedi on twitter (as @Nnedi), Facebook and Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 279 reviews
June 13, 2013
I'm very excited that you will all be able to finally read the novella that Alan Dean Foster and I wrote called Kabu Kabu. It's a trip (pun intended). And the story titled "The Black Stain" (a story from Who Fears Death) is some heavy heavy stuff. But I needed to write it. I have other favorites in here like The Magical Negro (that neeeever gets old) and the Arro-yo stories (the first windseeker I wrote about. Writing about her led to Zahrah). There are stories about hardcore hunchbacks, magic carpets, baboons with secrets, rogue robots and much more.
Note: You can trust THIS review this early in the game because *I* have actually read Kabu Kabu (this book will not be published until October. We're still in the editing process. So anyone else reviewing this book right now is making sh*t up).
Note: You can trust THIS review this early in the game because *I* have actually read Kabu Kabu (this book will not be published until October. We're still in the editing process. So anyone else reviewing this book right now is making sh*t up).
February 7, 2017
Sheeeit," he drawled, looking directly at you. "You need to stop reading all this stupidness. The Magical Negro ain't about to get his ass kicked no more. Them days is ovah."
I've always been uncertain of Nnedi Okorafor's work. Her stories are so incredibly inventive, her language sings with vivid descriptions of the most bizarre and previously unimaginable things, but in novel form it all just falls apart. Something in the plotting and the stepping from place to place lets gaps appear - chasms really, that as a reader are impossible to cross.
So I thought trying her short fiction would perhaps help. It did.
Some of the tales here are oddly abrupt, which doesn't always work. Others feel a little flat and pointless. But ohhh the good ones are so good - from humourous stories like the titular Kabu Kabu, and The Carpet, to the heartbreaking beauty of Okorafor's Windseeker tales, to the unexpected lovliness of the romantic Asunder ("I can't believe I wrote a love story", the author says in a book-end explanation). I still think the best of all is the very first, a brilliantly snarky, defiant take on stereotype and terrible fantasy trope: The Magical Negro. That's where I got that quote at the top from - it's not even the best bit.
Perhaps I'll even give another of her novels a go...
I've always been uncertain of Nnedi Okorafor's work. Her stories are so incredibly inventive, her language sings with vivid descriptions of the most bizarre and previously unimaginable things, but in novel form it all just falls apart. Something in the plotting and the stepping from place to place lets gaps appear - chasms really, that as a reader are impossible to cross.
So I thought trying her short fiction would perhaps help. It did.
Some of the tales here are oddly abrupt, which doesn't always work. Others feel a little flat and pointless. But ohhh the good ones are so good - from humourous stories like the titular Kabu Kabu, and The Carpet, to the heartbreaking beauty of Okorafor's Windseeker tales, to the unexpected lovliness of the romantic Asunder ("I can't believe I wrote a love story", the author says in a book-end explanation). I still think the best of all is the very first, a brilliantly snarky, defiant take on stereotype and terrible fantasy trope: The Magical Negro. That's where I got that quote at the top from - it's not even the best bit.
Perhaps I'll even give another of her novels a go...
July 21, 2021
A collection of 21 stories from fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and speculative fiction. The stories include some tales from Okorafor’s previously-published short work and a new novella co-written with New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster. There is a brief and interesting foreword by Whoopi Goldberg, and an author’s note at the end, explaining the origin and thought process behind each of the stories.
All the tales are imaginative and bizarre and weird and mind-blowing (in different ways). Yup, the attributes are as eclectic and quirky as the stories themselves. Many of the stories were 4 or 5 star reads for me. A few could have reached the same level were it not for their endings which brought down their impact. But if you have rate the book on the sheer creativity of the human mind, it would get a full rating. The imagery will also blow your mind. Such lush descriptions!
Some of my favourites from this collection were Kabu Kabu, Spider the Artist, The Ghastly Bird and The Carpet. I also enjoyed The Magical Negro, The House of Deformities, The Winds of Harmattan, Long Juju Man, Icon, The Popular Mechanic, The Baboon War, Asunder and The Palm-Tree Bandit.
Minor complaint: Some stories use some local African words (I’m not sure what language they are from) for which there's no translation or context provided. A glossary would certainly have helped because in many of these cases, the pun or joke isn’t clear simple because of the lacuna in understanding the word.
If you want to get a quick glimpse of Okorafor’s writing style before trying out a full-length work, this anthology would be perfect to begin with.
***********************
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All the tales are imaginative and bizarre and weird and mind-blowing (in different ways). Yup, the attributes are as eclectic and quirky as the stories themselves. Many of the stories were 4 or 5 star reads for me. A few could have reached the same level were it not for their endings which brought down their impact. But if you have rate the book on the sheer creativity of the human mind, it would get a full rating. The imagery will also blow your mind. Such lush descriptions!
Some of my favourites from this collection were Kabu Kabu, Spider the Artist, The Ghastly Bird and The Carpet. I also enjoyed The Magical Negro, The House of Deformities, The Winds of Harmattan, Long Juju Man, Icon, The Popular Mechanic, The Baboon War, Asunder and The Palm-Tree Bandit.
Minor complaint: Some stories use some local African words (I’m not sure what language they are from) for which there's no translation or context provided. A glossary would certainly have helped because in many of these cases, the pun or joke isn’t clear simple because of the lacuna in understanding the word.
If you want to get a quick glimpse of Okorafor’s writing style before trying out a full-length work, this anthology would be perfect to begin with.
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews
Read
February 11, 2018A collection of short stories, all powerful, with a motor of rage driving a lot of them, about misogyny and male entitlement and corruption and racism and the exploitation of the Niger delta and more. Okorafor has a wild and vivid imagination, and this is quite an overview of the things that gnarl in her mind (the near-tentacular hair in Binti is reflected in her stories of the Windseekers, people who can fly). What did really strike me was how much better she's got since her early work, in command of style and also control of her plots. Several of these still feel pretty raw comparatively, though the best ones are spectacularly good, and it's definitely a worthwhile collection for any SFF reader.
April 14, 2021
These stories ranged from light, earthy, sensual, violent, blackly humourous, to dark. My favourites from this collection were:
-Kabu Kabu
-On the Road
-Spider the Artist
-The Carpet
-The Popular Mechanic
-TheBabboon War
-Tumaki
-Moon!
-Kabu Kabu
-On the Road
-Spider the Artist
-The Carpet
-The Popular Mechanic
-TheBabboon War
-Tumaki
-Moon!
March 22, 2014
Nnedi Okorafor's story collection KABU KABU, published in 2013, provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into the author's rich imagination, vibrant language and captivating scenarios. Created at different stages in her extensive writing career, Okorafor treats us to a range of intriguing characters and their adventures, skilfully (and successfully) combining elements of speculative fiction and fantasy with African folklore and magical realism, and yes, indeed, political and social present day issues. Many of her stories have been nominated, shortlisted and/or have won literary recognition and awards as have her novels.
Born in the US of Nigerian parents, Nnedi Okorafor developed strong ties to her parents' home country since her childhood. Not surprisingly, her stories here are set in Nigeria – the real and the imagined society. In fact, Okorafor is a convincing advocate for African science fiction category of storytelling. It opens, among others, new avenues for creating future realities.
Admittedly, I am not usually a great fan of speculative fiction, yet, Okorafor has captured my attention and imagination, from the first story to the last – all twenty one of them. I particular enjoyed the character of Arro-yo, the "windseeker", who appears in several somewhat linked stories. Arro-yo is an outcast in her community because she can capture the wind and fly. Okorafor expands with her stories on African folklore that singled out girls born with "locked hair" and who had special powers. They could bring misery and misfortune to their home and were therefore chased away. Arro-yo's adventures in Okorafor's stories are nonetheless anchored very much in reality, whether she is caught up in civil unrest or fears for her life for other reasons. The title story, KABU KABU – the name for an unlicensed taxi – sets the reader up for a roller coaster for a ride. The protagonist, a young woman living in Chicago, needs to catch a plane to return to Nigeria for a wedding… a hilarious escapade and a great opening story for the adventures that follow in Africa… humorous at times, serious at others, yet always engaging and thought provoking. It would take too long to introduce other stories... just read them all. Whoopi Goldberg provides a motivating introduction to the book.
Born in the US of Nigerian parents, Nnedi Okorafor developed strong ties to her parents' home country since her childhood. Not surprisingly, her stories here are set in Nigeria – the real and the imagined society. In fact, Okorafor is a convincing advocate for African science fiction category of storytelling. It opens, among others, new avenues for creating future realities.
Admittedly, I am not usually a great fan of speculative fiction, yet, Okorafor has captured my attention and imagination, from the first story to the last – all twenty one of them. I particular enjoyed the character of Arro-yo, the "windseeker", who appears in several somewhat linked stories. Arro-yo is an outcast in her community because she can capture the wind and fly. Okorafor expands with her stories on African folklore that singled out girls born with "locked hair" and who had special powers. They could bring misery and misfortune to their home and were therefore chased away. Arro-yo's adventures in Okorafor's stories are nonetheless anchored very much in reality, whether she is caught up in civil unrest or fears for her life for other reasons. The title story, KABU KABU – the name for an unlicensed taxi – sets the reader up for a roller coaster for a ride. The protagonist, a young woman living in Chicago, needs to catch a plane to return to Nigeria for a wedding… a hilarious escapade and a great opening story for the adventures that follow in Africa… humorous at times, serious at others, yet always engaging and thought provoking. It would take too long to introduce other stories... just read them all. Whoopi Goldberg provides a motivating introduction to the book.
August 6, 2015
A wonderful collection of fantastical short stories. While I love fantasy in general, fantasy short fiction is often a tougher sell for me - the word limit means that stories aren't often given a chance to breathe, and they lack that sense of space that I love in the best fantasy literature. Nnedi Okorafor is able to avoid that problem by making most of her stories about magic encroaching on real people and real places, concerned less with world-building than with imbuing an existing world with the magical, the weird, or the horrifying.
Most of the stories take place in Nigeria, with a particular recurring focus on the Niger Delta (these latter stories, which fill the conflict between foreign oil companies and the people of the region with fantasy or sci-fi elements, tended to be my favorite). Many, though not all, are structured around a young woman discovering an unexpected element of magic - either in herself, with the handful of stories about the flying windseekers, or in the the world around her. This could have gotten old but it doesn't, because it's used in such an interesting variety of ways. I like how magic in Okorafor's world is so morally ambivalent - depending on the context its empowering, dangerous, evil, freeing, destructive.
Looking forward to reading more from the author.
Most of the stories take place in Nigeria, with a particular recurring focus on the Niger Delta (these latter stories, which fill the conflict between foreign oil companies and the people of the region with fantasy or sci-fi elements, tended to be my favorite). Many, though not all, are structured around a young woman discovering an unexpected element of magic - either in herself, with the handful of stories about the flying windseekers, or in the the world around her. This could have gotten old but it doesn't, because it's used in such an interesting variety of ways. I like how magic in Okorafor's world is so morally ambivalent - depending on the context its empowering, dangerous, evil, freeing, destructive.
Looking forward to reading more from the author.
February 23, 2020
'Kabu Kabu', referring to the illegal taxis in Nigeria as well as the title-story, is my first encounter with the works of Nnedi Okorafor. I had seen some of her other works - Lagoon, Who Fears Death (translated to French in 2013, re-released in 2017, still popular: Qui a peur de la mort ?), and her Binti-series (the first two parts recently published in French, see Binti) -in some bookshops in the last few years, but was very reluctant to buy any of them.
Having a short-story collection like 'Kabu Kabu' offers an excellent opportunity to dive into Ms Okorafor's world. Compared to the original, English version, the order has changed a bit. Also, the English editions seems to contain author's notes, in which Ms Okorafor comments on each story. The French edition doesn't have this, but the last story, 'La fille qui court' (the girl who runs, or, the running girl) offers some insight on how Ms Okorafor spent her youth and how she too was bullied because of her physical appearance.
This collection contains 21 stories that are either stand-alone or are related to full-blown novels she wrote over the past few years. Maybe that explains what Brit Mandelo wrote on Tor.com (direct link): "...they sometimes have a sense of being "unfinished," of being less short stories than vignettes or snapshots of particular moments in a larger piece." I do agree with this, though this incompleteness only bothered me lightly. Then again, it's a way to direct readers to the proper novels and continue the adventures.
While I've read the French translation, I found the stories very accessible in style and diverse in themes. I also liked how Ms Okorafor incoporated cultural and historical elements:
* Juju (Wikipedia) in 'L'homme au long juju', a story that reminded me a little of the pranks of the Norse god Loki.
* The Nigerian Civil War in 'Biafra' (Wikipedia)
* The harmattan (season) in 'Les vents de l'harmattan' (Wikipedia)
* The Ibibio people (various stories) (Wikipedia)
* Igbo (language) (Wikipedia)
* ...
Speaking of language: It would have been nice to have a glossary or footnotes with short translations of the used vocabulary (places, things, ...). Either you have your smartphone as "trusty" companion (and look up a word every time you come across one) or you try to guess its meaning, based on the context.
Some stories are, as I interpreted them, related in that they have either the same character or the same elements (like floating in the air / levitation, the fight for oil/petrol, patriarchal societies, etc.):
* 'Kabu Kabu' + 'Le tapis'
* 'Icône' + 'Popular Mechanic' + 'L'artiste araignée' (oil/petrol drilling)
* 'La tache noire' + 'Tumaki' (a girl rebelling, in her own way, against the muslim way of living; very nice story) + 'Comment Inyang obtint ses ailes' + 'Les vents de l'harmattan' + 'Les coureurs de vent' + 'Biafra'
* 'Kabu Kabu' + 'La guerre des babouins' (time-travel)
* 'Tumaki' + 'Popular Mechanic' (advanced humans because of technology)
* ...
The patriarchal society is very much alive. Women have (close to) nothing to say, serve as wives, mothers, slaves, ... Girls are put in a sort of cage to be fed/fattened (and let's not forget the horrible female genital mutilation - see Wikipedia) like ducks and geese in industrialised countries. It's the locals' way of making these girls more "beautiful" and ready for marriage. If you don't meet the requirements, you are cast aside or tolerated, and it's up to you to find your place or you own voice (which reminds me of two Stratovarius songs: Learning to Fly and Find Your Own Voice).
Culture-clashes are also present, like in 'Kabu Kabu' (a US Nigerian girl needing a taxi got get to the airport for a flight to Nigeria, but she's unprepared for the crazy "time-travel" with the illegal taxi; a great story, by the way). 'Le tapis' is another story in which girls travel to Nigeria for family reasons (their father is sick, so mother decides to stay with him in the USA while the girls go visit the house of their elders), but encounter a population that lives entirely different lives as opposed to the girls' lives in the USA. Mythical creatures haunt the emptied/looted house, but there's a magical carpet (which one of the girls bought at the market) that will ensure the girls are unharmed... even when they fly back home. Other, more politically-driven stories are 'Icône', 'Popular Mechanic', and 'L'artiste araignée' (revolving around the drilling/distribution of oil/petrol, like Africa vs western countries, because of Nigeria is one of the large providers in the world), and 'Bakasi' (in which a coup takes place).
Fantasy, science-fiction, magical realism, ... Ms Okorafor's first anthology offers an attractive and accessible pattern of imaginative stories based in a past, present and futuristic Nigeria, interspersed with cultural and historical factors.
----------
Table of contents of the French version:
0) Avant-propos par Whoopi Goldberg
1) Le nègre pagique
2) Kabu Kabu (avec Alan Dean Foster)
3) La tache noire
4) Tumaki
5) Comment Inyang obtint ses ailes
6) Les vents de l'harmattan
7) Les coureurs de vent
8) Biafra
9) La maison des difformités
10) Le tapis
11) Sur la route
12) Icône
13) Popular Mechanic
14) L'artiste araignée
15) Bakasi
16) Séparés
17) La guerre des babouins
18) L'affreux oiseau
19) Le bandit des palmiers
20) L'homme au long juju
21) Zula, de la cour de récré de quatrième
22) La fille qui court
Some of these stories are available (in English, of course) on her website (click here).
---------
I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
Having a short-story collection like 'Kabu Kabu' offers an excellent opportunity to dive into Ms Okorafor's world. Compared to the original, English version, the order has changed a bit. Also, the English editions seems to contain author's notes, in which Ms Okorafor comments on each story. The French edition doesn't have this, but the last story, 'La fille qui court' (the girl who runs, or, the running girl) offers some insight on how Ms Okorafor spent her youth and how she too was bullied because of her physical appearance.
This collection contains 21 stories that are either stand-alone or are related to full-blown novels she wrote over the past few years. Maybe that explains what Brit Mandelo wrote on Tor.com (direct link): "...they sometimes have a sense of being "unfinished," of being less short stories than vignettes or snapshots of particular moments in a larger piece." I do agree with this, though this incompleteness only bothered me lightly. Then again, it's a way to direct readers to the proper novels and continue the adventures.
While I've read the French translation, I found the stories very accessible in style and diverse in themes. I also liked how Ms Okorafor incoporated cultural and historical elements:
* Juju (Wikipedia) in 'L'homme au long juju', a story that reminded me a little of the pranks of the Norse god Loki.
* The Nigerian Civil War in 'Biafra' (Wikipedia)
* The harmattan (season) in 'Les vents de l'harmattan' (Wikipedia)
* The Ibibio people (various stories) (Wikipedia)
* Igbo (language) (Wikipedia)
* ...
Speaking of language: It would have been nice to have a glossary or footnotes with short translations of the used vocabulary (places, things, ...). Either you have your smartphone as "trusty" companion (and look up a word every time you come across one) or you try to guess its meaning, based on the context.
Some stories are, as I interpreted them, related in that they have either the same character or the same elements (like floating in the air / levitation, the fight for oil/petrol, patriarchal societies, etc.):
* 'Kabu Kabu' + 'Le tapis'
* 'Icône' + 'Popular Mechanic' + 'L'artiste araignée' (oil/petrol drilling)
* 'La tache noire' + 'Tumaki' (a girl rebelling, in her own way, against the muslim way of living; very nice story) + 'Comment Inyang obtint ses ailes' + 'Les vents de l'harmattan' + 'Les coureurs de vent' + 'Biafra'
* 'Kabu Kabu' + 'La guerre des babouins' (time-travel)
* 'Tumaki' + 'Popular Mechanic' (advanced humans because of technology)
* ...
The patriarchal society is very much alive. Women have (close to) nothing to say, serve as wives, mothers, slaves, ... Girls are put in a sort of cage to be fed/fattened (and let's not forget the horrible female genital mutilation - see Wikipedia) like ducks and geese in industrialised countries. It's the locals' way of making these girls more "beautiful" and ready for marriage. If you don't meet the requirements, you are cast aside or tolerated, and it's up to you to find your place or you own voice (which reminds me of two Stratovarius songs: Learning to Fly and Find Your Own Voice).
Culture-clashes are also present, like in 'Kabu Kabu' (a US Nigerian girl needing a taxi got get to the airport for a flight to Nigeria, but she's unprepared for the crazy "time-travel" with the illegal taxi; a great story, by the way). 'Le tapis' is another story in which girls travel to Nigeria for family reasons (their father is sick, so mother decides to stay with him in the USA while the girls go visit the house of their elders), but encounter a population that lives entirely different lives as opposed to the girls' lives in the USA. Mythical creatures haunt the emptied/looted house, but there's a magical carpet (which one of the girls bought at the market) that will ensure the girls are unharmed... even when they fly back home. Other, more politically-driven stories are 'Icône', 'Popular Mechanic', and 'L'artiste araignée' (revolving around the drilling/distribution of oil/petrol, like Africa vs western countries, because of Nigeria is one of the large providers in the world), and 'Bakasi' (in which a coup takes place).
Fantasy, science-fiction, magical realism, ... Ms Okorafor's first anthology offers an attractive and accessible pattern of imaginative stories based in a past, present and futuristic Nigeria, interspersed with cultural and historical factors.
----------
Table of contents of the French version:
0) Avant-propos par Whoopi Goldberg
1) Le nègre pagique
2) Kabu Kabu (avec Alan Dean Foster)
3) La tache noire
4) Tumaki
5) Comment Inyang obtint ses ailes
6) Les vents de l'harmattan
7) Les coureurs de vent
8) Biafra
9) La maison des difformités
10) Le tapis
11) Sur la route
12) Icône
13) Popular Mechanic
14) L'artiste araignée
15) Bakasi
16) Séparés
17) La guerre des babouins
18) L'affreux oiseau
19) Le bandit des palmiers
20) L'homme au long juju
21) Zula, de la cour de récré de quatrième
22) La fille qui court
Some of these stories are available (in English, of course) on her website (click here).
---------
I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.
September 18, 2013
La premessa di questa raccolta era intrigante: un fantasy dall'ambientazione africana, con commistioni con la mitologia e le leggende nigeriane che l'autrice, nigeriana appunto, ha succhiato col latte.
Il fatto che avesse poi vinto il World Fantasy Award col romanzo Who Fears Death, inoltre, credevo garantisse una qualità di scrittura tendenzialmente alla pari col l'originalità dell'ambientazione e, speravo, delle tematiche.
Bene, sono stata colossalmente delusa.
Ho letto circa un terzo della raccolta prima di abbandonarla al suo destino: sebbene possa apprezzare l'intento di dare una prospettiva differente (e, appunto, aumentare la diversity nel genere, come l'antologia Diverse energies che ho recensito qualche tempo fa) la scrittura è scarna al punto di essere scadente, e i racconti non sostengono gli spunti di discussione presenti nè con una storia ben costruita, nè con dialoghi interessanti, nè con ambientazioni intriganti: sembrano quasi abbozzi, con mostri e miti e spunti gettati alla rinfusa e dimenticati là.
Onestamente non so se dare una chance ai pluripremiati romanzi dell'autrice, nella speranza che il racconto non sia la sua dimensione: ma mi viene il dubbio (dato che sono - letterariamente - malpensante per natura) che molti di questi premi le siano stati assegnati più per l'encomiabile intento e per l'originale ambientazione che per l'effettiva qualità della realizzazione - che per me, però, rimane elemento imprescindibile.
Il fatto che avesse poi vinto il World Fantasy Award col romanzo Who Fears Death, inoltre, credevo garantisse una qualità di scrittura tendenzialmente alla pari col l'originalità dell'ambientazione e, speravo, delle tematiche.
Bene, sono stata colossalmente delusa.
Ho letto circa un terzo della raccolta prima di abbandonarla al suo destino: sebbene possa apprezzare l'intento di dare una prospettiva differente (e, appunto, aumentare la diversity nel genere, come l'antologia Diverse energies che ho recensito qualche tempo fa) la scrittura è scarna al punto di essere scadente, e i racconti non sostengono gli spunti di discussione presenti nè con una storia ben costruita, nè con dialoghi interessanti, nè con ambientazioni intriganti: sembrano quasi abbozzi, con mostri e miti e spunti gettati alla rinfusa e dimenticati là.
Onestamente non so se dare una chance ai pluripremiati romanzi dell'autrice, nella speranza che il racconto non sia la sua dimensione: ma mi viene il dubbio (dato che sono - letterariamente - malpensante per natura) che molti di questi premi le siano stati assegnati più per l'encomiabile intento e per l'originale ambientazione che per l'effettiva qualità della realizzazione - che per me, però, rimane elemento imprescindibile.
February 7, 2022
3.5 stars. Uneven and repetitive at points, but some stories were amazing! Others felt cut short.
May 30, 2018
Are we done making animals the enemy ?!?
Okorafor's girl group try a shortcut into the jungle to go to school. Baboons defend their encroached territory, but Okorafor apparently still lives in 1905, and doesn't care. Yawn. Even Hindu mythology was more evolved millennia ago; Prince Rama befriended monkeys to defeat a king.
The author would've won my respect had she pinned the heroine against worthy equals: perhaps mean boys or village elders. Instead, the girl's intent was selfish, misguided and flippant... like colonialists hacking through a dense forest just because they want to.
The natural world is not your literary scapegoat. It is sacred, and it's time we gave Mother Nature her due and proper reverence.
.
.
.
Okorafor's girl group try a shortcut into the jungle to go to school. Baboons defend their encroached territory, but Okorafor apparently still lives in 1905, and doesn't care. Yawn. Even Hindu mythology was more evolved millennia ago; Prince Rama befriended monkeys to defeat a king.
The author would've won my respect had she pinned the heroine against worthy equals: perhaps mean boys or village elders. Instead, the girl's intent was selfish, misguided and flippant... like colonialists hacking through a dense forest just because they want to.
The natural world is not your literary scapegoat. It is sacred, and it's time we gave Mother Nature her due and proper reverence.
.
.
.
February 1, 2022
The Magical Negro - a warrior is about to be killed by some demons when a stranger appears (3 stars)
Kabu Kabu - a woman is close to loosing her plane when an illegal cab driver helps her out (4 stars)
The House of Deformities - two sisters are accompanying their parents to Nigeria to visit relatives and on the way they make a pit stop (3 stars)
The Black Stain - as the merchant's sons, the eldest stays behind minding the shop while the youngest goes forth to collect merchandise (3 stars)
How Inyang Got Her Wings - born different and unmarriageable, Inyang discovers another oddity one night: her wings; (4 stars) [my favorite]
On the Road - a Chicago cop is visiting her grandmother and grandaunt in Nigeria when she opens the door and sees a bleeding boy; the boy disappears but things only get weirder (4 stars)
Spider the Artist - hiding from her abusive husband, a woman plays guitar in her backyard and encounters a Zombie (3 stars)
The Ghastly Bird - a childhood dream comes true when a man discovers an extinct dodo bird eating fruits from his tree (3 stars)
The Winds of Harmattan - Asuquo, a Windseeker, is pressured into marrying a man she is lukewarm about (2 stars)
Long Juju Man - a young girl tries to outsmart the infamous Long Juju Man (3 stars)
The Carpet - two sisters go souvenir shopping but bring something odd into their ancestral rural Nigerian home (3 stars)
Icon - journalists working to find a scoop on Nigerian oil pirates get more than they bargained for (3 stars)
The Popular Mechanic - a first-year medical student returns home after her father disappears (3 stars)
Windseekers - two strangers, one murder (3 stars)
Bakasi Man - a hunchback doctor enters politics and decides to scapegoat societal issues on a small group of people (3 stars)
The Baboon War - on their way to school, three girls face off a baboon ambush (3 stars)
Asunder - a couple drowning in love is interrupted by a sudden pregnancy (4 stars)
Tumaki - a meta-human brings a broken toy to a mechanic wearing a burka (3 stars)
Biafra - a Windseeker hides her identity in order to infiltrate a refugee camp (3 stars)
Moom! - the largest swordfish is furious when her wares are tampered with (3 stars)
The Palm Tree Bandit - the story of how one great-grandmother's vandalism led to a beneficial outcome for the village womenfolk (3 stars)
Kabu Kabu - a woman is close to loosing her plane when an illegal cab driver helps her out (4 stars)
The House of Deformities - two sisters are accompanying their parents to Nigeria to visit relatives and on the way they make a pit stop (3 stars)
The Black Stain - as the merchant's sons, the eldest stays behind minding the shop while the youngest goes forth to collect merchandise (3 stars)
How Inyang Got Her Wings - born different and unmarriageable, Inyang discovers another oddity one night: her wings; (4 stars) [my favorite]
On the Road - a Chicago cop is visiting her grandmother and grandaunt in Nigeria when she opens the door and sees a bleeding boy; the boy disappears but things only get weirder (4 stars)
Spider the Artist - hiding from her abusive husband, a woman plays guitar in her backyard and encounters a Zombie (3 stars)
The Ghastly Bird - a childhood dream comes true when a man discovers an extinct dodo bird eating fruits from his tree (3 stars)
The Winds of Harmattan - Asuquo, a Windseeker, is pressured into marrying a man she is lukewarm about (2 stars)
Long Juju Man - a young girl tries to outsmart the infamous Long Juju Man (3 stars)
The Carpet - two sisters go souvenir shopping but bring something odd into their ancestral rural Nigerian home (3 stars)
Icon - journalists working to find a scoop on Nigerian oil pirates get more than they bargained for (3 stars)
The Popular Mechanic - a first-year medical student returns home after her father disappears (3 stars)
Windseekers - two strangers, one murder (3 stars)
Bakasi Man - a hunchback doctor enters politics and decides to scapegoat societal issues on a small group of people (3 stars)
The Baboon War - on their way to school, three girls face off a baboon ambush (3 stars)
Asunder - a couple drowning in love is interrupted by a sudden pregnancy (4 stars)
Tumaki - a meta-human brings a broken toy to a mechanic wearing a burka (3 stars)
Biafra - a Windseeker hides her identity in order to infiltrate a refugee camp (3 stars)
Moom! - the largest swordfish is furious when her wares are tampered with (3 stars)
The Palm Tree Bandit - the story of how one great-grandmother's vandalism led to a beneficial outcome for the village womenfolk (3 stars)
August 11, 2018
The female MC has NO agency at all. Just waited for her soulmate to come rescue her, which he failed at. And the consequence on her village for killing her. The wind didn’t come that year.
The wind.
Not the rain, not something IMPORTANT that had an actual affect on them at all, the WIND.
And when it came back the next year it was weak for the next century.
VRHDDHHIJCSDHHFHKDESGBKNJ!);(,:$’kxdvnvxh!!!!
SERIOUSLY?!? His other half is MURDERED and ALL he does to “punish” her murderers is deny the village WIND?!? They don’t even seem to NOTICE it!!
And this female MC is WEAK. No agency, let’s things happen to her. Doesn’t even speak up for herself when accused. She deserve what she got!
IF the soulmate and flying weren’t just figments of her imagination.
HORRIBLE story, another Levar Burton Reads Podcast STINKER.
1, I can’t go any lower, stars.
Merged review:
Levar Burton Reads podcast offering.
Another stinker. This one had strong female characters, which was good. But they were strong versus nature. So another humans 1, Mother Nature 0, story. Reflects reality I suppose, but with all of the magical realism in it, did it have to be humans versus animals, with the animals losing?
Also, I highly doubt three young girls could take on a group of baboons and WIN. Seriously, I know chimpanzees can EASILY kill an adult human, how would baboons, who are wild creatures and related to chimps closer than we are (I mean body strength-wise, not necessarily chromosomally), be defeated by three young girls? Unless that little bell bracelet gave the three girls protection, I don't know how they would have not only survived, but also won.
This one really disappointed me. It started off so well, and then it got so depressing. The baboons were only trying to protect something that they valued, and humans came in and just because they wanted to walk the path the baboons were on, they decided to fight the baboons when the forest was the home of the baboons?!? The MC even KILLED one. The poor baboons at the end were all hurt and limping and leaving in fear and they gave the item they were trying to protect to the little girls.
Again, I doubt in real life it would have gone down that way, but having never faced down a group of 15 baboons, I couldn't say.
1 star. So sad.
The wind.
Not the rain, not something IMPORTANT that had an actual affect on them at all, the WIND.
And when it came back the next year it was weak for the next century.
VRHDDHHIJCSDHHFHKDESGBKNJ!);(,:$’kxdvnvxh!!!!
SERIOUSLY?!? His other half is MURDERED and ALL he does to “punish” her murderers is deny the village WIND?!? They don’t even seem to NOTICE it!!
And this female MC is WEAK. No agency, let’s things happen to her. Doesn’t even speak up for herself when accused. She deserve what she got!
IF the soulmate and flying weren’t just figments of her imagination.
HORRIBLE story, another Levar Burton Reads Podcast STINKER.
1, I can’t go any lower, stars.
Merged review:
Levar Burton Reads podcast offering.
Another stinker. This one had strong female characters, which was good. But they were strong versus nature. So another humans 1, Mother Nature 0, story. Reflects reality I suppose, but with all of the magical realism in it, did it have to be humans versus animals, with the animals losing?
Also, I highly doubt three young girls could take on a group of baboons and WIN. Seriously, I know chimpanzees can EASILY kill an adult human, how would baboons, who are wild creatures and related to chimps closer than we are (I mean body strength-wise, not necessarily chromosomally), be defeated by three young girls? Unless that little bell bracelet gave the three girls protection, I don't know how they would have not only survived, but also won.
This one really disappointed me. It started off so well, and then it got so depressing. The baboons were only trying to protect something that they valued, and humans came in and just because they wanted to walk the path the baboons were on, they decided to fight the baboons when the forest was the home of the baboons?!? The MC even KILLED one. The poor baboons at the end were all hurt and limping and leaving in fear and they gave the item they were trying to protect to the little girls.
Again, I doubt in real life it would have gone down that way, but having never faced down a group of 15 baboons, I couldn't say.
1 star. So sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2020
There seems to be several very specific subgenres to immigrant fiction i.e. fiction written by and about immigrants. This one is definitely the nostalgic variant. Wherein an immigrant (first or second generation) author waxes nostalgic about the place their family was once so desperate to leave. No easy task, mind you, the country here is Nigeria and, as described in this book and other books I’ve read set there, categorically not a place you’d ever want to visit. To quote one of the characters (an African American man before any accusations of racism rear their uglies) it’s a f*cking jungle rife with jungle people or something like that. But, potential accuracy aside, that really is an ugly way to describe the place. And the author takes a different approach altogether, she steeps Nigeria in magical realism and fantasy, her jungle is set in fairy tales it seems of ancient legends and traditions. The thing of it is, though, is those traditions are sometimes along the lines of subjecting women to circumcisions and deliberate fattening to prepare for a marriage. Or a variety of equally barbaric seeming familial relations. And granted, I can be easily accused here of approaching this book from a Eurocentric, first world privileged, feminist perspective, but f*ck that, quality of life is an objectively measurable thing, that’s why there are global lists of such things, civic rights, education levels, wealth, infrastructure, political representation, gender equality, etc. all quantifiable things, all charts Nigeria would do abysmally on. And no amount of fairy tales can change that or cover it up, there’s no gilding a turd. So with that in mind, it’s difficult to enjoy this book and really get into the author’s tales, no matter how well crafted (but for the record above average) they may be. Though I enjoy magical realism and science fiction (not fantasy, really), there was consistently too much ugly brutal reality to consider this an enjoyable read. Was the goal to represent Nigeria as a backwards tribal war zone steeped in poverty and superstition passed on for tradition? If so, this book was a resounding success. This seems to be the author’s chosen genre, African infused fantasy/sci fi blend. She wrote Binti series too, of which I read book one and have no intention on pursuing the series. I know there’s a certain fascination third world holds for the first worlders, explaining such disgusting thing as poverty tourism among other things, but personally I don’t care for it. If I’m reading a place I’d never ever want to set foot in, I’d much prefer actual realism or at least less smokescreens and shadow puppetry to make up for the unpleasantness behind the scenes. Then again maybe the goal here is to represent and explain a place through its mythology. If so, I’m not sure it quite does that. Maybe the terrifying backwardness of the overall mentality gets in the way. The horrifyingly medieval attitude toward women alone…I’m not quite sure any amount of magic empowerment, levitating and so on, can quite make up for that. Seems that the best and possibly the only way to actually enjoy this book would be to completely shut off a qualifying discerning mind and just go…oh nice, that’s a lovely story. If you can’t completely divorce the context from the place and the politics, it’s going to be as challenging of a trip as any unpaved Nigerian road offers, whether it’s in the magic cab, kabu kabu, or otherwise. I did enjoy some of the writing and some of the ideas, my favorite being the Zombie one, but overall the juxtaposition of reality to surrealism didn’t quite sing for me. Give me a story of immigrant experience in their new country any day over this sort of thing. First Binti, now this, ok, ok, this may not be the right author for me. And I’m probably in a minority in thinking this, African speculative fiction is very hot right now. Whoopi Goldberg, for one, loves it, she provides a foreword to that effect. So different strokes…
December 5, 2023
Très long recueil, et comme souvent avec les recueils : c’est très inégal. Les thèmes sont très variés : fantasy, fantastique, science-fiction et même contemporain/témoignage.
Il y a plein de choses intéressantes, mais il y a aussi des récits qui m’ont moins touchée, ou pour lesquels j’ai manqué de clés de compréhension. Et c’est aussi très violent.
Il y a plein de choses intéressantes, mais il y a aussi des récits qui m’ont moins touchée, ou pour lesquels j’ai manqué de clés de compréhension. Et c’est aussi très violent.
November 13, 2013
Nnedi Okorafor is an American-born daughter of Igbo Nigerian parents and that mix of cultures is just perfect for the writing of magic realism. This collection of short stories draws on Okorafor's West African roots more than her American life. But the writer being American brings an outsider's point of view. The eponymous story is a good example of that. A successful American lawyer hails an illegal taxi (kabu kabu) to take to the airport for her flight to a family wedding in Nigeria, but the taxi takes her on a ride into the Nigerian supernatural. Another story features two American sisters staying in the house their parents built and furnished in Nigeria but which the family has denuded of furniture.
The twenty-one short stories in this collection tackle some serious subjects: intolerance, genocide, stereotyping, war including the civil war, persecution of the other, and the environmental and social destruction wrought by Western oil companies. Foremost is the treatment of strong women who dare to break with the patriarchal society in which they live. There are several stories about windseekers - women who are physically marked out by their dada hair and independent spirit, and who can fly. They are feared and persecuted as witches. Fortunately the book comes with notes from the author, which give an interesting insight into what inspired these stories. The notes also explain that, as I suspected when I read the stories, some of the stories were originally parts of or side stories from full-length novels: the windseeker stories come from a novel Zahrah the Windseeker which won the 2o08 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature.
Some of the stories are very definitely magic realism, others are closer to fantasy and/or science fiction. Biafra won The Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism Short Story Contest. It also happens to be one of my favourite stories. I am old enough to remember the terrible images of the Nigerian Civil War (1967 - 1970) that fed into my childhood home via the BBC News. I can't imagine how they would haunt every Nigerian family. This story shows brilliantly how magic realism can tackle horrific subjects. The central character is a windseeker living in America: "like so many of our people who were abroad, she'd felt the words deep in her bones. Come home!" There are some incredible images in this story. A dying girl asked what the spirits of the girl's family and friends look like, replies: "Like large pretty green lizards with long long rough tails. Helicopters are described as giant metal vultures dropping excrements of death."
I found Okarafor's work fascinating. I have only limited knowledge of the African heritage that inspires her work, but I can see how she is forging an African/American approach to magic realism. Her recent magic realist novel Who Fears Death has just been added to my to read list.
I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for a fair review.
This review first appeared on the magic realism books blog http://magic-realism-books.blogspot.com
The twenty-one short stories in this collection tackle some serious subjects: intolerance, genocide, stereotyping, war including the civil war, persecution of the other, and the environmental and social destruction wrought by Western oil companies. Foremost is the treatment of strong women who dare to break with the patriarchal society in which they live. There are several stories about windseekers - women who are physically marked out by their dada hair and independent spirit, and who can fly. They are feared and persecuted as witches. Fortunately the book comes with notes from the author, which give an interesting insight into what inspired these stories. The notes also explain that, as I suspected when I read the stories, some of the stories were originally parts of or side stories from full-length novels: the windseeker stories come from a novel Zahrah the Windseeker which won the 2o08 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature.
Some of the stories are very definitely magic realism, others are closer to fantasy and/or science fiction. Biafra won The Margin: Exploring Modern Magical Realism Short Story Contest. It also happens to be one of my favourite stories. I am old enough to remember the terrible images of the Nigerian Civil War (1967 - 1970) that fed into my childhood home via the BBC News. I can't imagine how they would haunt every Nigerian family. This story shows brilliantly how magic realism can tackle horrific subjects. The central character is a windseeker living in America: "like so many of our people who were abroad, she'd felt the words deep in her bones. Come home!" There are some incredible images in this story. A dying girl asked what the spirits of the girl's family and friends look like, replies: "Like large pretty green lizards with long long rough tails. Helicopters are described as giant metal vultures dropping excrements of death."
I found Okarafor's work fascinating. I have only limited knowledge of the African heritage that inspires her work, but I can see how she is forging an African/American approach to magic realism. Her recent magic realist novel Who Fears Death has just been added to my to read list.
I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for a fair review.
This review first appeared on the magic realism books blog http://magic-realism-books.blogspot.com
June 24, 2015
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...
You know that feeling when you read something by an author and then are like “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!” because you’re blown away by these vast and rich worlds that are different that anything you’ve read about in your entire life, and you can’t stop thinking about the stories for weeks? That’s how I felt after reading Kabu Kabu, a collection of short stories by Nnedi Okorafor.
Okorafor’s stories can broadly be characterized as SF/F, but unlike most SF/F, they aren’t rooted in a European tradition. Instead, Okorafor draws from Nigerian mythology to create something truly unique. The tititular story (I like the word ‘tititular’ because I am about as mature as a five-year-old) “Kabu Kabu” is the lighthearted tale of a woman who is attending a wedding in Nigeria. She’s running late, and so she takes a gypsy cab that seems to appear outside her apartment as if by magic. But there’s something special about the cab, which takes her through a supernatural underworld before leading her to her ultimate destination, proving that the journey mean much more than just a means to an end. Not all of the stories in the collection have that sense of levity, dealing with themes of alienation, loss, and corruption, but even heavier subjects are treated with breathtaking beauty. The windseeker stories, for example, are set in villages where the windseekers (who look a bit different and have the ability to fly) are treated as outsiders, and their exclusion results in a kind of tragic beauty as they go off to seek their own paths. These were easily some of my favorites, and they make me want to read Zahrah the Windseeker, a novel set in the same world. Although the story that resonated with me the most was “Spider the Artist,” which described a lonely woman befriending a robotic killing machine.
Highly recommended.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...
You know that feeling when you read something by an author and then are like “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!” because you’re blown away by these vast and rich worlds that are different that anything you’ve read about in your entire life, and you can’t stop thinking about the stories for weeks? That’s how I felt after reading Kabu Kabu, a collection of short stories by Nnedi Okorafor.
Okorafor’s stories can broadly be characterized as SF/F, but unlike most SF/F, they aren’t rooted in a European tradition. Instead, Okorafor draws from Nigerian mythology to create something truly unique. The tititular story (I like the word ‘tititular’ because I am about as mature as a five-year-old) “Kabu Kabu” is the lighthearted tale of a woman who is attending a wedding in Nigeria. She’s running late, and so she takes a gypsy cab that seems to appear outside her apartment as if by magic. But there’s something special about the cab, which takes her through a supernatural underworld before leading her to her ultimate destination, proving that the journey mean much more than just a means to an end. Not all of the stories in the collection have that sense of levity, dealing with themes of alienation, loss, and corruption, but even heavier subjects are treated with breathtaking beauty. The windseeker stories, for example, are set in villages where the windseekers (who look a bit different and have the ability to fly) are treated as outsiders, and their exclusion results in a kind of tragic beauty as they go off to seek their own paths. These were easily some of my favorites, and they make me want to read Zahrah the Windseeker, a novel set in the same world. Although the story that resonated with me the most was “Spider the Artist,” which described a lonely woman befriending a robotic killing machine.
Highly recommended.
December 28, 2013
In August I read Nnedi Okorafor's novel
Who Fears Death
(2010). It was my first experience with her writing in the long form and I found it to be one of the most thought-provoking novels I've read all year. When I saw Kabu Kabu, a short story collection published by Prime Books, pop up on NetGalley I jumped at the chance. Kabu Kabu is a very diverse set of stories. I guess you could call most of them fantasy or magical realism, sometimes with a bit of science fiction mixed in. It's one of those collections that take a bit of time to read. I think it took me three weeks to read all twenty-one stories. It is one of those collections that work best in small portions....
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
September 3, 2018
I think I have to conclude at this point that Okorafor is just Not For Me. There's nothing here I actively disliked, but there's something about Okorafor's rhythm and structure that made me struggle to stay focused. I'd read a few pages and then find my mind wandering.
"The Carpet" was probably my favorite story; I think the fact that so much of it is based on Okorafor's personal experiences may lend it more immediacy. Other stories, like "On the Road" and "The Popular Mechanic" had concepts and fragments that excited me, but overall there's nothing here I'd want to read a second time.
"The Carpet" was probably my favorite story; I think the fact that so much of it is based on Okorafor's personal experiences may lend it more immediacy. Other stories, like "On the Road" and "The Popular Mechanic" had concepts and fragments that excited me, but overall there's nothing here I'd want to read a second time.
January 27, 2014
Delightful and often serious short stories from Nnedi Okorafor, set mostly in Nigeria or the Niger Delta. The collection begins with a bang with "The Magical Negro", moves into the realm of the mystical with "Kabu Kabu" and takes a serious tone with "The Black Stain." Pieces such as "Long Juju Man" and "The Carpet" read like folktales and encourage to reader to open their mind to the possibilities. All in all, Nnedi does a wonderful job of showing the reader another world.
May 26, 2015
I received this book for free as part of the goodreads first reads giveaway. This collection of short stories is amazing. Every story in this book is as vivid and engaging and immersive as you could ask for in a group of short stories. I loved every single one and I can't wait to read more by this author. On a side note I would love to read 'The Legend of Arro-yo' if it is ever published.
June 29, 2016
Every single story in this collection is wonderful, and "The Palm Tree Bandit" is the perfect conclusion to a collection that is at times joyful, at times snarky, at times devastating, and always beautiful. Highly recommended collection!
July 11, 2017
Wonderful, exuberant, fascinating stories of magic realism in the modern world.
Read
December 27, 2020Fantasy Adventure is the wrong genre, but the closest I can come! I have been reading this and listening to the audio book, attracted to Nnedi Okorafor 's inimitable story telling and singular voice that somehow evokes such a wide range of characters yet threads them with a common something - spirit?
February 4, 2020
My favorite stories were:
Kabu Kabu
How Inyang Got Her Wings
On the Road
The Winds of Harmattan
Tumaki
The Palm Tree Bandit
Kabu Kabu
How Inyang Got Her Wings
On the Road
The Winds of Harmattan
Tumaki
The Palm Tree Bandit
September 19, 2013
The eponymous short story in this collection is about a kabu kabu, an illegal or, preferably, unofficial Nigerian cab service. Ngozi, a Chicago lawyer, is running late on her way to the airport. Her sister is engaged to a suitor Ngozi doesn't agree with, but she needs to be by her side anyways. She inexplicably comes onto a kabu kabu on the streets of Chicago. She gets on and quickly loses control of her destination. She's along for the ride whether she wants to or not.
Now that's exactly what Nnedi Okorafor has done with this short story collection. She takes us deep into the heart of Nigeria and its superstitions. An array of predominately highly intelligent, often educated female characters, potentially analogues of Nnedi herself, undergo adventures in scope from the world-wide to the internal.
There are the windseekers, the girls with dada hair who are feared by the simple-minded, and there are the stories of sisterhood. There are the stories of the mundane, of mellow magical moments lifted from a larger adventure. There are stories of the far future where meat and plant are nearly indistinguishable from magic. Finishing Kabu Kabu, I had the sensation that it wasn't a short story collection but the episodic reveal of a single timeline.
Kabu Kabu places the power in its women's hands, and unfolds them to show some of the suffering the "weaker" sex has to go through. This is how strong women rise, in reaction to adversity. Kabu Kabu is about empowerment, the strength of will to face up to a harsh world that is supposed to cherish her, love her as its child.
Now that's exactly what Nnedi Okorafor has done with this short story collection. She takes us deep into the heart of Nigeria and its superstitions. An array of predominately highly intelligent, often educated female characters, potentially analogues of Nnedi herself, undergo adventures in scope from the world-wide to the internal.
There are the windseekers, the girls with dada hair who are feared by the simple-minded, and there are the stories of sisterhood. There are the stories of the mundane, of mellow magical moments lifted from a larger adventure. There are stories of the far future where meat and plant are nearly indistinguishable from magic. Finishing Kabu Kabu, I had the sensation that it wasn't a short story collection but the episodic reveal of a single timeline.
Kabu Kabu places the power in its women's hands, and unfolds them to show some of the suffering the "weaker" sex has to go through. This is how strong women rise, in reaction to adversity. Kabu Kabu is about empowerment, the strength of will to face up to a harsh world that is supposed to cherish her, love her as its child.
June 25, 2015
I was really excited to read this short story collection as a big fan of her novel "Akata Witch," and her other novels are on my to-read list. There are some great stories in here, particularly the title story about a very unusual taxi. I also enjoyed some recurring characters through this collection, which is rather unusual for short story collections. The settings are wonderful and present such a universe than most fantasy inhabits.
That said, this book felt less polished and less emotionally involved than "Akata Witch." The thing I enjoy about short stories is the potential they have to be a short, quick punch to the face--novels usually can't sustain the level of emotional impact that short stories can have. In this collection, there was a lot of interesting stuff happening, but the stories felt like they should either have been shortened further to a quick little jab or elaborated further into a novella that gives more time for leisurely exploration of the worlds the characters inhabit.
So I was surprised in the end that I liked it but didn't love it. That said, I'm still excited to read more of the author's novels, since I get the sense that many of these short stories would have been wonderful kernels for novel-length prose.
That said, this book felt less polished and less emotionally involved than "Akata Witch." The thing I enjoy about short stories is the potential they have to be a short, quick punch to the face--novels usually can't sustain the level of emotional impact that short stories can have. In this collection, there was a lot of interesting stuff happening, but the stories felt like they should either have been shortened further to a quick little jab or elaborated further into a novella that gives more time for leisurely exploration of the worlds the characters inhabit.
So I was surprised in the end that I liked it but didn't love it. That said, I'm still excited to read more of the author's novels, since I get the sense that many of these short stories would have been wonderful kernels for novel-length prose.
March 16, 2020
2.5 stars
June 23, 2019
This slim book collects 21 of Nnedi Okorafor's short stories (one of which was cowritten with Alan Dean Foster), and I definitely recommend it to any Okorafor fans. My favorite stories were "Kabu Kabu," "Spider the Artist," "The Winds of Harmattan," "The Baboon War," "Asunder," and "The Palm Tree Bandit." Most were fantasy or mixed fantasy/science fiction, with several set in historical time periods.
Okorafor really mines her personal experience here (such as any mentions of Chicago, lawyers, the name "Ngozi," and American girls visiting Nigeria). We also get several stories derived from her unfinished novel The Legend of Arro-yo--I counted 4 such stories, and the author's notes at the end put a lot in context. The Arro-yo stories, especially "The Winds of Harmattan," made me want to check out her YA novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, to see if I can get something more on windseekers.
I was surprised that the author chose to include stories she admittedly didn't even like anymore, such as "Windseekers"--but that's useful regardless in considering her body of work.
Okorafor really mines her personal experience here (such as any mentions of Chicago, lawyers, the name "Ngozi," and American girls visiting Nigeria). We also get several stories derived from her unfinished novel The Legend of Arro-yo--I counted 4 such stories, and the author's notes at the end put a lot in context. The Arro-yo stories, especially "The Winds of Harmattan," made me want to check out her YA novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, to see if I can get something more on windseekers.
I was surprised that the author chose to include stories she admittedly didn't even like anymore, such as "Windseekers"--but that's useful regardless in considering her body of work.
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