Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor...random thoughts....

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.

On the cover of this book, there's a blurb by Ursula K. Le Guin:

There's more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor's work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics.

Being a relative newbie to fantasy, especially in terms of quantity and breadth of reading, I can't really say if I agree with Le Guin's statement, but I'm totally going to take her at her word. What I can say from my own experience is that Akata Witch felt completely fresh and unique. While it's embarrassing to admit my complete ignorance of Nigerian cultures, I must because I suspect reading this book with more cultural awareness would make it all the more wonderful an experience. Though in a sense, that also seems impossible, because truly wonderful it was.

It is the story of Sunny, born in America to Igbo parents. Her family moves back to Nigeria when Sunny is nine years old. This fact alone gives Sunny's classmates reason to tease her, call her "akata witch," a derogatory term for foreign-born blacks. Add to that the fact that Sunny is albino, and well, let's just say that Sunny isn't exactly the most popular girl in school. Sunny is intelligent, loves to read, and has awesome foot skills with a soccer ball (though she can only play with her brothers in the evening because of her albinism).

Sunny eventually realizes something else about herself thanks to some new friends, Orlu a boy who befriends her at school and his out-of-school friend Chichi. What they suspect and help Sunny prove is that she's got magical powers. Orlu and Chichi do as well, though they've known this all their lives as they come from Leopard bloodlines. (Leopard People are those with magical powers.) Sunny, on the other hand, is what is called a free agent. Sort of like a muggle-born in Harry Potter's world, I suppose. Leopard People live both in the magical world and in the world of the Lambs (those without magical powers). But the Lambs know nothing of the Leopard world. This makes life difficult for Sunny, as she has to keep her "Leopard life" secret from her family. And soon Sunny is attending Leopard School twice a week (Wed. nights at midnight and Saturdays) with Orlu, Chichi, and another boy from America named Sasha. Attending two schools, learning about two worlds, living two lives...it's both exhausting and exhilarating for Sunny.

I don't want to tell much more about the story...oh, but there is a serial killer...so yeah, this book definitely has its dark moments. But I want to talk about how I felt about the book. Did I mention yet that I loved it? If I didn't, I should be flogged. Because love it, I did! There is a richness to the world Nnedi Okorafor creates, a richness you can almost feel viscerally. It's mysterious, vivid, and yes, frightening at times. It somehow manages to feel simultaneously fantastical and real. And the characters...oh my, I love these kids. Four very different personalities. They fight and tease and disagree, all within these friendships that become strong and powerful. (I totally admit it--I'm a sucker for those sort of friendships that might seem, if not exactly improbable at least a bit unlikely on the surface.)

If I had one complaint about the book, it would be with "the big climactic scene" (I put that phrase in quotes because it's a little too simplistic but I can't really explain without spoilers). Anyway, I felt that things went a little too quickly, a little too easily. BUT...I also have this nagging feeling that the reason I feel that way is because I missed something. I don't know why I have that feeling, but I do. In fact, I really ought to go back and read the last few chapters again. Ha--I just did, but still am left in the same boat.

This is a book I got out from the library...but it's a book that I will now be buying to have a copy of my very own. And yes, I am definitely looking forward to reading Nnedi Okorafor's other books. :)

Once Upon a Time month...an extremely rambly update the first...

My reading began with Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm. I was pretty certain going in that I would love this book, after all, what's not to love--Philip Pullman and fairy tales--pretty much a no-brainer. Ahhh, but I discovered that I not only love this book, I am utterly enchanted by it. Enchanted.

I wish very much that I was more knowledgeable about fairy tales, but the fact is that I'm almost afraid to talk about reading them at all for fear of embarrassing myself. It's really only in the past few years that I've begun reading them at all; they were not really a part of my childhood. But I find such delight in them. And I love them in every which way they are told, from the old "originals" right up to the modern fill-in-the-gaps, explore-the-motivations, see-it-from-another-angle retellings that are so popular today.

Anyway, back to the book...I've now read the first ten tales. I easily could have ignored all my responsibilities and curled up in my chair and devoured the whole thing by now, but with a great show of willpower, I've made myself slow down. I just want this book to last. In one of the myriad of games I play with myself, I decided that I get to read ten tales and then I must set the book aside and read another book. Hopefully this will still allow me to finish it by the end of the month however.

When I first heard of this book, I assumed that this was a book of reinventions. It wasn't until I read Ana's incredibly wonderful review that I realized they were not. Instead they are a selection of Grimm's tales (50 of them, I believe) told by Philip Pullman. In other words, they are the same stories as one would read in one of the versions of fairy tales that the Grimms published but told in Philip Pullman's words. And each story comes with a short commentary afterward by Pullman.

I said earlier that I was enchanted by these tales. And while this is very true, it's an enchantment I can't quite explain. Because nearly all these tales have elements that bother me. They are not the kind of stories I would tell my children with the purpose of exposing them to great moral lessons. The princess in "The Frog King" is a rude, spoiled brat and yet she is rewarded. This goes against my deepest wish for myself and my kiddos in life--BE KIND.

Anyway, of the first ten tales, there were a few widely familiar ones such as "The Frog King," "Rapunzel," and "Hansel and Gretel." While "Hansel and Gretel" is a favorite of mine (largely because of some of the retellings I've fallen in love with, such as "A Delicate Architecture" by Catherynne M. Valente and "Hansel's Eyes," by Garth Nix), I think I was even more taken with a few of the tales that were completely unfamiliar to me. "The Twelve Brothers," "The Three Little Men in the Woods," and "The Three Snake Leaves" all captivated me.

One of the innate qualities of fairy tales is that the characters are more like caricatures. And I believe that is one of the things that makes them so perfect for retellings. Quest for Screen was the perfect impetus to get me to finally view one of these wonderful retellings. During Eva's wonderful visit last November she convinced me that I really needed to watch Once Upon a Time, and while I immediately added it to my instant queue on netflix, I never got around to starting it. Until this week. And then what happened? Well, I gobbled up the entire first season! I was obsessed, I tell you, like the show cast a spell right over me.

I realize that I'm even less adept at discussing movies/TV than I am about books, so trying to explain what it is about this show that stole my heart isn't easy. I loved the characters...all of them, actually. I adore the way that even the "evil" characters are made human. There are reasons and heartbreaks that helped shape the way they behave. Everyone's lives have pain. And I love how the characters all respond differently to it. I love the clever ways in which the writers combined and reimaged stories, like with Belle and Rumpelstiltskin. I love the beautiful scenery. I love that while we see lots of traditional gender roles, we also see them turned upside down. I don't, however, love how white the show is--seriously, this show could be so wonderfully diverse, and it just isn't. (Does season 2 get any better on this front? *fingers crossed*)

And speaking of season 2, I wonder how long it will be until it gets to netflix? While I wait, I think I'm going to start a rewatching of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Actually I did rewatch season 1 not all that long ago...ha, but I don't care--I'm still going to start over from the beginning and hopefully finish all three seasons before the end of the month. Why this sudden urge? I blame Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part One. This is the book I read after finishing my first ten tales. I know I said it of The Promise, but I cannot help but say it again--the way Gene Luen Yang and company have been able to keep these graphic novels true to whole feel of the series simply awes me. The Search, Part One brings me back to the world, and more importantly, to the characters that I love so very much. (Except for Toph...I missed her!) The search referred to in the title is the search for Zuko's and Azula's mother. We finally get a look at her life, and learn how she comes to marry Ozai. I don't want to say too much, but there are some interesting revelations. I love this story so damn much, and I couldn't be more grateful that these graphic novels exist to keep the story going.

I guess the only other thing I have to mention for this update is that we all went to see The Hobbit at the dollar theater on Easter. I knew that I would enjoy the movie, but was still reluctant to go. I just have a very hard time watching a screen and not doing something "productive" at the same time, so sitting in a theater can be akin to torture for me. Well, The Hobbit captivated me so completely that I didn't once miss having my crocheting or any such thing with me. Ridiculous as it sounds, that's pretty high praise from me. :P

So all in all, my first week immersed in Once Upon a Time have been nothing short of delightful!