This story consists of 13 or so individual tales woven together as a set of subversive stories for a robot to remember her creator by. Some of them are retellings of classic fairy tales, some are original, all kind of bump along as well told stories with complicated morals--not much like the original fairy tales at all, as the narrator points out. It hangs together as a plot but really the point is those individual tales with their unique path and uncertain resolutions. Entertaining to read and appreciate.
Showing posts with label Sofia Samatar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sofia Samatar. Show all posts
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Saturday, December 20, 2014
A Stranger in Olondria, by Sofia Samatar
A Stranger in Olondria was nominated for both a Nebula and a World Fantasy Award this year. And in this case it's easier to understand why. This is a writer's book, interesting but essentially introspective in style. The protagonist, Jevik, is a fascinating character, a young man itching to go to the Big City and see the culture for himself--he had been exposed to it by a tutor brought to his remote island by an equally remote father. He throws himself into the scene and pays the price innocents often pay--he loses that innocence and goes on a journey of discovery.
That journey is driven by the ghost of Jissavet, a girl dying of a wasting disease thought to be a spiritual sickness. She is at the end of her life, but manages to convey her bright, disdainful personality when they meet briefly on his chartered ship. How she comes to haunt him is a long story best read in the book.
There is one parallel to the last book I read, A Natural History of Dragons--the world is made up whole. But the sensibility feels somewhat South Asian (though Samatar herself is from South Sudan), so the tropes are less familiar. And Samatar writes from a very foreign point of view within this space. This is interesting but in the end becomes a critique--my mind grew tired trying to wrap itself around metaphors like "her eyes were as one who had come from the country of herons". ??? They almost work, you strain to make the connection, but in the end are quite unsure.
Samatar also gives a nod to writers by portraying the role of books in this world as heady, absorbing, dangerous things. Dwelling on the danger more than the fascination, though not in such a way as to imply that they should be censored. In this context Jevik is of course very much a bookworm.
A very interesting achievement in this book is an extended portrayal of Jissavet as a haughty, unkind person yet one worth working to get to know. Jevik certainly thinks so, even in death.
The book did not continuously hold my interest, it gets a bit carried away with writing and settings. The plot gets slightly obscured in those difficult metaphors. But it certainly gave me some mental exercise, and I felt like my boundaries of what I could read were stretched. I give it three stars for style.
That journey is driven by the ghost of Jissavet, a girl dying of a wasting disease thought to be a spiritual sickness. She is at the end of her life, but manages to convey her bright, disdainful personality when they meet briefly on his chartered ship. How she comes to haunt him is a long story best read in the book.
There is one parallel to the last book I read, A Natural History of Dragons--the world is made up whole. But the sensibility feels somewhat South Asian (though Samatar herself is from South Sudan), so the tropes are less familiar. And Samatar writes from a very foreign point of view within this space. This is interesting but in the end becomes a critique--my mind grew tired trying to wrap itself around metaphors like "her eyes were as one who had come from the country of herons". ??? They almost work, you strain to make the connection, but in the end are quite unsure.
Samatar also gives a nod to writers by portraying the role of books in this world as heady, absorbing, dangerous things. Dwelling on the danger more than the fascination, though not in such a way as to imply that they should be censored. In this context Jevik is of course very much a bookworm.
A very interesting achievement in this book is an extended portrayal of Jissavet as a haughty, unkind person yet one worth working to get to know. Jevik certainly thinks so, even in death.
The book did not continuously hold my interest, it gets a bit carried away with writing and settings. The plot gets slightly obscured in those difficult metaphors. But it certainly gave me some mental exercise, and I felt like my boundaries of what I could read were stretched. I give it three stars for style.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Selkie Stories are for Losers, by Sofia Samatar
This is an appealing little story, mostly because it's told a little off balance. You have to hang on and use lots of riding (reading) skill to stay on.
Selkie Stories are for Losers starts out with why our protagonist hates selkie stories. You can figure pretty quickly that it has to do with being abandoned by one. From there we get a nice bit of biography told in that off-balance way. It's fun, you can see why it got both a Hugo and Nebula nomination. I give it three stars for execution.
Selkie Stories are for Losers starts out with why our protagonist hates selkie stories. You can figure pretty quickly that it has to do with being abandoned by one. From there we get a nice bit of biography told in that off-balance way. It's fun, you can see why it got both a Hugo and Nebula nomination. I give it three stars for execution.
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