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Book Reviewed by:A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and "Speech Sounds," winner of the Hugo Award.
Appearing in print for the first time, "Amnesty" is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders. Also new to this collection is "The Book of Martha" which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability—and responsibility—to save humanity from itself?
Like all of Octavia Butler's best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature's strongest voices.
Bloodchild
My last night of childhood began with a visit home. T'Gatoi's sister had given us two sterile eggs. T'Gatoi gave one to my mother, brother, and sisters. She insisted that I eat the other one alone. It didn't matter. There was still enough to leave everyone feeling good. Almost everyone. My mother wouldn't take any. She sat, watching everyone drifting and dreaming without her. Most of the time she watched me.
I lay against T'Gatoi's long, velvet underside, sipping from my egg now and then, wondering why my mother denied herself such a harmless pleasure. Less of her hair would be gray if she indulged now and then. The eggs prolonged life, prolonged vigor. My father, who had never refused one in his life, had lived more than twice as long as he should have. And toward the end of his life, when he should have been slowing down, he had married my mother and fathered four children.
But my mother seemed content to age before she had to. I saw her turn away as several of T'Gatoi's ...
What are you reading this week? (6/26/025)
I just finished the most amazing set of short stories: Octavia Butler's https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/5024/bloodchild-and-other-stories Bloodchild and Other Stories . But it reminded me why I don't often read short stories - I always want more . I become super intereste...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? (6/19/025)
I'm just about done with Broken Country, and then it'll be Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler. I'll likely start Lolita after that. In audiobook, I'm finishing up The Chalk Artist by Allegra Goodman. It's my third book by this author, and I have to say I'm surprised at her range. I th...
-kim.kovacs
This collection is an excellent introduction to Butler's works, as it displays not only her range but her growth as an author...At the end of each story or essay, Butler provides her readers with an Afterword, sometimes explaining what she was trying to say ("'Bloodchild' is my pregnant man story") or what was going on in her life at the time ("'Speech Sounds' was conceived in weariness, depression, and sorrow")...One of the most engaging aspects of Butler's writing is that she leaves so much to the reader's imagination, particularly in her early works. Much of her storytelling involves people "in the moment"—they're contemplating or commenting on what they're seeing or experiencing as it happens...continued
Full Review
(827 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
.png "Books from authors inspired by Octavia Butler")
Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) is universally acknowledged as the first widely successful Black woman science fiction author, winning multiple awards for her short stories, novellas, and novels. Many other Black writers of speculative fiction have listed her as a major inspiration for their work.
N.K. Jemisin (b. 1972) is one of the most popular writers in science fiction and fantasy today. She became the first Black author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016 for The Fifth Season, which is set on a planet impacted by catastrophic climate change. The first entry in her Broken Earth series, it was followed by The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky. These subsequent works also won Hugo Awards for Best Novel, making Jemisin the ...
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In a world without white people, what does it mean to be black?
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home: but unlike charity, it should end there.
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