Death of the Author

I'm in one of those places where I want to shout about what a miracle this book is, how people should read it, what we can experience and learn from it. But I also just want to quietly hand it over so each reader can have their own experience with it. I know my experience, but I don't know theirs. And I want their experience to be truly and completely their own.

This book is like the work of a remarkable tapestry-maker, bringing together fibres that seem so distinct from one another that the tapestry should be all clash and unease, but instead, under that tapestry-maker's hands it becomes a work in which each strand is essential.

Sorry if this is too metaphysical a review for you, but that's where Death of the Author took me. I encourage show more you to make your own journey through it. I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. show less

Zelu hit rock bottom when she was fired from her job as an adjunct professor, her literary novel was rejected yet again, and eventually she had to move back in with her parents, who have been extremely protective ever since the accident when she was twelve that made Zelu a paraplegic. But then, just for fun she starts writing a science fiction story, unlike anything she's ever tried, and it becomes a runaway best seller. Interspersed with Zelu's story is interviews with friends and family, and the robot story itself.

This was such a great read. Throughout the story, I thought I knew where certain things were going to go, what the title might mean...and then Okorafor upended my expectations time after time. The characters grapple with AI show more and the promise and fear of technology and definition of "humanity" in both storylines. Zelu is a great protagonist - she's prickly, makes mistakes, and I didn't always agree with her choices, but ultimately she does what she believes in despite the fears of her overprotective family. The AI story of the Humes and the NoBodies (or Ghosts) was compelling as well, and I enjoyed seeing how everything came together. show less

Death of The Author is thought-provoking. In reading, we first encounter the protagonist Zelu through the text of an interview with her sister. Zelu is a Nigerian woman born and raised in the United States. An accident at the age of twelve made her a paraplegic and she is now in her thirties. Zelu has a life of sorts but it’s messy and unpredictable. Zelu gets high. Zelu gets drunk. Zelu is not an easy person to get along with and her life is in something of a mess. We learn that Zelu has been fired from her teaching job and her publisher has rejected her most recently submitted manuscript.

But Zelu is unexpectedly lucky. She writes a novel entitled Rusted Robots which subsequently becomes a hit best seller. Events unfold from that. show more She is offered opportunities to overcome her disability and despite the risks, she adopts the new technology that will allow her to walk.

Being disabled in modern society makes one vulnerable. Others tend to make assumptions about the extent of one’s competence. Augmentation (via some kind of technology) is laudable because it enables the individual to circumvent existing constraints, overcome the vulnerability and participate more fully in the community. But should we impose limits to those technological augmentations? Should that be a purely personal medical decision or should one’s community have some kind of say in how a potentially risky form of augmentation is implemented? Do the same rules apply to the use of AI as to the use of prosthetics? Both allow us to overcome personal limitations. While it’s not immediately obvious to the reader, author Nnedi Okorafor is focused on exactly that question. Who gets to make the rules surrounding use of assistive tools? Who gets to impose restrictions on individual autonomy. show less

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor is the story of Zelu, her Nigerian family, and the bestselling book that she writes. And so much more.
Since Zulu is a paraplegic, her family has always both protected her and made her feel an outsider. She wants to be completely individual and independent, but she also needs help sometimes and is a product of her family, cultures, circumstances, history and dreams. When she writes a best-selling novel about the lives and motivations of robots—which we also get to read within the larger story—she has the opportunity to make a difference in her roles as child, sister, partner, author, woman, writer, celebrity but struggles with what she wants those roles to be and to mean.
I really loved this show more book! I empathized with Zelu trying to find her space and grow. She is not always a loveable character, but she is very real in all of her contradictions and combativeness. The family dynamics are depicted so clearly, and I enjoyed the insight into various tribal cultures and Nigerian diaspora. Even though this is largely a character-driven novel, the plot is well paced, exciting, with several unexpected situations. I even fell in love with a robot story, which I never thought that I could do. The social reflection from an individual and family level to more broadly involving communities and the world was very clever and well-integrated. There is something about this that makes me think of N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy despite the very different approaches.
Highly recommended. Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow for the digital ARC. show less

I loved this book. I was completely hooked by the time Hugo sends Zelu an email --that's when I started telling everyone I know about it. It's an exploration of...everything? Of storytelling, of identify, of disability, of technology, of artificial intelligence, of social media, of relationships, of family, of fame, of cancel culture and how it’s all smushed together in the life of this author and the book that brings her fame.

There’s so much to unpack, there's so much that I didn't expect. I can't wait to read it again. I was reminded of what I enjoyed about Yellowface (what is an author, how does publishing even work?). The first chapter with Zelu's sister describing her call to pick Zelu up reminded me of My Sister, the Serial show more Killer which takes place in Lagos and explores sisterhood (I've read it twice and it's on my list of books to revisit in audio). The robots, they reminded me of one of my favorite robot books: The Wild Robot (those wily independent robots). Then I was reminded of Mrs. March which is a weird little book about the wife of an author who finds herself (possibly) as a "disgusting" character in her husband's book.

I read Remote Control as an advance copy years ago and enjoyed it, but felt like I was missing something. Now that I've looked into it, I kind of was, because it's a prequel! I plan on reading more by Nnedi Okorafor sooner than later. show less

Read this book! What an EXPERIENCE it is! Get the hardcover, enjoy the glorious jacket design (and look under the jacket), mark every page that confuses you to return to when you finish because it is worth every second.
I'm not sure summary is helpful as nothing can do it justice, but I'll say I'm not a big sci-fi/fantasy reader, nor is the main character. So if you are - like me - more a lover of realistic fiction that tells deeply human stories, you will love this story of a complicated and brilliant woman who is at once intimidating, irritating and relatable. If you are a long lover of sci fi and afrofuturism, I also think you'll love this genre-bending book that in some ways seems to out-sci-fi all other sci fi. If you like boring show more books that don't make you question anything or stretch yourself, stay away from this one! show less

This is a semiautobiographical science fiction novel: the main character is clearly based on Nnedi Okorafor herself. She is someone who doesn't normally write science fiction, but after she's fired from her job as a creative writing adjunct, she writes a science fiction novel that becomes a major bestseller and a movie... but then struggles to write a second novel or deal with what success might be. A lot of the novel focuses on her family dynamics. The main sf elements is that she also has a physical disability; after the success of her book, she obtains access to an advanced mobility device, a set of artificial legs she can essentially control with her mind.

For the most part, it's fine. Nnedi Okorafor has never been a favorite of show more mine; I've largely given up on her work, as whatever she's doing just doesn't seem to work for me despite the widespread acclaim she gets. I liked the family dynamics. I've seen a lot of online complaints about those, but they rang totally true for me in all their messiness and complications. On the other hand, I thought the stuff about the main character's failure and success didn't always ring true. As someone who is an English professor myself... no one would ever fire an adjunct in the middle of the semester, no matter how many students complained about them! Getting someone to take over a class mid-semester is a huge pain; the only thing you would ever fire an adjunct for is sexual misconduct or just not showing up! On the flip side, do successful authors really get mobbed everywhere? They're not movie stars. (A lot of this felt like wish fulfillment, to be honest.)

What sank the book for me, though, are the excerpts from the main character's supposedly bestselling, highly acclaimed novel, Rusted Robots. I hated these. It takes a lot of confidence and skill to include a novel-within-a-novel and claim it's highly regarded... and while Okorafor might have the confidence, I didn't think she had the skill. The excerpts  were twee and obnoxious and I refuse to believe anything like this would ever become a bestselling highly regarded book. The whole book depends on you believing this! Unfortunately, in a world where Becky Chambers's Monk and Robot is apparently popular, perhaps it is plausible, but to be honest, I refuse to believe we live in that world either. show less