#61: I'll Show You The Way
A Review of Nnedi Okorafor's Black Pages
In Black Pages, Issaka returns home to Timbouctou to find it upturned by terrorists in a war against ancient books. The streets are empty but he’s lucky to find a bus to take him home.
It is the second of six books in Black Stars Collection, a multi-dimensional collection of speculative short stories by Black authors published in 2021.
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“May your ancestors punish you! May Allah punish you!” a man shouted hoarsely from outside. He laughed hysterically and pointed. “You fail! You fail! See the police? They are already here. May pigs fuck your little sisters. May dogs… Bang!”
When a library is set ablaze, a blue-beaded spirit trapped in a book is freed. She was freed when the book burned along with others in the library. In search of a new home, she lands in Issaka’s iPad.
At home, Issaka meets his father talking to some elders about the ancient books and the terrorist attacks in their city. After greeting his parents, Issaka retreats to his old room, where he finds some of the books. The men outside had carted the books away from the library bit by bit.
When Issaka opens his iPad, he is surprised to find the battery full. He also has a new lock screen and there’s a new app icon on his home screen. Strangely, there is full internet connection and service, despite the terrorist group having cut the phone and internet connection.
Issaka's father asks him to take the books back with him to keep them safe from the terrorists but the group shows up at the house. Morphing into a physical form, Faro helps him escape, leads him to safety, and shows him how to read the book of black pages she escaped from, where he learns about their shared history.
The story explores themes of cultural heritage, ancestral wisdom, and the clash between mysticism and fundamentalism. At thirty pages, it makes for a nice evening read, like the other books in the collection.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? 😊
#59: One Story, Different Versions
The Museum is a short story about Shadia, a Sudanese woman studying in Scotland, and Bryan, a Scottish man who becomes interested in her. It was first published in 1999 and won the first Caine Prize for African Writing in 2000. It was later published as part of Elsewhere, Home published in 2018.