Description
Book Synopsis This work is the first book-length scholarly treatment of Nnedi Okorafor''s critically acclaimed fiction. Written for an audience that includes serious fans as well as scholars, it is an introduction to Okorafor''s work and major influences. The scope of the text is ambitious, featuring detailed analyses of her novels, short story collection, memoir, comics and graphic novel.
Particular emphasis is given to Okorafor''s most enduring themes, which include healthy young adult development and decision making, the interweaving of fantasy and science fiction, flight as a unifying force and the use of innovative biotechnology in ecological utopian communities. Influences examined include feminism, Afrofuturist and Africanfuturist movements and African mythology. Chapters also detail Okorafor''s examinations of colonialism and corporate neocolonialism in Africa and Africa''s potential to become a major world power.
Trade ReviewThis is the most developed and comprehensive scholarship on Okorafor to date. A touchstone for future Okorafor scholarship."—Sharon DeGraw, associate professor in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science at Michigan State University
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction to Reading Okorafor
- 1. Exploring the Empire of Girls' Moral Development
- 2. Watching Windseekers: Wonder, Anger, Intimacy, Independence and Transformation
- 3. Mythology and Sacrifice in Who Fears Death
- 4. The Book of Phoenix, Motherless Monsters and the Morality of Abomination
- 5. Tomorrow Is Now: An Evolution of Young Women's Rights, Trauma and Resilience
- 6. Magic, Masquerades and Morality
- 7. Degrowth in the Anthropocene Worlds of Le Guin and Okorafor
- 8. Black to Okorafor: Entering the Intersection of Afrofuturism, Comics and the Women's Movement
- 9. Conclusions About Morality, Technology, Magic and the Lessons of History
- Appendix: Motherlessness, Anger, Agency and Inspiration in the Life of Mary Shelley
- Chapter Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
