Wednesday, August 17, 2005
book thirty-eight
(In case you're wondering: I heard about this LiveJournal meme - basically, read 50 books this year and blog about it.)
Kindred
by Octavia Butler
I had never read any of Octavia Butler's work, even though several people have mentioned her to me as a terrific science fiction writer. I ran across her name when I was doing some research on minority writers for my multicultural class, and even though I wasn't going to write a paper on her work, I went ahead and checked out one of her books anyway.
It was really good. The main character is a Black woman named Dana who finds herself travelling in time, back to the time of her slave ancestors and their white master. The master's son apparently has the ability to summon Dana for his own protection - she only appears in the past when his life is in danger. And Dana can only return to the present when her own life is threatened.
It's a powerful book, combining a novel sci-fi idea with an intimate look at slavery and race relations in the wake of it. I'm definitley going to look for more of her work.
Kindred
by Octavia Butler
I had never read any of Octavia Butler's work, even though several people have mentioned her to me as a terrific science fiction writer. I ran across her name when I was doing some research on minority writers for my multicultural class, and even though I wasn't going to write a paper on her work, I went ahead and checked out one of her books anyway.
It was really good. The main character is a Black woman named Dana who finds herself travelling in time, back to the time of her slave ancestors and their white master. The master's son apparently has the ability to summon Dana for his own protection - she only appears in the past when his life is in danger. And Dana can only return to the present when her own life is threatened.
It's a powerful book, combining a novel sci-fi idea with an intimate look at slavery and race relations in the wake of it. I'm definitley going to look for more of her work.
Labels: book reports, Octavia Butler, science fiction
Comments:
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I thought Kindred was one of Butler's weaker works -- you should definitely read one of the Xenogenesis trilogy.
Well hey, good to know. I really did like Kindred - so reading her better works sounds like a great idea.
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