Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when, in the middle of her sister’s lavish Caribbean wedding, she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and, to add insult to injury, her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots.
By Else
When I was in the middle of my bachelor’s degree in literature (I am that much of a book nerd), I was always annoyed by how snobby literature studies and literature readers could be towards my favorite genres of science fiction and fantasy.
So when it came to writing a thesis, I knew from the start I wanted to write it about a science fiction or fantasy book. To me, the SFF genre has so much depth and can talk about certain subjects in a better, more metaphorical way than general fiction can.
This is why I chose to write my thesis about Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. I loved this book. Since writing my thesis, I may have deleted everything I know about it from my brain, but I still know I love it.
Cue an undetermined amount of time later, and I am working at the ABC when an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor shows up. I felt like I was morally obliged to take it home.
After reading the synopsis (yes, after I took it home, don’t judge me), I started developing the hypothesis that Nnedi Okorafor wrote this book specifically for me. And boy, did she ever write it specifically for me. She played right into my obsession with AI having feelings, my secret love affair with contemporary fiction, my intrigue for the publishing industry and, of course, my interest in Nigerian myth and culture.
This book is a story within a story, having two narrative voices. One follows Zelu, an aspiring author, and one follows a robot in a post-human world. The author Zelu doesn’t so much decide as feels an intense need to write a book about rusted robots when she is at an all-time low after being fired. Writing this book consumes her, even though she is not a science fiction reader herself. The book is a raving success and opens up a new world of fame and opportunities for Zelu. Her life changes completely.
The other story is about a robot on a mission to warn other robots about an impending threat. This robot is obsessed with stories, contemplates life and the (post-human) world and is stalling for all she’s worth.
