Binti
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Incredible. Binti is a collection of 3 plot-advancing short stories and one ‘interlude’. Each was published individually, but I'm so glad I held off to read the whole set at once. I don't think I could have handled the suspense! Okorafor does a wonderful job balancing a futuristic sci-fi adventure with the vivid integration of Himba (a Namibian tribe) culture to create one of the most incredible universes I've seen in a short story.
If you read anything about Okorafor’s work, she is always very clear - her works are African Futurism or African Jujuism (Akata Witch series), and now that I’ve discovered these sci-fi and fantasy subsets I can’t get enough. I read a LOT of scifi/fantasy so I can usually broadly predict where a story is going and how it will end. I failed on every count in Binti and I've never been so pleased. It’s satisfying without being predictable, and even the brief side characters have clear motivations.
I also really appreciated Binti's ongoing internal conflict about how to handle her cultural traditions after she leaves home. All too often cultural pieces will be heavily emphasized at first then just kind of fade away in a story, or a character will throw off the 'backward/oppressive/whatever' traditions to show how enlightened they are now that they’re out of the small corner of the world they were raised. Binti instead takes the time to really look at the traditions she's followed her entire life, slowly deciding which she wants to push back against and which she wants to carry forward even if those around her find them strange.
Best paired with a mug of your favorite tea and the cookies your grandma taught you how to make but you almost never do because they take forever and you end up feeling slightly guilty that you haven’t called your family recently enough
