Maximum Occupancy

What do we have when it comes to stories about how fucked our earth is? There is a lot of great novels out there, but it may be hard to read or write fiction that reflects the reality we live in.

Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian America author who has captured the appeal and beauty of Africanfuturisim in her science fiction.

Noor is a novella that include elements of what it means to be human but from the Nigerian perspective. The future she envisioned for her characters is surreal, but also asks what happens if the African people were recognized for their scientific achievements and had bargaining power allowing them to retain the power and resources corporations would (usually) just take for themselves. While it may change things for the time being, I found the ending to fit within my viewpoints - in that the change is only slight, but would still be the same corporate and colonist structure (no matter the skin tone of those in charge).

The story focuses on two people within Nigerian society with the main point of view following a young woman by the name Anwuli Okwudili (or AO). She is shunned and treated differently since she made a choice to live on in spite of her disabilities and has to incorporate technology into her body functions in order to live. After defending herself and gong viral for it, she flees setting the plot into action.

The other perspective, that of a young herdsman by the name of DNA, whose tribe is being accused of environmental terrorism, collides with her story. Soon they are on the run together, as their country watches on wondering what these two minorities will do and what they will find.

Her writing is effective, entertaining, and is meant to stay with you. I am still thinking about the advances in technology and society, but also how things do not really change. When it comes to the science and backstory, you may be surprised to know that in just a few pages you will fully learn about the world this story is built on. The transfer of energy matches the unbelievable magic that people must have experienced when Einstein shared his theories or when Hedy Lamarr patented the technology later used in wi-fi. I think it is intentional, just like the names AO and DNA, or the symbolism of the Red Eye.

Another recent read that is more on the magical realist side of environmental fiction, The Man with the Compound eyes tells a similar subject but from a Taiwanese perspective. It incorporates indigenous islanders as one of the many perspectives to tell its cautionary tale and the science elements used within the plot could be pulled from recent headlines.

This novel still tells a story of society but with more emphasis on the interlocking elements (so more people), and how they are impacted by the aftereffects of colonialism, globalization, and the environmental damage of developed nations as a small island. It focuses more on two villages and the main characters, Alice Shih is a professor from Taiwan who is ready to commit suicide after the lost of her Danish husband and young son some time before. You learn more about this, see her taking the steps to give up, and find that when she is ready to take action that her small town is overtaken by a tsunami of trash.

The other main story line is of Atile’i, a young man from a fictional island of people who have yet avoided “outside world” contact. As you learn about their customs and philosophy, Atile’i leaves home and is adrift the trash vortex, bringing him into contact with Alice.

Some of the anecdotes used to give meaning, or offer an example of the changing world, are real. The trash vortex, increase of earthquakes and tsunami events, how animals are hunted and the different movements around it, and other similar scenes will be recognized and appreciated by science minded individuals for what it is trying to say.

I loved both stories, and have high expectations for their other works, but I have to admit that the level of anxiousness and gloom after reading both was kind of high. I believe that is the reason why others stay away from this type of novel, and is always my chief warning with these type of recommendations, the climate conversation is not a fun or optimistic topic. Still worth the time and read of course!