There are many great writers in the world, but every once in a while there is a writer who speaks to the soul, and Nnedi Okorafor is such a writer.
Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author of Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism for both children and adults.
I am an Africanfuturist and an Africanjujuist. Africanfuturism is a sub-category of science fiction, while Africanjujuism is a subcategory of fantasy that respectfully acknowledges the seamless blend of true existing African spiritualities and cosmologies with the imaginative.
Okorafor is an award-winning author and has been featured as a speaker for TED Talks.
Okorafor is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I find her work unique and refreshing. Her stories are entertaining and thought-provoking. My soul is moved every time I read one of her stories, and "Binti" is no exception.
Binti is a member of the Himba people and the first to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest university in the galaxy. She has a difficult decision to make, leaving her people or try to find her own identity. Binti has a skill in mathematics and uses these skills to find the code of life in everything.
"We Himba don't travel. We stay put. Our ancestral land is life; move away from it and you diminish. We even cover our bodies with it. Otjize is red land. Here in the launch port, most were Khoush and a few other non-Himba. Here, I was an outsider; I was outside."
Knowledge will cost Binti as she must travel a great distance for her education with those who do not appreciate her culture and customs. Horrible things happen on her way to Oomza, including an alien attack on the ship carrying students to the university. The aliens looked like jellyfish but were fierce warriors with a superior intellect. Oomza University committed horrible crimes against these aliens, and the aliens wanted retribution.
At the university, Binti encounters behaviors she never thought would be at a place of higher learning.
As an avid science fiction reader, I believe this book will appeal to almost everyone. The main character, Binti, has a love for everyone. She has morals that she will not abandon no matter how bad her situation gets, which causes her to struggle with who she is as a person.
Through Binti, we begin to understand prejudice and racism. Okorafor cleverly shows how people often ignore or don't even see how others are suffering or being mistreated. It is interesting to see how people who suffer prejudices often throw their own prejudice onto others. Binti is constantly struggling with prejudices toward others.
"Binti" is a short read, but two more books follow in the series. I learned from "Binti" to look at myself more closely in regard to how I view others. I highly recommend the series. The only thing I disliked about the trilogy is that it left me with a taste for more.
Brian D. Bray is an IT trainer at the Missouri River Regional Library.