Maybe "Death of the Author" by Nnedi Okorafor *is* a fiction book, like my library's tagged it. There's definitely a ton of sci-fi in there, so if you want to get technical, yeah, it's sci-fi. For a good chunk of it, it felt like reading a story *inside* a story. Seriously, "Death of the Author" is unlike anything I've ever read or seen. I don't want to give away too much of the plot – I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for anyone picking it up next. So, I'm just going to stick to my overall f...

In a Nutshell: *Death of the Author* is an OwnVoices literary fiction with sci-fi elements, NOT science-fiction with literary elements. It’s a story within a story. There's interesting disability representation (but mild vibes of ableism), great character detailing (but mostly unlikeable characters), an unusual combination of futuristic elements with traditional family drama (but the two don’t blend well), and good use of Nigerian + American setting and immigrant experience (no buts here; this w...

True storytelling has always been one of the few great things humanity could produce that no automation could. Wow. It isn't often I'm without words, but Death of the Author has left me speechless and astounded.I don't even know how to talk about this book because it isn't like anything else I've ever read. I'm going to try to come at it from a few different angles, so bear with me as I get my thoughts and feelings untangled here.First, the genre. This is the perfect symbiosis of science fic...

If you're more into literary fiction, I'd definitely recommend giving "Death of the Author" a shot. But if you primarily read sci-fi, maybe not, unless you enjoy both genres! I absolutely loved Zelu; she was such a fun and interesting character to read from. I also enjoy family dramas in books, but as a sci-fi fan, I just felt like the sci-fi elements in Nnedi Okorafor's "Death of the Author" fell a little flat. There are excerpts from the book Zelu is writing included, and I understand why, but...

2.5 StarsSo, *Death of the Author* by Nnedi Okorafor is about Zelu, an author who blows up overnight thanks to a book about robots she wrote when she was in a seriously dark place. Of course, she gets all the accolades and cash, but because she's disabled and Nigerian, people still have to be awful to her. Because, naturally. Welcome to Earth, right?The biggest problem? Her family. Her immediate family, her extended family, the whole damn lot. Just pure toxicity. Her rich aunt and uncle in Niger...

What an absolutely incredible book! *Death of the Author* had its low points and weak portions, but in its entirety, it's a perfect science fiction novel. If you're looking for a great sci-fi book review, look no further!This book refuses to be put into a box, quite like its protagonist, Zelu, a paraplegic literary writing professor who is fired from her job and ends up writing a runaway science fiction novel, which is interspersed as part of this novel. Most of this novel is about the journey t...

Nnedi Okorafor's *Death of the Author* is a masterful novel that smashes genre boundaries and expectations, achieving an escape velocity that defies all literary conventions. Okorafor seamlessly weaves together three distinct narratives: the main storyline, a series of interviews about the main character, and a novel-within-the-novel. Each has a unique voice, most notably in the interviews, where the speech patterns and shared information of each interviewee build their own world. Yet, these nar...

3.5 stars. This leans more towards literary fiction than sci-fi, so definitely adjust your expectations accordingly. There was A LOT of family drama and trauma, which stopped me from rating this 4 stars or higher. The dual narrative, jumping between Zelu's life and Zelu's novel, was a bit confusing. Mostly because you don't get enough time to really sink into the sci-fi world Zelu created. The sci-fi story chapters were too short to fully immerse myself. Just as I started settling in for a cha...

I don't hand out five-star ratings easily, but honestly, *Death of the Author* is a straight-up five-star read for me. It's all about finding the beauty in humanity, the beauty in the world around us. It stares ugliness right in the face and tells it, "You're beautiful." I absolutely love how flawed and messy the characters are. There's something so incredibly human about this book. Nnedi Okorafor explores the line between humanity and automation, but at its heart, the story is just profoundly...

4.25⭐️

RTC (Review To Come)