Week 5: Akata Witch

So far, my favorite thing I have read for this class is Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Akata Witch. Something about the world and characters of this book really brought me back to the kind of literature I enjoyed in elementary and middle school. The protagonist, Sunny, is exactly the kind of character I would have looked up to when I was a kid her age. She is bold, courageous, and intelligent. Despite being thrust into a world of magic she doesn’t understand, Sunny is able to awaken her true power and find the spirit face that has always dwelled inside. Initially, she perceived her albinism as a disadvantage in her life. However, after the learning the ways of the Leopard People, Sunny discovers that it is this unique trait that determines her special set of juju abilities. I really liked this element of the book’s world, as it takes insecurities and turns them into strengths. Another example is the character Orlu, who derived his power from his dyslexia. I imagine this would make a lot of young readers wonder which trait of theirs would manifest as magical powers if they were a character in this story, and what area of magic would they specialize in. It might allow them to view their personal "disadvantages" in a different light.

While there is a relatively balanced mix of male and female characters in Akata Witch, it is the women who really shine. Chichi and Sunny form a unique friendship throughout the story that was very fun to watch develop. While things were initially tense between the two, it is Chichi who initially brings Sunny into the world of Leopard People. That is only the first of many instances of female characters helping each other out. Along the way, many adult characters are introduced as scholars and mentors, like Taiwo and Sugar Cream. These women possess great wisdom and power, as they are two of only four Leopard People in the area to reach the fourth level of juju ability. Each has an important lesson to offer. During the students’ visit to Taiwo, she teaches them the importance of treating all life with humanity and respect, even her giant pet bird. It is these positive messages and amazing world-building that made this a great read with so many interesting characters and dynamics. I am glad this class gave me to opportunity to experience the world of Akata Witch.

Week 4: Annihilation

     I was somewhat familiar with the world of Annihilation after having seen the movie in theaters a while back. However, reading the original novel by Jeff Vandermeer was a totally different experience. If I had to choose between the two, I would probably say I enjoyed the movie a bit more. This is definitely because of the visuals and the characterization. The movie characters have a lot more defined personalities than their book counterparts (who aren’t even assigned names). However, I do not intend this to be a criticism of the book. I can acknowledge that the movie’s choice was one to help the viewer feel more attached and comfortable with the characters. That choice served to make the film more appealing to a general audience. But the ambiguity of the book characters adds to the overall strange feeling of this story. Just like how the biologist does not need to find spiritual or deep meaning in the existence of the anomalies of area X, the readers are ultimately not given the satisfaction of “clear meaning” to nearly anything that occurs in the book.

     Something I really enjoyed about the book was the fascinating descriptions of area X. The way in which the tower and the living words are explained allowed me to envision it so clearly. Since we are experiencing area X through the eyes of the biologist, the elements were described in the detailed way, and with a sense of awe and scientific admiration. The memory about the biologist’s overgrown pool reminded me of my own childhood, where I had a very strong interest in science, animals, and the natural world. Despite the horror elements of Annihilation, I was able to get wrapped up in a feeling of discovery and excitement, which made reading this novel a fun and interesting experience.

Week 3: Kwaidan

Kwaidan is a collection of Japanese mythology and folklore assembled and retold by Lafcadio Hearn. Before reading, I had vague knowledge of many of the ghosts and creatures mentioned in this anthology. It was really interesting to actually read the original lore behind all of these characters. I had some misconceptions cleared up and also learned a lot of new stories that I had never heard of before. A common thread I noticed throughout a lot of the stories was a fascinating relationship between women and nature. In Oshidori, a duck appears in the form of a woman to the hunter who killed her mate, weeping over his death. In The Story of Aoyagi, a beautiful woman is revealed to actually be the soul of a tree. She perishes when her tree is cut down. When I began to read this story I had initially assumed that the woman’s unnatural beauty was an indication of some sort of evil trick, however the reveal of her true identity emphasized the Japanese acknowledgment of the unmatched beauty of nature itself. Finally, Yuki Onna, while not being the literal embodiment of an animal or plant, is a sort of representation of the cruelness of winter. Like many mysterious women in these stories, she is beautiful to behold. Descriptions of her white face and icy expression resemble how someone might describe a fresh snowscape. However, she uses her frozen breath to kill an old man while he sleeps in a shed during a snowstorm.  In this sense, she is a representation of winter; beautiful to behold, but ultimately deadly if you do not have protection from its coldness. 

Overall, the women in these tales are seldom what they initially seem to be. They are rarely the main character in a given story (with the exception of A Mirror and a Bell, and A Dead Secret). More often than not, these women are used to comment on man’s relationship with nature. In Japanese culture, nature is clearly something to be respected and preserved. The woman in Oshidori is used to humanize animals, and the intention of the story seems to be to make a hunter think twice before firing his bow at a living creature. Yuki Onna warns of the danger of the elements, and Aoyagi evokes a heavy grief over the cutting down of a tree. I am very glad I chose to read Kwaidan, because of what it reveals about Japanese fears and values regarding the natural world and our relationship with it.