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A review by cinabeena
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
3.0
I truly do like Octavia Butler as a writer and I will give anything vampire or vampire like a chance.
Before I get into the story, I have to say that this is an excellent book in the sense that it touches on a lot of reoccurring themes in Butlers writing. Ambiguous sexuality, prejudice, race relations, sexuality in a whole and it's connection to people. All rather poignant topics to add to a story. Why it didn't get the 5 stars is because of the story.
A young African American child found running out of the woods by Wright, a 20' something white male. Their introduction to each other is one of confusion on both parts and curiosity on other. He wants to know the "hows" about, how old are you, how did you get here, etc etc and she has no answers to provide him. On the trip to his home one thing that does become clear is that this young child he just picked up is no average child. The story of who Renee really is unfolds rather quickly.
We find out her real name (Shori), family and birth right (Vampire) almost instantly. As well as her true age (53) and what has happened to her and here lays the issues for me with this book. It all unraveled rather quickly. There seem to be more time spent detailing Shori's physical relationships which the intimacy that she shared with these people I found hard to imagine and grasp because although we were made aware of her numerical age physically she didn't grow up through out the book. So those moments for me were a bit strange.
I wanted to learn more about Shori's mothers and her life before everything got turned upside down for her. Call me greedy but I wanted more from the character, I wanted to feel closer to this woman who is stuck in a child's body. I guess in the end I wanted more of Shori, I wanted to see her physically age, I wanted more of her past revealed.
Call me a stickler but I hate leaving a book feeling that I held no connection to the character and that I want more and not more in the good way but more in the sense that I have voids that I needed filling. But I did enjoy this book because it was a great read, a nice weekend reader if you will.
It doesn't change my opinion of Octavia Butler any and I would recommend this book to a young adult to read.
Before I get into the story, I have to say that this is an excellent book in the sense that it touches on a lot of reoccurring themes in Butlers writing. Ambiguous sexuality, prejudice, race relations, sexuality in a whole and it's connection to people. All rather poignant topics to add to a story. Why it didn't get the 5 stars is because of the story.
A young African American child found running out of the woods by Wright, a 20' something white male. Their introduction to each other is one of confusion on both parts and curiosity on other. He wants to know the "hows" about, how old are you, how did you get here, etc etc and she has no answers to provide him. On the trip to his home one thing that does become clear is that this young child he just picked up is no average child. The story of who Renee really is unfolds rather quickly.
We find out her real name (Shori), family and birth right (Vampire) almost instantly. As well as her true age (53) and what has happened to her and here lays the issues for me with this book. It all unraveled rather quickly. There seem to be more time spent detailing Shori's physical relationships which the intimacy that she shared with these people I found hard to imagine and grasp because although we were made aware of her numerical age physically she didn't grow up through out the book. So those moments for me were a bit strange.
I wanted to learn more about Shori's mothers and her life before everything got turned upside down for her. Call me greedy but I wanted more from the character, I wanted to feel closer to this woman who is stuck in a child's body. I guess in the end I wanted more of Shori, I wanted to see her physically age, I wanted more of her past revealed.
Call me a stickler but I hate leaving a book feeling that I held no connection to the character and that I want more and not more in the good way but more in the sense that I have voids that I needed filling. But I did enjoy this book because it was a great read, a nice weekend reader if you will.
It doesn't change my opinion of Octavia Butler any and I would recommend this book to a young adult to read.