"I'm hard to categorize," says Nnedi Okorafor, international award-winning author. Judging by Okorafor's fourth and latest novel, Who Fears Death, that statement seems about right.
Described as "a dark, gritty magical realist novel," Who Fears Death is set in a post-nuclear holocaust future as genocide sweeps through a region of Africa. The story revolves around the protagonist Onyesonwu whose ancient name asks the question "Who fears death?"
If it sounds a little intense, it's because it is.
"I know it's difficult to read," Okorafor said. "It was a difficult story to write."
Writing the story was an especially hard time for her because her father, with whom she was very close, had passed away.
"The only way I could get through that time was through writing ... it just allowed me to pour all my rage, all my distress, all my sadness into it: writing got me through all that."
Though this is not Okorafor's only novel, it is her first venture into adult writing. Her debut novel was Zahrah the Windseeker in 2005 which won numerous awards. The Shadow Speaker came in 2007 and in 2009 she published Long Juju Man, a children's book that won the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa.
Though these stories are not works in a series, Okorafor maintains that all four books are related.
"Their worlds are connected," she says. "Everything I write is connected."
The most obvious associations are the setting and style. Her parents, both Nigerian, began taking her family on trips back to Nigeria from the United States when she was young. Now, Okorafor says Nigeria is her muse. Not only does she often place her stories there literally or figuratively, she also draws heavily from African folklore.
"There are also elements of traditional African literature," she says.
On the other hand, Okorafor also involves her personal worldview.
"I see the world as a magical place ... magical things are popping up [in my writing] because that's how I see the world. Magical realism has fantastical elements."
Add to that a deep respect for the imagination of Stephen King, whom she calls "one of Anansi's sons."
Nnedi OkoraforSchuler Books and Music |
Her influences collide in Who Fears Death, and the result is a post-apocalyptic tale written for mature readers.
"I'm attracted to post-apocalyptic literature ... and I'm still trying to figure out why," she said.
She has her theories, however, for why the genre has seen an increase in popularity in recent years.
"The whole idea of everything ending, the threat of running out of oil ... global warming: these things are always looming in the back of our minds. What would happen if it would all end? What happens after?"
Lest that sound too ominous, Okorafor assures that Who Fears Death "has dark and light. It's not all doom and gloom. I like to think it has an optimistic feel."
She is currently working on another young adult fantasy and has also finished a novella about aliens in Nigeria. At the intersection of her influences are stories written in a way that is uniquely hers.
"I tend to take from all these things and make my own," Okorafor says. "Categories have never been good for me."
