Sami Sundell reviewed Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Binti, #1)
Review of 'Binti' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Binti tells the story of a young Himba girl, a master harmonizer and creator of astrolabs, who gets accepted to Oomza University. Despite everyone advising against it, she decides to go to the university and becomes one of the few of her people to leave their desert home and Earth.
I liked the way the Himba culture is an integral part of a science fiction story. I can't really judge the accuracy of the description, but the idea is nice. Similarly, meditation by mathematics plays well into the sci-fi theme.
However, the actual plot is too straight-forward and the behavior of people just does not seem to match reality. The theme of acceptance and forgiveness is tainted by a heavy vibe of Stockholm's syndrome.
The Meduse kill dozens of people, one of them - Okwu - threatens to kill Binti multiple times, but at the drop of a hat it …
Binti tells the story of a young Himba girl, a master harmonizer and creator of astrolabs, who gets accepted to Oomza University. Despite everyone advising against it, she decides to go to the university and becomes one of the few of her people to leave their desert home and Earth.
I liked the way the Himba culture is an integral part of a science fiction story. I can't really judge the accuracy of the description, but the idea is nice. Similarly, meditation by mathematics plays well into the sci-fi theme.
However, the actual plot is too straight-forward and the behavior of people just does not seem to match reality. The theme of acceptance and forgiveness is tainted by a heavy vibe of Stockholm's syndrome.
The Meduse kill dozens of people, one of them - Okwu - threatens to kill Binti multiple times, but at the drop of a hat it becomes Binti's best friend? Despite the Meduse massacring future students, it's the professors that ask for forgiveness? And it's up to only them to decide how to react to the Meduse attacking a ship? The description of the Meduse seems very black and white: maniacal killers but full of honor, and the people seem to be fine with that.
Also, the idea of otjize - red clay and flower oils - having almost magical healing abilities for the Meduse seems a bit too fantastic and seems akin to alternative medicine. There's not even an inkling of a plausible scientific explanation for that, and the slightest possibility for creating one disappears when Binti makes more otjize that works just as well, even though it's on a different planet, from different kind of clay and different oils.
