Janina Edwards does a magnificent job, making simple narration a true performance and bringing such hardcore words, such horrific nightmares, to bright and vivid life. Is it worth it, and who is God anyway? Can we play God and not BE God, and does He have to laugh as you struggle with unintended and devastating consequences? Plus a final story of a middle-aged Black woman being challenged by God to make the hard choice-solve all humanity’s problems but lose your joy and delight in the bargain.
Plus two essays which Butler expounds were more difficult to write than fiction. And there’s one story I had to listen to twice because the Afterword cued me onto what I’d totally missed (Oblivious git that I am). Stories of the sweet side of incest, or genetic disorders run amok, of abduction and brutal testing done by an invading alien race-only to be released and treated more woefully by humans. Hiiiiiiighly dystopian, and infinitely brutal, it winds up being a story of hope amongst the ruins, as tho’ Butler couldn’t help herself, her own good nature shining through. Hence: “Speech Sounds” where a plague has descended, robbing humans of speech and morality. And she kept getting example after example, especially one testosterone-fueled duel on, of all places, the danged city bus.
Or how about the Afterword where she states that she’d just kinda sorta been bogged down in how crappy humans are. Butler (I ask her spirit as she’s no longer on the planet)? Since Butler can’t just write a plain ol’ story withOUT making it something that causes nightmares, she waxes foul about a man nearing the time of bearing, being split asunder as maggot-like creatures eat his flesh. Cricket, yikes! This is a blood and guts horror show where humans have been given refuge on a different planet where they’re welcome, yes, but they kiiiiiinda have to do this ooooone thing: Mostly males have to serve as vessels to bear children. Let’s start with the first story: “Bloodchild” which Butler posits is her Pregnant Man story. Her thoughts are candid and really quite simple. What I liked best about Bloodchild was that each short story came with an Afterword where Butler writes her thoughts regarding what inspired each story, what each really means, how each might’ve been misinterpreted. Infinitely intriguing Infinitely disturbing… AWESOME…!
0 kommentar(er)
