This is the book review of Nnedi Okorafor’s latest sci-fi book, Remote Control. With this simple yet questioning name, she brings to us a lot more than what is visible at the first glance. Read this book review to understand how she combines science and nature to bring out the instincts and actions of humanity.
Book – Remote Control
Author – Nnedi Okorafor
Pages – 100 pages
Publisher – Tordotcom
My Ratings – 3.5 out of 5 stars
How did I come across this book?
I came across this book from the Goodreads list of nominated science fiction books for 2021. The plot sounded intriguing and so I decided to give this a chance.
Summary and the Book Review
Sankofa is a legend and wherever she goes people fall in her fear. Those who try to fight or hurt her fall down in death. But she was not a legend from the beginning; she was a child with love towards nature and her family. She was known with another name but one day she found a seed, gifted to her by the Shea tree, and that changed her whole life.
This book has been told in a third-person viewpoint but mostly retains the child’s viewpoint of the world and the events around her. Sankofa finds her unable to use any electronic equipment due to the power of the seed that now resides within her. She is confused and scared of her powers which become the reason for the death of her parents. This is why she is seeking the stolen seed, the seed which the Shea tree has given to her, the seed that everyone wanted to take away from her. In her quest to find the seed, she takes us through several towns and then we see the small developments of science which are awe-inspiring but in front of Sankofa’s power fail to work. Sankofa is a representation of past and present and science and nature.
The lonely quest of the seed tires her out and she decides to leave that quest. She turned in the opposite direction of turning towards Robotown which is filled with amusing inventions and equipment. It has Jelly Tellies, which stretch and act as television, some of them surrounding the viewers and giving the feel of actually being in the movie. The main focus of the town is the Robocop that manages the city traffic.
The town traffic is all, managed by the single Robocop. The Robot manages the traffic as well as other cop activities using its flying drones. It can gather your whole life history just by scanning a single tag of identification upon you i.e. your phone, your ID card, your name tag, your office ID card, or anything that even vaguely gives an idea about the identification of the person. It was made up of metal looking as a huge humanoid of metal that guided and managed the town. Also, it was solar paneled and had short antennae on its head which was used to contact the drones. It was supposed to be an artificial intelligence that used the internet and technology to contact pedestrians and guide them.
The Robocop amuses Sankofa and seemed amused by her as well. Both of them are different from other human being that surround them, their life objectives different yet somehow coinciding with each other. It brings about interesting turn of events in Sankofa’s life at Robotown.
Importance of the Name ‘Sankofa’
Sankofa is a word in the Akan Twi and Fante language of Ghana that translates to ‘retrieve’ and also refers to the Bono Adinkra symbol represented either with a stylized heart shape or by a bird with its head turned backward while its feet facing forwards carrying a precious egg in its mouth. Sankofa symbolizes the Akan people’s quest for knowledge among the Akan with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination and intelligent and patient investigation. (Source – Internet)
This spirit of going back and getting it has been represented by our character too. She strives to attain that oblong moon-shaped seed that has somehow granted her the powers she possesses. Her quest towards seed is not just for the material possession of hat mystical object but also for the knowledge that is contained within that seed. The knowledge about her present condition and her powers that have turned into a curse for her is also there.
Writing style and Plot of the story
It is written in third person narrative with the child’s perspective being the focus of the narrative. The author explores the events as they unfurled, using the thoughts of the protagonist as the disguise to peer back into her past. The events are explained in a hurry, the story being slow and fast-paced at the same time. There is a very little description and details about the passing of time, and it feels like passing in a blur. The protagonist is like a blip that is jumping through the world, suddenly she is here and suddenly she is somewhere else, the narrative too jumps throughout the plot.
This is a loosely constructed novel with a lot of themes and relevant messages packed within it. With every jump and peek into the story, we can see the juggling of the thoughts; similar to the green power that runs through the protagonist. The ending is ambiguous with a hint towards the reason for her powers which cannot be testified. If not for the ease of writing, it would have been a difficult task to finish this novel.
Themes and Messages
This book contains the message of nature and the environment and the changes brought about by the capitalist economy. Alongside this, it also explores the pain of loneliness, solitude, and lack of belongingness. The special powers that Sankofa has might sound alluring to people but the same power has destroyed her life, her family, her dreams, and many other people along with her. She wants to be freed of that curse so that she could lead a normal life. Even now, when she me a person with whom she felt relatability, she couldn’t keep that bond for long.
Through this book, the author has briefly touched upon the cultural aspects of the people of Ghana, especially with the details about the attire of the protagonist. During the description of Sankofa’s childhood, the author has tried to elaborate it further to the readers. The technological advance by a particular multinational company has also foreshadowed the impact these huge industries are having upon several cultures. In the end, Sankofa returns to her home and finds everything changed except her home, which was left in rambles as if on the decline. This image arouses the feeling of lack, abandonment, and destruction of the homeland despite the development visible all around.
Conclusion of the Book Review
This is a very confusing book to present my thoughts about in this book review. On one hand, I liked the ideas that were presented in the story such humanity, lack of belongingness, loneliness, continuous journey, cultural representation, climate changes, symbols and motifs, the name of the protagonist, and many more small but impactful things). On the other hand, I found the narrative a bit loose and confusing. The threads of the story didn’t end up in a knot, instead, they continued from one story to another in a spiral and then came to the beginning with a slight difference. It is a spiral that curls inwards while expanding outward.
I will recommend this to people who want to read something different and chaotic. It is a short read and can be something that will give you food for thought.
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