Remote Control

Interesting, but found I got lost in the timeline of the story quite often.

I really wanted to enjoy Remote Control a lot more than I did. It was well written and initially the character of Fatima, aka Sankofa, aka “adopted daughter of the Angel of Death” was really interesting. I wanted to know more about them.

If I'm honest though, I completely lost track of the timeline, I think half way through the book I jumped around in time and I wasn't sure if the story was being told from the past or the present and it left me a little confused as to where the character was up to.

It was also strange (to me certainly) that Sankofa's family could be killed and they live in their mother's home whilst the mother's body is rotting (maggot detail to boot) - and yet this doesn't phase Sankofa - or at least it didn't come across to me.

Still, as I said, the story was well written and though I couldn't entire emphasis with the character, Sankofa is an interesting character all the same - even if I'm left wanting to know a lot more about them. (and like, what was the deal with the fox??!)

Remote control takes you on a journey of Sankofa, a lonely little girl as she chances down the strange alien “seed” that gave her the abilities she is slowly learning to control. She has taken on two nicknames during her travels, “Remote Control” for her effects on technology and the Adopted Daughter of Death. The Western influences mixing with Muslim and traditional cultures melding together within Ghana were interesting and highlights Afrofutureism well. This story was fantastically written and was my introduction to Nnedi Okorafor's work. I was made an instant fan.

The story was great. So many things happened and changed in such a small number of pages. Not only Sankofa got character development but many other and even Movenpick did. I am very confused about the ending and wish it was more clarified what she did. But I am going to interpret it as she destroyed all the seeds. I would rather have it be more explained though. I am not a fan of open endings.

Remote Control by Hugo Award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor is a timeless story. This story's narrative is at home in a world of dust and mosquitoes of rural communities of Ghana or at home in a big city with cars and mobile phones. It is told in parts like a fable complete with a companion fox. Other times, the stories' fable-Esque tones are intruded upon by very current problems like being snatched off the road or getting hit by a truck. In both types of storytelling, Sankofa is the same. A girl out of time and adopted daughter of death. She has too much power and not enough experience using it. Thankfully Okorafor never brings the narrative down by finding comedy in Sankofa's mistakes. There is no pratfall type of jokes here. Instead, the story has a level of sophistication, once Fatima, now Sankofa's journey is reclaiming a gift given to her by the stars and using the power given to her by someone or something wisely. But most of all, the seed is hers, and it is wise to stay out of her way.

The story starts two-fold. In chapter one, we are introduced to a woman named Sankofa; a pure red fox follows her. She is dusty; her leather sandals slap the road. You get the impression that Sankofa has walked many streets, kicked up a lot of dust. The animals in the trees take no notice of her as she strolls. She is fourteen years old, but she is far wiser than her years.

A young man is leaning against a tree smoking a cigarette at the site of Sankofa. “Sankofa is coming! Sankofa is coming!” There are terror and urgency in his speech. People peak out of windows and out of doorways. People yell, “Beware!” The only question I have at this point is, “who is Sankofa? and “How is a fourteen-year-old engendering so much fear for these people?” Because you are terrified of this little girl walking down the street, but you don't know why. Such is the beauty and strength in Nnedi Okorofor's writing. In two pages, she effortlessly had me feeling terror and dread at who this little girl is. Yet, in none of the text, is there anything that portrays that idea. She is just a girl, isn't she?

The people of the town bustle about her; Sankofa looks around and finds the wealthiest looking home, walks up, and knocks on the door.
“She lifted her chin, raised a small fist and knocked on the gate's door. “Excuse me, I would like to come in,” she called in Twi. She wasn't sure how far she'd come. Better to stick to the language most understood. Then she thought better of it and switched to English. “Gateman, I have come to call on the family that lives here.” When there was no response, she turned the knob. As expected, it was unlocked ...Then he turned and spat to the side, making no move to escort her to the house. “Thank you, sir,” Sankofa said, walking”

A stunned family greets Sankofa. “I would also like a change of clothes,” Sankofa said. “I have been wearing these garments for a week.” The woman smiled gratefully and nodded. Sankofa guessed the woman was about ten years her senior, maybe even fifteen. “Something like what you are wearing now?” the woman asked. Sankofa grinned at this. “Yes, if possible,” she said. “I like to wear our people's style.” The woman seemed to relax. “I know. We all know.” “My name is known here?” Sankofa asked, the answer being obvious.”

This girl is known and feared. Enough so that she can walk into a stranger's house and eat food and be dressed in prepared clothing if she deigned to stop by. At this point in the story, you are grabbed and reigned in. You want to know more about Sankofa. Who is she? Why does she have this immense power? And what is she searching for? And, through Okorafor's beautiful gift in storytelling, we are given answers, some we might not have been prepared for. But answers none the less.

Then the story reverts back to the very beginning, to Fatima. To how all this happened and how Fatima became Sankofa. We journey with this young girl of seven and watch her age in both years and wisdom until the two narratives collide and Sankofa is 14.

Okorafor's is a master of the shorter novella style story. She creates a tight and crisp dialog and ideas that are full of descriptions so accurate you can smell the dust in the air. There are no wasted words or ideas; everything she writes is purposeful. And, just like her Binti stories, the dialect and prose flow like water or fall like rain. You are these characters. In the case of Sankofa, you are immersed in her and why she feels the fear of the unknown. You are in her when she feels gratitude to the townsfolk, and most importantly, you are in her as she feels rage at anyone who stands in her way.

It is a beautifully written burst of a story. It is full of so much joy, love, and power, and by the end of it, there is some resolution, although it might not be what you would think.

Nnedi Okorafor is the queen of Afrofuturistic fiction. Binti is a work of art and one of my favorite series I have read in the last few years. Also, her short story Hello Moto, and the comic Shuri. You cannot go wrong by picking up all her work and binging it, Remote Contol included.

Check out Remote Contol so that you can love it as much as I did.

For being classified as a novella on Goodreads, the story was long enough and the detailing of the main character and human interactions was deep. I enjoyed this and will look for more from the author.

The only issue I had is with the title. Although the term is referenced a couple times, it never seemed to apply to the main character or the storyline.

Remote Control is a Africanjujuism (LOVE IT) that reads more like African Folklore and I AM HERE FOR IT.

I legit do not know what I was expecting going into this read. I do not think I was expecting anything, but what I found was a wonderful world full of wonder and mystery in the familiarity. First, it took me an entirely long time to read this book. Why? Because I am a chicken shit. That is why, that simple. A lot of what was happening was scary. Most of my chickenism comes from the fact that I genuinely think things like this are possible. I am not getting into why, I just think all things are possible, y ya!

Character development and plot development in its simplicity are thoroughly complete. Sankofa, the adopted daughter of death, happened upon extraordinary powers which complicated her world as she tried to understand it and control it. Truthfully, the story was heartbreaking. Sankofa was just a child when the story started and even though she was a bit older by the end of it, you could not help but feel as if she was still just a child. Your heart ached for her to just be and find peace, love, and normalcy (whatever that might mean). Nnedi Okorafor touches on many different aspects of society and challenges our definition of humanity while calling out the hypocrisy that humans often partake in.

As someone who is always searching for home, this story, the characters, the lyrical and mystical writing gave me a bit of that and left me longing for more.

I hope that this is going to end up being a novella cycle (like [b:Binti: The Complete Trilogy 40382407 Binti The Complete Trilogy Nnedi Okorafor https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535553295l/40382407.SY75.jpg 62682909]), because I kind of felt like it ended just when I was getting into it. It's a cool premise and worldbuilding but it left me wanting more! Which is a good thing except....I want more!

The premise of this story excited me so much I've been waiting to read this for a while! I loved Sankofa's characterisation and her development through the story, I felt so much love and empathy for her and found myself really invested in her journey. The writing was so good and I found the plot to be so interesting! although I was disappointed by such an open ending and not getting any answers, I had more appreciation for the overall story so I'm not too fussed about it but would love to read more of Sankofa's story

Summary: A girl finds herself with powers she did not ask for, without a name or a family.

Remote Control is the seventh book I have read by Nnedi Okorafor, but the first in the last four years. I continue to like this length of book, a long novella or a short novel. The print copy is 160 pages or just over 4 hours in audiobook. That length has enough time for real character development but tends to have a simpler plot structure and less fluff. Don't get me wrong, I like a good long novel at times, but not every novel needs to be 350-450 pages.

Remote Control was written in 2020, and I think it reflects that time. It is a dark novel. Many of Okorafor's novels have dark premises or realities to them. She Who Fears Death is a post-apocalyptic novel about a girl born after a violent rape. Binti is about an African Teen on her way to college on another planet and who witnesses everyone on the ship she is traveling on slaughtered before negotiating a peace. The Akata series is more for young adults and not quite as heavy, but it still deals with some difficult topics.

Remote Control opens with the protagonist, Sankofa, acting as a grim reaper type of character before going back and giving some back story and then moving forward with the rest of the story. This is a near-future sci-fi story. It is very much rooted in Africa, in this case set in Ghana.

I do not want to give away detail, or deter you from reading, but this is a story that is tragic. A young girl's entire family and village are destroyed. In her innocence and youth, she blames herself. She is left to care for herself and manages to do so.

I suspect that the power is intended to have greater meaning than simply a stand-in for trauma. But I do think it can be read that way. As a child, the world happens around her, and she can only respond. As the story goes on, that response that she has developed to protect her can harm others. She does not want to harm others, but sometimes she is pushed too far, and sometimes nothing else can be done but protect herself.

There is not a nice little bow at the end. But if this was written as a metaphor for trauma, that is accurate to the reality of it.

I have not loved the narrators of some of Okorafor's other novels, but I did like the narration and production of this one. It felt like an authentic accent without being faked. And it had a good sense of the emotion and development of the story from child to teen. 

This review was originally published on my blog at https://bookwi.se/remote-control/

What a surprising novella. Based on the cover I thought it was going to be set in space (I thought the cover art was of stars, it is not) and the title techie, but it was not either. It was just a really good story about something weird that happens to a little girl and all that happens after. Excellent storytelling and audiobook, it has stuck with me after listening.