Sistah Samurai

To me this is a love letter to African-American and Japanese cultures and the literary version of their fusion that marries historical fiction and modernity — using champloo in the title is apt. There is an In Memoriam chapter at the end, which enlightened me to some things I didn't see while reading, and really solidified for me that this is a very special book.

In a world that is bleak and grim, everyone lives in fear of soul-eating demons, and the cost of protection is high. Our protagonist, Sistah Samurai, rocks an afro and her katana and wakizashi, Fuck-Around and Find-Out, and likes to eat in peace at her favorite ramen joint.

If any of the above sounds interesting to you, you like the animes Samurai Champloo or Afro Samurai, you like to read about characters haunted by guilt, or you like fight scenes, you'll absolutely want to check this out. If either plot or exploration of character relationships are critically important to you, you might be disappointed. I had a good time with it, I was entranced by the mash-ups and the world, and very curious about the story of the MC.