Binti: Home

One advantage of discovering Nnedi Okorafor’s “Binti” late was that I didn’t have to wait long for the sequel. I fell in love with the character and the author’s writing style exactly suits me so I was delighted that the sequel came out soon after.Initially I was disappointed that more time wasn’t spent at Oomza Uni as Binti and the Medusa Okwu return to Binti’s home early in the book. In the original “Binti”, while clearly sci fi with the existence of aliens and space travel, the scenes of Binti’s home were far removed from that and set in a very old, traditional culture. However, like the original, Binti, her family and culture were just as fascinating as any alien world. At first it seemed that the story would be focused entirely on the culture and family but gradually and artfully developed into full-fledged sci fi with the background filling in.The story kept me enrapt but I did have one issue- a cliffhanger ending. I dislike those so much that it would normally ruin the book for me. But I enjoyed the story so much I have to forgive it :)

In this excellent sequel to Okorafor's novella "Binti", we follow the space-traveling math-whiz, Himba girl back to Earth. She's accompanied by the alien Meduse Okwu, and coming home turns out to be a whole lot more complicated than she thought...This is excellent and well-crafted science fiction that blends together mind-bending technology, space travel, aliens, mathematics, family, and a young girl growing up and trying to find her place in the world. Okorofor's prose moves the tale along swiftly and surely, and there are moments of beauty, as well - especially towards the end when Binti encounters some family members she didn't even know existed... The ending is a cliff-hanger that left me clamouring for more, and I can't wait to read the third and final installment of Binti's story.

There seems to be no better day than today, International Women's Day, to talk about an extraordinary piece of science fiction written by the brilliant Nnedi Okorafor, about belonging and identity from the perspective of a powerful young woman.You might recall that Binti was one of my two favorite works of science fiction of last year. It was evocative. Beautiful. Frightening. Most importantly, it was different. It managed to pack an incredible and vibrant world, a complex and compelling protagonist, and a spectacular plot into a fairly short piece of fiction. It told a story that could have easily fallen into the category of sci-fi tropes, but it avoided them by applying a unique voice and perspective through Binti, it’s main character.Binti: Home finds Binti after about a year at Oomza University. A year after she heroically (and accidentally, if I recall correctly) brokered peace between two warring planets. A year after she left home in the dead of night, against the wishes of her family and community, to study what is essentially mathemagics off-world. Binti’s experiences have changed her enormously—represented by a physical transformation: her dreaded hair has become like the tentacles of the jellyfish-like Meduse.The physical change is a vital piece of the story, not an on-the-nose metaphor for the internal changes in Binti. Much is made of physical appearances in Binti’s world, from the red clay she adorns herself with to the tribal intolerance she suffers at the hands of the upper class on Earth (and at Oomza U), and to the seemingly strange behaviors of the “desert people” that Binti’s tribe finds less-than-worthy of a seat at the table.As Binti is a story of perseverance and growth in the face of different types of adversity, Binti: Home is a story about shedding preconceived notions and inbuilt intolerances; about how experience inexorably changes us, and changes how the world sees us. The events of Binti were, for the most part, things that happened to Binti. In Binti: Home, she is confronted by the reality that despite her lack of agency or choice in most of the things that happened to her, she is blamed. She is mistrusted. She is made a pariah.The things that happen to us leave a mark. Sometimes, it’s subtle. Sometimes, it’s as dramatic as having tentacles for hair. Binti: Home explores the intersection between changing personal identity and changed external perception. It’s a fascinating, emotionally resonant exploration of an eminently relatable condition, couched within beautiful prose and a once-again spectacular plot.Nnedi Okorafor has once again left me deep in thought. While Binti: Home wasn’t as explosive a read for me as its predecessor, it was nevertheless a spectacular book. Nnedi Okorafor’s storytelling is masterful, and she has made a lifelong fan of me with Binti and Binti: Home. I eagerly await the next installment of Binti’s story.

Still as beautiful, and still too short!This novella is more about the culture, the home, the land; this is the girl who has been away and changed returning to a place that hasn’t changed, and how both she and it adapt. In Binti’s case, she’s also returning with her good friend – who happens to be a deadly enemy of one of her homeworld’s tribes, and terrifying and confusing to everyone else. The story is one of adaption and custom, of being a stranger in a familiar land, of family and home and belonging.There’s also the surprise that Binti has seen the Night Masquerade, a rare and unusual sighting – and that her family and tribe may contain secrets and surprises that she does not expect…Read the first one, read this one, and wait impatiently for the third!

Binti, changed physically and mentally by the events in the first book, returns home to confront her family and go on a traditional pilgrimage which she hopes will help her come to terms with what has happened. Of course, events don't go quite as planned.I enjoyed the first part of this trilogy very much, but I absolutely loved Binti Home.Here, it feels Nnedi Okorafor really gets into her stride. Once I picked the book up, I had to keep turning the pages until I reached the end.Don't be put off by the fact that this is a novella. It is fairly short and I found it easy to read, but at the same time it packs a real punch.Alongside the masterful storytelling, Nnedi Okorafor deftly introduces complex issues that will make you think but without falling into the trap of preaching or allowing the story to get bogged down.It's not flagged as a book for young adults but I think older teenagers especially might enjoy it, not only for the story but also because of the themes it explores. I have a feeling this is a book that could grow with you, one of those you'll want to keep and go back to over the years.The writing itself is a delight. There were some observations on human behaviour that had me chuckling and a few surprises in the story that I didn't see coming at all.Binti is a sympathetic and completely believable heroine. When she cries it's messy, when she is traumatised, she doesn't just bounce back one page later as if nothing happened. Her struggle to make sense of events and to form her own identity, while at the same time finding her place in her family and her society as a whole, is something I think readers of any age will relate to.The book does end on a cliff-hanger rather than wrapping everything up neatly, but I don't see this as a problem. Since it's the second part of a trilogy, I wouldn't expect it to stand alone.You don't need to read Binti in order to understand what happens in this book, but I would suggest you do, it's well worth it.Eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

On the one hand this is a welcome continuation of the story, culture and characters introduced in Binti, but I felt short changed by it being only the start of the story, presumably intended to draw me into buying it as a serial or part work, an unwelcome development in online publishing to my mind. It barely gets going before it ends , not such on a cliffhanger as a 'please buy next part' . But still a genuinely fresh voice in Sc-Fi

There is more depth here than the original novella but I am beginning to think these three novella's would make an excellent full novel if properly fleshed out. As a novella, this is better than the last but still seems lacking. It's almost as though the author has taken the easy route rather than really putting the effort and dedication in.

Having enjoyed the hell out of the first in this series, I was looking forward to checking out Binti: Home. Nnedi Okorafor's writing remains both definitive and engaging here, her characterisation on point. Home proved a lot shower a read for me than the first in the series, however, losing much of its tension and suspense in favour of becoming a more intense character study of Binti herself. For me, it was more of a literary work and less of the genre thriller that I found the first in the series to be.Still a good book, of course, and well worth your time. But if you're new to the series, I would definitely advise checking out the first book before reading this.