Ginny Frost
Kindred by
Octavia E. Butler fulfilled the category “An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction
and fantasy) Book” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. I also read Under
the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. Both books were wonderful, but when I
think of #OwnVoices, I steer toward people of color rather than LGBTQ. So, I’ll
use both, as I do.
Not to throw
another time-travel book at you, but Kindred is a time-travel novel.
Sorry. But it’s a great one. In this story, Dana is drawn into the past by her
ancestor. She moves through time from 1976 to antebellum Maryland. Did I
mention the woman is black, landing in the South, and her ancestor is the white
slave owner who fathered her great-great (many greats) grandmother? Talk about
conflict.
Rufus, the son of
a slave owner, has the ability to pull Dana back through time when he’s in
trouble. It begins when he almost drowns at age 4. She saves him but remains
stuck in the early 1800s. She can only go back to her time when she’s in mortal
danger. Once she returns, she never gets much time at home before Rufus calls
her again. Time has passed for him, usually in years, but it’s only minutes for
Dana. Each time, she must save him or risk her entire family’s existence.
The novel held
many themes about race, socioeconomic status, even feminism. I could write a dissertation
on the novel and not get to all of it. Needless to say, race and race relations
were prominent in the book. Rufus, though young and friendly with Dana, learns
more from his father’s attitude about how to treat slaves and free blacks. His entire
relationship with Alice, the great-great-etc. grandmother is disturbing. He
wants her when she is a free woman and can’t understand why he can’t have her.
He takes her any way he can. It’s disgusting. Even as a free woman, she has no
rights because of her color and sex. His “I want it, so it’s mine” mindset can
still be seen today. How far have we come? Only inches.
I also had a hard
time with Dana’s acceptance of her situation. She took the time-travel well. She
was a writer and must have a great imagination, but it never seemed to confound
her. The other thing—and I believe this was a point by Ms. Butler—was Dana’s consent
for her position as a slave. She did it to survive, but she never really fought
back. It was surreal to think a modern woman would submit. Her relationship
with Rufus was complicated, at best. She cared for him, but also knew the monster
that he truly was. Heavy stuff!
Under the
Whispering Door by TJ Klune is a tale of love, loss, and LGBTQ. I had the
book for the “Afterlife” and “Found Family” prompts and wasn’t sure where to
put it. It’s the story of finding your life after you’ve died. In life, Wallace
was not a nice person. He is driven to succeed in business and has few
interpersonal skills. At his funeral, he is ferried to a purgatorial place, a
tea shop. There he works and learns about life, death, and most of all, love.
It’s a story of redemption, hard work, and learning to open your heart. It’s super
sweet where you can route for the good guy even before he’s a “good” guy.
Once again, I’m giving
you a double shot. I over-read for this year’s challenge. As it’s already
September, I want to share all the lovely books I read.
I give Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler Five Papers Declaring their Freedom.
I give Under
the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Four Cups of Tea.