She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
Publisher - Daw
Published - Out Now
Price - import £18.98
Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy
When there is a call, there is often a response.
Najeeba knows.
She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What's just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it's not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there's neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it's a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she's only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba's presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.
Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.
Nb this novella is the start of a new series that takes place before the novel Who Fears Death and after The Book of the Phoenix I will try not to spoil those too much
Stories can have many beginnings. It’s not simply what starts in Chapter 1 but the back story of the world and the characters that shape the events we then see unfold before us. Many years ago I was bowled over by Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death a a gritty mix of science fiction and fantasy set in a far future and transformed Africa where the world has suffered a calamity and repression of women had rose again. It’s a tale of magic, resistance and sacrifice. I also enjoyed The Book of The Phoenix a tale much closer to our own that explored how the sacrifice came about. Now in She Who Knows a new series of novellas begins this time centring around Najeeba the mother of Who Fears Death main character Onyesonwu. For fans of the series this further explains the world and attitudes we will see later but for new readers a great tale of family secrets, magic and more awaits.
Najeeba (which means She Who Knows) is part of the Osu-nu who live in an isolated settlement. Najeeba at thirteen though suddenly knows she needs to go with her father and brothers to the salt lake that’s the small community’s main income. It’s very much unheard of for a girl or woman to go there but her father agrees knowing the sign that Najeeba is feeling cannot be stoped and Najeeba is about to find her world is much bigger and more dangerous than she ever imagined.
This is a pacy adventure in a world that feels sometimes ancient - salt traders and markets trekking through the desert and yet we see portable computers and mobile technology. This is a world in flux clearly massively damaged but with some features we recognise. The dissonance between the two for new readers will I think work as it’s a mystery as to how this world got like this. Not though central yet to this story. it feels a work full of history, depth and as we are about to see a lot of social changes afoot.
Najeeba’s desire to go with her father is one many don’t agree with. We can see women here are supposed to stay, get married and have children or work in archives. It creates friction interestingly more with her friends and potential boyfriwnd than her parents. Although her brothers feel jealousy. We also see this can be viewed worse by other communities nearby and the market town the salt is traded at brings opportunities and dangers that the story builds up all the way to the finale. The repressive world of Who Fears Death isn’t too far away now and this story suggests how it is coming about.
The main story though is Nejeeba discovering she had much power. This is a world where there are ‘witches’ mysterious storms in the desert and Najeeba starts to realise she can change form and leave her body: over a few years we watch her come into her power and abilities. This though isn’t to her benefit it starts to further push her outward and she doesn’t start want more attention and she goes into herself. A powerful character who the world is more interested in ignoring due to her gender is an interesting direction and I really liked how it explored the wider world and for fans of the other books heralds signs of what is going to come but for new readers it’s what kind of danger awaits.
The final act brings danger and links to the wider destruction of the world. How has a huge lake turned into salt and what dangers lurk in it and around the desert? It is a story that for the characters is just a tragic mystery but we as readers can start to decode exactly what dangers are happening. It ends tragically and then just as we think the story is going to just be Najeeba’s life in order Okorafor suggests we are about to go in a different direction in the new books and it’s an intriguing one. All fo this works as Okorafor captures Najeeba’s voice, intelligent, playful and also hinting at hiding great pain to come. It’s also a good way as readers to explore and understand this world and how it works as that is Najeeba’s changing worldview too as she learns life is more complex and can be more unfair than she ever imagined before.
She Who Knows is clearly a first instalment but it’s a fascinating world and main character that for old and new readers should pull us in for the stories to come. Definitely recommended!
