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Hija de sangre y otros relatos
Esta colección de siete cuentos y dos ensayos, publicados y escritos entre los años setenta y noventa, es una introducción perfecta para quienes descubren a Octavia Butler y un título imprescindible para sus incondicionales. Traducida ahora por primera vez al español, fue en su día incluida en la lista anual de destacados del New York Times. Incluye dos de sus más aclamados relatos cortos: «Hija de sangre», relato ganador en 1984 de los prestigiosos premios literarios Hugo y Nebula, y «Sonidos de habla», también ganador de un premio Hugo al año siguiente. Inéditos hasta su publicación en esta antología, se encuentran «Amnistía» y «El libro de Martha». Cada texto viene acompañado de un epílogo de la misma autora y los ensayos aportan consejos precisos sobre la escritura. En ellos, Butler relata sus vicisitudes como mujer negra y escritora en una época en la que el género fantástico estaba dominado por hombres blancos.
Relaciones interespecies, embarazos masculinos, una civilización hundida y en silencio o la responsabilidad divina de salvar el mundo: como es habitual en la obra de Octavia Butler, estas creaciones de la imaginación son parábolas del mundo contemporáneo. Con una prosa precisa, Butler reflexiona sobre raza, familia, sexualidad, el determinismo biológico, la ciencia médica, la violencia o las clases sociales a través de distintas metáforas que diseccionan nuestra realidad. Esta referencial escritora demuestra ser perseverante en su vigilia, pesimista que siempre deja espacio para la esperanza y una de las voces más poderosas de la literatura contemporánea.
Relaciones interespecies, embarazos masculinos, una civilización hundida y en silencio o la responsabilidad divina de salvar el mundo: como es habitual en la obra de Octavia Butler, estas creaciones de la imaginación son parábolas del mundo contemporáneo. Con una prosa precisa, Butler reflexiona sobre raza, familia, sexualidad, el determinismo biológico, la ciencia médica, la violencia o las clases sociales a través de distintas metáforas que diseccionan nuestra realidad. Esta referencial escritora demuestra ser perseverante en su vigilia, pesimista que siempre deja espacio para la esperanza y una de las voces más poderosas de la literatura contemporánea.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1995
About the author
Octavia E. Butler
92 books18.8k followersOctavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best-known among the few African-American women in the field. She won both Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant.
After her father died, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Extremely shy as a child, Octavia found an outlet at the library reading fantasy, and in writing. She began writing science fiction as a teenager. She attended community college during the Black Power movement, and while participating in a local writer's workshop was encouraged to attend the Clarion Workshop, which focused on science fiction.
She soon sold her first stories and by the late 1970s had become sufficiently successful as an author that she was able to pursue writing full-time. Her books and short stories drew the favorable attention of the public and awards judges. She also taught writer's workshops, and eventually relocated to Washington state. Butler died of a stroke at the age of 58. Her papers are held in the research collection of the Huntington Library.
After her father died, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Extremely shy as a child, Octavia found an outlet at the library reading fantasy, and in writing. She began writing science fiction as a teenager. She attended community college during the Black Power movement, and while participating in a local writer's workshop was encouraged to attend the Clarion Workshop, which focused on science fiction.
She soon sold her first stories and by the late 1970s had become sufficiently successful as an author that she was able to pursue writing full-time. Her books and short stories drew the favorable attention of the public and awards judges. She also taught writer's workshops, and eventually relocated to Washington state. Butler died of a stroke at the age of 58. Her papers are held in the research collection of the Huntington Library.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,793 reviews
September 13, 2020
Excellent. Disturbing. Distressing. Hopeful. Reading this collection reminded me of the lurching discomfort and curious longing I often felt when reading fantasy as a child. All the things I want out of speculative fiction.
August 4, 2023
Butler's is one of my all time favorite authors and this book just cements it for me.
August 20, 2023
‘It's amazing what we can do if we simply refuse to give up.’
‘The truth is,’ writes Octavia Butler, ‘I hate short story writing.’ However, for someone who dislikes writing them she did craft marvelous and imaginative short stories such as the ones collected in Bloodchild. The title story snagged the Hugo, Nebula a Locust Awards and each story in Bloodchild (I read the expanded edition that contains two additional stories to accompany the original stories and essays) probes concepts of connectedness, imprisonment vs freedom, and violence, often with human and alien species walking a tightrope of fragile co-existence. We are guided through the stories by the late-great Butler herself with an afterword to each tale for added authorial context and insights, as well as two essays that examine her journey of being a writer. These are stories that drop you right into the world without much explanation, allowing you to pick up context as you go, which is a technique I really appreciate as being a bit disoriented adds to the overall effect. Bloodchild is an exciting collection that opens the mind to confront age-old moral and political quandaries of existing alongside one another in speculative scenarios.
‘Free will coupled with morality has been an interesting experiment. Free will is, among other things, the freedom to make mistakes.’
Fears of subjugation and violence permeate the stories in Bloodchild. On the surface, the cosmic scale of these stories reduces us all to animals feeling cornered, but this is countered by the emotional portraits and deeply empathetic narratives Butler enacts to resist dehumanization. This goes for both the humans and alien species. Stories such as Amnesty or even the title story reference political treaties and interspecies governmental interaction where both the humans and aliens are attempting to maintain a peace despite factions that wish to exterminate the others. In Amnesty, the aptly named character, Noah, recounts her imprisonment with the alien species (known to humans as Communities) but warns that ‘most of the time, the people actually hurting me were other human beings.’ This is an alarming turn in the story that recalibrates everything:
It is effective, and even in stories of fear over alien visitors, it reminds us how much humanity has often been it’s own greatest enemy. In several stories we learn of people ‘quick enough to take advantage of any chance to exercise a little power, get a little pleasure by making another person suffer,’ or, as in the story Speech Sounds, a brilliant tale where speech and writing has gone missing, we must wonder ‘how many more of him were there—people willing to destroy what they could not have?’ Chilling.
‘You will help humankind to survive its greedy, murderous, wasteful adolescence. ’
In a world where there is so much fear of the Other, Butler asks how can we survive if we can’t even save ourselves from ourselves. In The Book of Martha, a woman is tasked by God to save humanity from itself, to ‘help it to find less destructive, more peaceful, sustainable ways to live.’ There is a call for people to reverse climate destruction as humans are ‘well on the way to destroying billions of themselves by greatly changing the ability of the earth to sustain them,’ and that rallying behind hatred and lust for power will be our own undoing.
Reading this had me thinking God was asking Martha to find a way to avoid a future such as the one she imagined for us in Parable of the Sower. It is a fun story, one that also calls into question ideas such as how whiteness has been unfortunately centered in societies (Martha, a Black woman, sees God as an white man looking like Michelangelo’s Moses because she sees what she thinks she should see), examines concepts of free will and stubbornness, and is a story with a lot of imagination. This one, like several of the others, read like thought experiments given space to run free more than a forward-moving plot but hat is half the charm to Butler’s stories. As Noah says in Amnesty, ‘I want to make them think,’ and that is exactly what Butler makes us do.
There is a Biblical undercurrent in a lot of these stories. Having the woman who will guide humanity from destruction to a working future with the aliens in Amnesty be named Noah is pretty on the nose but cool. Butler tells us that she was encouraged early in life to read the Bible by her mother (perhaps not unlike Martha who’s mother wants her to be good and ‘to her, “good” meant “religious”) and found the themes in them fascinating. ‘When I began writing,’ Butler says, ‘I explored these themes in my own stories’ and the story Next of Kin is written as an acknowledgement of the many moments of incest that occur in the Bible. Honestly, one of the best parts of this whole book is Butler talking to the reader in the afterwords. It’s very enlightening and charming, such as when she admits many elements come from things that actually frighten her (this reminds me a lot of Stephen Graham Jones who’s story notes I find so endearing because they are often like “yea so this shit scares me so I wrote about it”). I found the Biblical elements also helped give these stories a very epic feel, nudging towards very cosmic meaning that also seemed very ancient in spirit.
‘Do you want someone else telling you what to do with your body?’
Returning to the ideas of subjugation, the concept of imprisonment is rampant through these stories. Fear of imprisonment in tiny societal bubbles of safety from the “wilds” outside their gates, fear of imprisonment in alien captivity, imprisonment in your own role or even imprisonment in your own flesh. The second story, The Evening and the Morning and the Night is one of her best and follows a young woman who has a genetic issue that has Othered her in society. Butler says she wrote the story ‘wondering how much of what we do is encouraged, discouraged, or otherwise guided by what we are genetically,’ and created a genetic disorder (Butler tells us she based it on a combination of Huntington’s disease, phenylketonuria, and Lesch-Nyhan) that will inevitably lead her to feel so imprisoned by her own skin she will impulsively try to tear and eat it all off her own body one day. The story nudges at ideas like model-minority stereotypes, such as in this society people with the disease are thought to be excellent scientists because they are more motivated to study biology. Concepts of free-will and subjugation arrive here when a path towards progress to live “normally” involves a pheromone that feels too much like mind control to one of the characters, and Butler makes us consider ideas of freedom and sacrifice and what we are willing to balance in order to help others.
‘You have a choice.’
This last idea is best explored in the title story, Bloodchild, and it is easy to see how this novella picked up so many awards. It is, in part, a coming of age story where the narrator, Gan, matures through looking at a larger portrait of society beyond just his role in it. This story is very textured, involves many of Butler’s major themes, and though she insists it is not about slavery readers will easily make parallels to how refugees and immigrants are subjugated in, say, the US. Butler presents an interesting gender role reversal that subverts gendered expectations, such as the multi-limbed alien T’Gatoi representing traditional masculine roles while being a woman and the young boy Gan representing a traditionally feminine role. By being the child bearer, Gan is also seen much like property, a concept that Simone de Beauvoir spoke on at length about how women have become subjugated in patriarchal societies. This is an intense story revolving around a rather graphic “child birth” sequence where Gan witnesses firsthand what is in store for him in order to bear T’Gatoi’s children, but ultimately it is a call for vulnerability and emotional agency and openness. Butler shows that only through equity and respect between partners can there be real trust and fruitful relationships.
‘They do whatever they want to us, and instead of killing them, all I can do is ask them for a job!’
At the heart of many of these stories is a critique on the way people are valued by their labor and use. In the title story, Gan is valued because he can be used for breeding and is therefore given a larger portion of the eggs they are fed to keep them strong and resist aging. In Amnesty, Noah is valued above most because she can translate. Often we see that people are oppressed, kidnapped or otherwise enslaved because they are useful. The Communities in this story run tests on people and when they die this is another way they learn how human biology works (very Nazi medical experiments vibes here). ‘But what’s important to them is not what they think of our intellect. It’s what use we can be to them,’ Noah says. And as long as humans can continue to be useful, they won’t be destroyed. Yet they can’t be free either.
There are two essays included in Bloodchild as well, both of which deal with Butler’s life in reading and writing. She discusses being a Black woman writing sci-fi when ‘nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men,’ as well as why she believes sci fi (and afrofuturism) can be so empowering to Black people.
I see the influence of Butler in writers like the incredible N.K. Jemisin and it makes me all the more thankful for Butler. She encourages writing, discussion how she was obsessed with it: ‘Obsession can be a useful tool if it’s positive obsession. Using it is like aiming carefully in archery.’ Butler also offers advice, and amongst the basics like read, write, and edit, she tells us:
The main takeaway from her lessons on writing is simply to keep doing it, keep believing in yourself and, always, ‘persist.’
I truly had a great time reading Bloodchild. It is very imaginative and plays with a lot of really interesting themes and ideas, often putting a fantastical scenario up in order to explore issues that affect us in the present, everyday reality. These are quite varied, even with a few that don’t have quite a sci-fi setting, and offers a good look at her range. It is also a quick read, but one that will have you turning some of the stories over in your mind for awhile to come. A great experience.
4/5
‘Down through history, in myth and even in science, we’ve kept putting ourselves in the center, and then being evicted.’
‘The truth is,’ writes Octavia Butler, ‘I hate short story writing.’ However, for someone who dislikes writing them she did craft marvelous and imaginative short stories such as the ones collected in Bloodchild. The title story snagged the Hugo, Nebula a Locust Awards and each story in Bloodchild (I read the expanded edition that contains two additional stories to accompany the original stories and essays) probes concepts of connectedness, imprisonment vs freedom, and violence, often with human and alien species walking a tightrope of fragile co-existence. We are guided through the stories by the late-great Butler herself with an afterword to each tale for added authorial context and insights, as well as two essays that examine her journey of being a writer. These are stories that drop you right into the world without much explanation, allowing you to pick up context as you go, which is a technique I really appreciate as being a bit disoriented adds to the overall effect. Bloodchild is an exciting collection that opens the mind to confront age-old moral and political quandaries of existing alongside one another in speculative scenarios.
‘Free will coupled with morality has been an interesting experiment. Free will is, among other things, the freedom to make mistakes.’
Fears of subjugation and violence permeate the stories in Bloodchild. On the surface, the cosmic scale of these stories reduces us all to animals feeling cornered, but this is countered by the emotional portraits and deeply empathetic narratives Butler enacts to resist dehumanization. This goes for both the humans and alien species. Stories such as Amnesty or even the title story reference political treaties and interspecies governmental interaction where both the humans and aliens are attempting to maintain a peace despite factions that wish to exterminate the others. In Amnesty, the aptly named character, Noah, recounts her imprisonment with the alien species (known to humans as Communities) but warns that ‘most of the time, the people actually hurting me were other human beings.’ This is an alarming turn in the story that recalibrates everything:
’The only difference between the way they treated me and the way the aliens treated me during the early years of my captivity was that the so-called human beings knew when they were hurting me…It mattered more than I know how to tell you that this time my tormentors were my own people.’
It is effective, and even in stories of fear over alien visitors, it reminds us how much humanity has often been it’s own greatest enemy. In several stories we learn of people ‘quick enough to take advantage of any chance to exercise a little power, get a little pleasure by making another person suffer,’ or, as in the story Speech Sounds, a brilliant tale where speech and writing has gone missing, we must wonder ‘how many more of him were there—people willing to destroy what they could not have?’ Chilling.
‘You will help humankind to survive its greedy, murderous, wasteful adolescence. ’
In a world where there is so much fear of the Other, Butler asks how can we survive if we can’t even save ourselves from ourselves. In The Book of Martha, a woman is tasked by God to save humanity from itself, to ‘help it to find less destructive, more peaceful, sustainable ways to live.’ There is a call for people to reverse climate destruction as humans are ‘well on the way to destroying billions of themselves by greatly changing the ability of the earth to sustain them,’ and that rallying behind hatred and lust for power will be our own undoing.
‘It’s too easy to follow bad but attractive leaders, embrace pleasurable but destructive habits, ignore looming disaster because maybe it won’t happen after all—or maybe it will only happen to other people. That kind of thinking is part of what it means to be adolescent.’
Reading this had me thinking God was asking Martha to find a way to avoid a future such as the one she imagined for us in Parable of the Sower. It is a fun story, one that also calls into question ideas such as how whiteness has been unfortunately centered in societies (Martha, a Black woman, sees God as an white man looking like Michelangelo’s Moses because she sees what she thinks she should see), examines concepts of free will and stubbornness, and is a story with a lot of imagination. This one, like several of the others, read like thought experiments given space to run free more than a forward-moving plot but hat is half the charm to Butler’s stories. As Noah says in Amnesty, ‘I want to make them think,’ and that is exactly what Butler makes us do.
There is a Biblical undercurrent in a lot of these stories. Having the woman who will guide humanity from destruction to a working future with the aliens in Amnesty be named Noah is pretty on the nose but cool. Butler tells us that she was encouraged early in life to read the Bible by her mother (perhaps not unlike Martha who’s mother wants her to be good and ‘to her, “good” meant “religious”) and found the themes in them fascinating. ‘When I began writing,’ Butler says, ‘I explored these themes in my own stories’ and the story Next of Kin is written as an acknowledgement of the many moments of incest that occur in the Bible. Honestly, one of the best parts of this whole book is Butler talking to the reader in the afterwords. It’s very enlightening and charming, such as when she admits many elements come from things that actually frighten her (this reminds me a lot of Stephen Graham Jones who’s story notes I find so endearing because they are often like “yea so this shit scares me so I wrote about it”). I found the Biblical elements also helped give these stories a very epic feel, nudging towards very cosmic meaning that also seemed very ancient in spirit.
‘Do you want someone else telling you what to do with your body?’
Returning to the ideas of subjugation, the concept of imprisonment is rampant through these stories. Fear of imprisonment in tiny societal bubbles of safety from the “wilds” outside their gates, fear of imprisonment in alien captivity, imprisonment in your own role or even imprisonment in your own flesh. The second story, The Evening and the Morning and the Night is one of her best and follows a young woman who has a genetic issue that has Othered her in society. Butler says she wrote the story ‘wondering how much of what we do is encouraged, discouraged, or otherwise guided by what we are genetically,’ and created a genetic disorder (Butler tells us she based it on a combination of Huntington’s disease, phenylketonuria, and Lesch-Nyhan) that will inevitably lead her to feel so imprisoned by her own skin she will impulsively try to tear and eat it all off her own body one day. The story nudges at ideas like model-minority stereotypes, such as in this society people with the disease are thought to be excellent scientists because they are more motivated to study biology. Concepts of free-will and subjugation arrive here when a path towards progress to live “normally” involves a pheromone that feels too much like mind control to one of the characters, and Butler makes us consider ideas of freedom and sacrifice and what we are willing to balance in order to help others.
‘You have a choice.’
This last idea is best explored in the title story, Bloodchild, and it is easy to see how this novella picked up so many awards. It is, in part, a coming of age story where the narrator, Gan, matures through looking at a larger portrait of society beyond just his role in it. This story is very textured, involves many of Butler’s major themes, and though she insists it is not about slavery readers will easily make parallels to how refugees and immigrants are subjugated in, say, the US. Butler presents an interesting gender role reversal that subverts gendered expectations, such as the multi-limbed alien T’Gatoi representing traditional masculine roles while being a woman and the young boy Gan representing a traditionally feminine role. By being the child bearer, Gan is also seen much like property, a concept that Simone de Beauvoir spoke on at length about how women have become subjugated in patriarchal societies. This is an intense story revolving around a rather graphic “child birth” sequence where Gan witnesses firsthand what is in store for him in order to bear T’Gatoi’s children, but ultimately it is a call for vulnerability and emotional agency and openness. Butler shows that only through equity and respect between partners can there be real trust and fruitful relationships.
‘They do whatever they want to us, and instead of killing them, all I can do is ask them for a job!’
At the heart of many of these stories is a critique on the way people are valued by their labor and use. In the title story, Gan is valued because he can be used for breeding and is therefore given a larger portion of the eggs they are fed to keep them strong and resist aging. In Amnesty, Noah is valued above most because she can translate. Often we see that people are oppressed, kidnapped or otherwise enslaved because they are useful. The Communities in this story run tests on people and when they die this is another way they learn how human biology works (very Nazi medical experiments vibes here). ‘But what’s important to them is not what they think of our intellect. It’s what use we can be to them,’ Noah says. And as long as humans can continue to be useful, they won’t be destroyed. Yet they can’t be free either.
There are two essays included in Bloodchild as well, both of which deal with Butler’s life in reading and writing. She discusses being a Black woman writing sci-fi when ‘nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men,’ as well as why she believes sci fi (and afrofuturism) can be so empowering to Black people.
’What good is any form of literature to Black people?...At its best, science fiction stimulates imagination and creativity. It gets reader and writer off the beaten track, off the narrow, narrow footpath of what ‘everyone’ is saying, doing, thinking—whoever ‘everyone’ happens to be this year.’
I see the influence of Butler in writers like the incredible N.K. Jemisin and it makes me all the more thankful for Butler. She encourages writing, discussion how she was obsessed with it: ‘Obsession can be a useful tool if it’s positive obsession. Using it is like aiming carefully in archery.’ Butler also offers advice, and amongst the basics like read, write, and edit, she tells us:
‘forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.’
The main takeaway from her lessons on writing is simply to keep doing it, keep believing in yourself and, always, ‘persist.’
I truly had a great time reading Bloodchild. It is very imaginative and plays with a lot of really interesting themes and ideas, often putting a fantastical scenario up in order to explore issues that affect us in the present, everyday reality. These are quite varied, even with a few that don’t have quite a sci-fi setting, and offers a good look at her range. It is also a quick read, but one that will have you turning some of the stories over in your mind for awhile to come. A great experience.
4/5
‘Down through history, in myth and even in science, we’ve kept putting ourselves in the center, and then being evicted.’
February 4, 2018
"Those whom we love are often the most alien to us."
—Christopher Paolini
My review centres on Bloodchild, the better-known segment in this anthology - an extremely short sci-fi story, recommended to me by @apatt and @cecily.
As the story’s curtain rises, we are led into an intriguing scene of surreal domestic bliss, whereby
The story is told from the viewpoint of Gan, one of many earthlings subjugated by an alien species (the Tlics) to be used as - only with a volte-face spin on things).
Treated as status symbols by their alien benefactors, they ‘enjoy’ an interdependent relationship: the aliens need a host, the humans rely on the aliens for their own safety.
The piece is dialogue-heavy, therefore fast flowing, and is extremely well written. I’m already a fan of Octavia Butler having researched her work following the advice of @apatt.
—Christopher Paolini
My review centres on Bloodchild, the better-known segment in this anthology - an extremely short sci-fi story, recommended to me by @apatt and @cecily.
As the story’s curtain rises, we are led into an intriguing scene of surreal domestic bliss, whereby
The story is told from the viewpoint of Gan, one of many earthlings subjugated by an alien species (the Tlics) to be used as - only with a volte-face spin on things).
Treated as status symbols by their alien benefactors, they ‘enjoy’ an interdependent relationship: the aliens need a host, the humans rely on the aliens for their own safety.
The piece is dialogue-heavy, therefore fast flowing, and is extremely well written. I’m already a fan of Octavia Butler having researched her work following the advice of @apatt.
December 29, 2017
“My last night of childhood began with a visit home.”
The short sci-fi/horror-lite story of the title, Bloodchild, opens thus. You know something significant, and probably not good, will happen. But at first, it’s a pleasant enough domestic scene: among the family, sipping a soporific but rejuvenating egg, snuggling against the velvet underside of someone’s (something’s?!) embrace.
The awareness of mysteries and taboos grows slowly, seeded by careful choice of vague but uneasy words: the need for one’s people to be “available”, concern about thinness, “choosing” an infant, living in the Preserve… And then there is a gross-out scene.
That leads to a choice. A dreadful choice, but a newly-informed one. And choice, especially about family, is the beating, bleeding, bloody heart of the story. A story of coming of age, adoption, family, sacrifice, symbiosis, improbable love, impregnation, and birth, against a background of enslaved refugees. And it challenges our primeval assumptions about gender.
Search Google images for fan art, and you’ll get more idea of exactly what it’s about. (Clue: it's not about birds or crocodiles. The picture above is a loose analogy.)
There’s an excellent profile of Octavia Butler: HERE. It includes pictures of some of her notes, of which this is my favourite, especially the final exhortation:
Butler certainly made me feel as if I’d touched, tasted, and known, and above all, to feel, feel, feel!
This fully deserves its prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards from 1985 and 1984, respectively.
The short sci-fi/horror-lite story of the title, Bloodchild, opens thus. You know something significant, and probably not good, will happen. But at first, it’s a pleasant enough domestic scene: among the family, sipping a soporific but rejuvenating egg, snuggling against the velvet underside of someone’s (something’s?!) embrace.
The awareness of mysteries and taboos grows slowly, seeded by careful choice of vague but uneasy words: the need for one’s people to be “available”, concern about thinness, “choosing” an infant, living in the Preserve… And then there is a gross-out scene.
That leads to a choice. A dreadful choice, but a newly-informed one. And choice, especially about family, is the beating, bleeding, bloody heart of the story. A story of coming of age, adoption, family, sacrifice, symbiosis, improbable love, impregnation, and birth, against a background of enslaved refugees. And it challenges our primeval assumptions about gender.
Search Google images for fan art, and you’ll get more idea of exactly what it’s about. (Clue: it's not about birds or crocodiles. The picture above is a loose analogy.)
There’s an excellent profile of Octavia Butler: HERE. It includes pictures of some of her notes, of which this is my favourite, especially the final exhortation:
Butler certainly made me feel as if I’d touched, tasted, and known, and above all, to feel, feel, feel!
This fully deserves its prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards from 1985 and 1984, respectively.
August 14, 2024
Bloodchild outlines a symbiotic relationship between earthlings (Terrans) and the Tlic, native inhabitants of a new world that humans have fled to for safety. The Tlic, looking somewhat like crustaceans, provide Terrans with a safe haven in exchange for their willingness to assume a certain unsavory role. The story is told from the perspective of Gan, a young human male on the cusp of becoming one of those chosen. Gan explores what being selected means to him and his family, as the horror of becoming a (view spoiler) is made clear through a series of unexpected events. The tale is as touching as it is gruesome but ends with a message of hope.
In true short story tradition, Butler masterfully captures the imagination of the reader in this brisk, gender-twisting tour de force.
It was brilliant! A big thank you to Kevin Ansbro and Apatt for the recommendation!
In true short story tradition, Butler masterfully captures the imagination of the reader in this brisk, gender-twisting tour de force.
It was brilliant! A big thank you to Kevin Ansbro and Apatt for the recommendation!
August 18, 2017
“I believed I was ugly and stupid, clumsy, and socially hopeless. I also thought that everyone would notice these faults if I drew attention to myself. I wanted to disappear. I hid out in a big pink notebook—one that would hold a whole ream of paper. I made myself a universe in it. There I could be a magic horse, a Martian, a telepath.… There I could be anywhere but here, any time but now, with any people but these.”
This anthology includes two essays, one of which is autobiographical. I don’t normally read biographies but I wanted to read every page in this book and I am very glad Ms. Butler decided to include this little essay. I get such a sense of her kindness, warmth, and generosity that I am surprised to learn she was a lonely child, if I had a friend like her I would have strived to make her my bestie. But she does mention that she was very shy, but she did mature into a pillar of strength and an inspiration for many writers and readers. This year’s Hugo winner N.K. Jemisin, a black female science fiction author, calls Butler her “personal grandmaster” and that “left behind a lot of children, spiritually speaking”.
Young Octavia
Bloodchild and Other Stories contains five (mostly great) short stories and a couple of excellent essays. There is also an “Afterward” after each story where she briefly talks about the inspiration that led to the story. When I read professional reviews of anthologies they do not generally go through each story one by one, I thought I would try to be more professional for the sake of skill development, but then I thought, Nah! I like doing it like this. So here we go!
Blood Child
Her most famous story (available to read free online , you can also download a PDF version if you Google for it). It is something of a sci-fi body horror story where humans in a colony on an alien planet have a long running bizarre symbiotic relationship with an alien race called the Tlic.
It is a brilliant story, but also quite horrifying and gross, yet the underlying theme is love and sacrifice. According to the Afterward, Butler was inspired by something that frightened her and she coped by making the idea benign (in a gross sort of way), it is also a thought experiment on male pregnancy; don’t worry, I am not giving anything away because there is no male pregnancy as such in the story.
“T’Gatoi liked the idea of choosing an infant and watching and taking part in all the phases of development. I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
“Then he began tearing at himself, through skin and bone, digging. He had managed to reach his own heart before he died.”
Oh my gawd! Does that make you doubt the warm and fuzzy description of Ms. Butler earlier in this review? This story is about a disease called “The Duryea-Gode Disease” caused by drugs taken by pregnant women which lead to a genetic flaw in their children that will cause them to lose their minds later in life. How much later varies between individuals. Initially, it reminds me of the berserker madness like 28 Days Later, but this is decidedly not a zombie apocalypse story. There are no zombies and civilization is still fully operational. The situation is more analogous to the “Thalidomide” birth defects in the 60s. On a deeper level, it is about how genetic diseases affect the sufferers’ lives and the value they put on their lives.
Near of Kin
This is a mainstream (non-SF/F) human drama story about the relationship (or lack thereof) between a girl and her now deceased mother, her closer relationship with her uncle and grandmother, the secret she always suspected about her mother, the mother’s shame, and the regret of mutual rejection of each other until it is too late. This kind of introspective melancholy story is not usually my cup of tea but if Ms. Butler makes the tea I will happily have a few cups. It is also very short and it is certainly not bad, Octavia Butler does not do "bad"; I imagine her laundry list is also quite a good read. I like her Afterward for this story more than the story itself, she does not explain the nuances of the story (leaving that to the reader) but talks about what inspired it.
“She’s dead,” said my uncle flatly. “How much more time and energy are you going to waste resenting her?”
Speech Sounds
This is a post-apocalypse and a dystopia story. Civilization seems to be on its last legs here, the details are a little vague, some buses still run intermittently, but there is no law and order left. The apocalypse is caused by a disease contracted by everybody that causes “intellectual impairment”, in the form of irreversible loss of literacy, speech or both. It is amazing how Butler can write such a poignant post-apocalypse short story. I have always expected post-apocalypse fiction to be epic in scope. Again a wonderful Afterward follows the story, there is a slightly chatty tone in this one that makes me feel as if she was telling me of the anecdote that inspired the story. How she felt mankind was hopeless when she started writing it and feels hopeful again when she finished. Writing was potent therapy for her.
Crossover
This is another very short mainstream story, full of sadness, alienation, self-loathing and passion. It is, of course, well written but is a completely miserable story. If it was not written by Butler I would have hated it. Again it is about an outcast woman who does not fit in, but the anti-heroine here is not the typical strong resourceful Butler protagonist, quite the opposite. The Afterward to this story is great. Apparently, Butler was scared of weirdos.
Positive Obsession
This is an essay/autobiography about Butler’s obsession with writing as a child, the first story she sold, the numerous rejections that followed and the eventual success. This is a beautiful autobiography, I don't normally read bios, and she did not enjoy writing it; she prefers writing fiction. In spite of all that she wrote something very special here that I will always remember. I love how much she loves the sci-fi genre and staunchly defends it, she is like an anti-Atwood.
"At college, I took classes taught by an elderly woman who wrote children’s stories. She was polite about the science fiction and fantasy that I kept handing in, but she finally asked in exasperation, “Can’t you write anything normal?”
Furor Scribendi
This essay is basically advice for aspiring writers, it reminds me a little bit of Stephen King’s On Writing, but much shorter obviously, and it has that charming Octavia touch. Her drive and burning passion for writing are like a force of nature. The essay ends with a one-word paragraph: “Persist”.
Amnesty
Back to science fiction. The basic concept is similar to Blood Child, there is even some kind of symbiosis going on, yet the theme is very different. Earth has been colonized, but not subjugated, by aliens. They set up colonies in desserts, vast areas not used by humans. Their technology is far superior and Earth’s military forces can pose no threat to them. When the aliens first arrived they captured, experimented on and - unintentionally - tortured human beings, but only because they had no knowledge of human physiology. Once communication between the two species is established the aliens treat humans with respect due to sentient life forms. Some humans go to work for them, helping with research, experiments, and whatnot. One of the human leave the alien colony after living with them for years and is immediately arrested by the military and treated as a traitor, imprisoned and tortured.
Ultimately this is a story of man’s inhumanity to man; even with full understanding of what causes pain and suffering some of us are still quite happy to inflict pain that we would not want to be inflicted on us. In spite of her exasperation with the human race, Butler did love humanity and tried her best to help nudge it in the right direction.
The Book of Martha
“Don’t you know what I see?” she demanded and then quickly softened her voice. “Don’t you know everything?”
God smiled. “No, I outgrew that trick long ago. You can’t imagine how boring it was.”
This is a story about a woman who is tasked by God to make the world a better place in any way she can think of. It is not a religious story and God is not portrayed entirely positively. It is a story about the responsible application of power and possibly dire consequences from misuse. A story to ponder.
These are diverse stories (the two essays notwithstanding) they all have a moral center, depth and complexity. However, if you read her essays you will know how she loves stories and storytelling, so her fiction is not a platform for preaching. The themes of each story lend substance or meaning beyond the narrative, but I am sure she would be just as happy if you just read them as stories. This wonderful anthology is up there with Ted Chiang’s classic Stories of Your Life and Others. The Afterward after each story is very much appreciated. She never over explains any of the preceding stories but gives some insight into her inspiration and thought processes. Read this for a thrilling, moving, thought-provoking experience.
Notes:
Here is an excerpt from Ms. Butler’s notebook:
When you read top part it may seem like she was simply chasing fame and fortune, but by the end of the page you will get her humanity and compassion, and why she is such an inspiration and a great role model.
Another noteworthy - uh - note.
This anthology includes two essays, one of which is autobiographical. I don’t normally read biographies but I wanted to read every page in this book and I am very glad Ms. Butler decided to include this little essay. I get such a sense of her kindness, warmth, and generosity that I am surprised to learn she was a lonely child, if I had a friend like her I would have strived to make her my bestie. But she does mention that she was very shy, but she did mature into a pillar of strength and an inspiration for many writers and readers. This year’s Hugo winner N.K. Jemisin, a black female science fiction author, calls Butler her “personal grandmaster” and that “left behind a lot of children, spiritually speaking”.
Young Octavia
Bloodchild and Other Stories contains five (mostly great) short stories and a couple of excellent essays. There is also an “Afterward” after each story where she briefly talks about the inspiration that led to the story. When I read professional reviews of anthologies they do not generally go through each story one by one, I thought I would try to be more professional for the sake of skill development, but then I thought, Nah! I like doing it like this. So here we go!
Blood Child
Her most famous story (available to read free online , you can also download a PDF version if you Google for it). It is something of a sci-fi body horror story where humans in a colony on an alien planet have a long running bizarre symbiotic relationship with an alien race called the Tlic.
It is a brilliant story, but also quite horrifying and gross, yet the underlying theme is love and sacrifice. According to the Afterward, Butler was inspired by something that frightened her and she coped by making the idea benign (in a gross sort of way), it is also a thought experiment on male pregnancy; don’t worry, I am not giving anything away because there is no male pregnancy as such in the story.
“T’Gatoi liked the idea of choosing an infant and watching and taking part in all the phases of development. I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
“Then he began tearing at himself, through skin and bone, digging. He had managed to reach his own heart before he died.”
Oh my gawd! Does that make you doubt the warm and fuzzy description of Ms. Butler earlier in this review? This story is about a disease called “The Duryea-Gode Disease” caused by drugs taken by pregnant women which lead to a genetic flaw in their children that will cause them to lose their minds later in life. How much later varies between individuals. Initially, it reminds me of the berserker madness like 28 Days Later, but this is decidedly not a zombie apocalypse story. There are no zombies and civilization is still fully operational. The situation is more analogous to the “Thalidomide” birth defects in the 60s. On a deeper level, it is about how genetic diseases affect the sufferers’ lives and the value they put on their lives.
Near of Kin
This is a mainstream (non-SF/F) human drama story about the relationship (or lack thereof) between a girl and her now deceased mother, her closer relationship with her uncle and grandmother, the secret she always suspected about her mother, the mother’s shame, and the regret of mutual rejection of each other until it is too late. This kind of introspective melancholy story is not usually my cup of tea but if Ms. Butler makes the tea I will happily have a few cups. It is also very short and it is certainly not bad, Octavia Butler does not do "bad"; I imagine her laundry list is also quite a good read. I like her Afterward for this story more than the story itself, she does not explain the nuances of the story (leaving that to the reader) but talks about what inspired it.
“She’s dead,” said my uncle flatly. “How much more time and energy are you going to waste resenting her?”
Speech Sounds
This is a post-apocalypse and a dystopia story. Civilization seems to be on its last legs here, the details are a little vague, some buses still run intermittently, but there is no law and order left. The apocalypse is caused by a disease contracted by everybody that causes “intellectual impairment”, in the form of irreversible loss of literacy, speech or both. It is amazing how Butler can write such a poignant post-apocalypse short story. I have always expected post-apocalypse fiction to be epic in scope. Again a wonderful Afterward follows the story, there is a slightly chatty tone in this one that makes me feel as if she was telling me of the anecdote that inspired the story. How she felt mankind was hopeless when she started writing it and feels hopeful again when she finished. Writing was potent therapy for her.
Crossover
This is another very short mainstream story, full of sadness, alienation, self-loathing and passion. It is, of course, well written but is a completely miserable story. If it was not written by Butler I would have hated it. Again it is about an outcast woman who does not fit in, but the anti-heroine here is not the typical strong resourceful Butler protagonist, quite the opposite. The Afterward to this story is great. Apparently, Butler was scared of weirdos.
Positive Obsession
This is an essay/autobiography about Butler’s obsession with writing as a child, the first story she sold, the numerous rejections that followed and the eventual success. This is a beautiful autobiography, I don't normally read bios, and she did not enjoy writing it; she prefers writing fiction. In spite of all that she wrote something very special here that I will always remember. I love how much she loves the sci-fi genre and staunchly defends it, she is like an anti-Atwood.
"At college, I took classes taught by an elderly woman who wrote children’s stories. She was polite about the science fiction and fantasy that I kept handing in, but she finally asked in exasperation, “Can’t you write anything normal?”
Furor Scribendi
This essay is basically advice for aspiring writers, it reminds me a little bit of Stephen King’s On Writing, but much shorter obviously, and it has that charming Octavia touch. Her drive and burning passion for writing are like a force of nature. The essay ends with a one-word paragraph: “Persist”.
Amnesty
Back to science fiction. The basic concept is similar to Blood Child, there is even some kind of symbiosis going on, yet the theme is very different. Earth has been colonized, but not subjugated, by aliens. They set up colonies in desserts, vast areas not used by humans. Their technology is far superior and Earth’s military forces can pose no threat to them. When the aliens first arrived they captured, experimented on and - unintentionally - tortured human beings, but only because they had no knowledge of human physiology. Once communication between the two species is established the aliens treat humans with respect due to sentient life forms. Some humans go to work for them, helping with research, experiments, and whatnot. One of the human leave the alien colony after living with them for years and is immediately arrested by the military and treated as a traitor, imprisoned and tortured.
Ultimately this is a story of man’s inhumanity to man; even with full understanding of what causes pain and suffering some of us are still quite happy to inflict pain that we would not want to be inflicted on us. In spite of her exasperation with the human race, Butler did love humanity and tried her best to help nudge it in the right direction.
The Book of Martha
“Don’t you know what I see?” she demanded and then quickly softened her voice. “Don’t you know everything?”
God smiled. “No, I outgrew that trick long ago. You can’t imagine how boring it was.”
This is a story about a woman who is tasked by God to make the world a better place in any way she can think of. It is not a religious story and God is not portrayed entirely positively. It is a story about the responsible application of power and possibly dire consequences from misuse. A story to ponder.
These are diverse stories (the two essays notwithstanding) they all have a moral center, depth and complexity. However, if you read her essays you will know how she loves stories and storytelling, so her fiction is not a platform for preaching. The themes of each story lend substance or meaning beyond the narrative, but I am sure she would be just as happy if you just read them as stories. This wonderful anthology is up there with Ted Chiang’s classic Stories of Your Life and Others. The Afterward after each story is very much appreciated. She never over explains any of the preceding stories but gives some insight into her inspiration and thought processes. Read this for a thrilling, moving, thought-provoking experience.
Notes:
Here is an excerpt from Ms. Butler’s notebook:
When you read top part it may seem like she was simply chasing fame and fortune, but by the end of the page you will get her humanity and compassion, and why she is such an inspiration and a great role model.
Another noteworthy - uh - note.
January 2, 2022
4,5 stars /// HOLY FUCKING COW! I rarely read sci-fi but Butler has the potential to become an author for me. I love her writing style and her ideas are really clever and engrossing! I usually struggle with sci-fi because I have a hard time understanding what's going on and how the world is shaped etc. but Butler's world building is so vivid and clear, it was confusingly easy to get lost in her writing. :D
Also, reading the foreword and all the afterwords for every single story has me convinced that the two of us would've been great friends. She truly had a killer sense of humor.
I was surprised that two stories, "Near of Kin" and "Crossover", weren't in the sci-fi genre; the first is a haunting contemporary tale whereas the latter does have a twinge of magical realism or surrealism to it. Funnily enough, those were the stories, alongside "The Book of Martha", that I enjoyed the least. I wouldn't have expected that. I really loathe sci-fi (if I'm very honest) and the fact that Butler could make it work for me was a huge relief and has me excited to check out more of her work ... even though I don't really know what to read next because her sci-fi series sound soo intimidating (and I'm not in the mood for series atm) and the topic of Kindred makes my skin crawl. So, it'll probably be a while until I read my next Butler but I'm keeping my eyes open!
What I found fascinating (and funny) about the foreword is that Butler comes clean with her hatred for short story writing. I found that very relatable. Even though I'm not a writer, as a reader I have similar issues with short stories as Butler: most of them doesn't make sense, and therefore, they're hella frustrating. You either feel they would've been better of as novels or ask yourself why they were written in the first place.
Apart from that, we have the usual of some stories being stronger than others, but overall, Bloodchild and Other Stories is a wonderful short story collection that I would recommend to everyone who wants to dip their toe into the sci-fi genre or who just really wants to read some clever stories that also challenge you as a reader and make you think! Another reviewer summed it up perfectly: "Excellent. Disturbing. Distressing. Hopeful."
Also, reading the foreword and all the afterwords for every single story has me convinced that the two of us would've been great friends. She truly had a killer sense of humor.
The truth is, I hate short story writing. Trying to do it has taught me much more about frustration and despair than I ever wanted to know.Bloodchild and Other Stories is a collection of seven short stories and two essays on writing that was published in 2005. The first five short stories, written between 1971 and 1984, had been published as a collection before.
I was surprised that two stories, "Near of Kin" and "Crossover", weren't in the sci-fi genre; the first is a haunting contemporary tale whereas the latter does have a twinge of magical realism or surrealism to it. Funnily enough, those were the stories, alongside "The Book of Martha", that I enjoyed the least. I wouldn't have expected that. I really loathe sci-fi (if I'm very honest) and the fact that Butler could make it work for me was a huge relief and has me excited to check out more of her work ... even though I don't really know what to read next because her sci-fi series sound soo intimidating (and I'm not in the mood for series atm) and the topic of Kindred makes my skin crawl. So, it'll probably be a while until I read my next Butler but I'm keeping my eyes open!
What I found fascinating (and funny) about the foreword is that Butler comes clean with her hatred for short story writing. I found that very relatable. Even though I'm not a writer, as a reader I have similar issues with short stories as Butler: most of them doesn't make sense, and therefore, they're hella frustrating. You either feel they would've been better of as novels or ask yourself why they were written in the first place.
After a long struggle, I made some of them work as novels. Which is what they should have been all along. I am essentially a novelist. [...] And yet, every now and then one of my short stories really is a short story. The five stories in this collection really are short stories. I've never been tempted to turn them into novels.And, with the exception of "Bloodchild", I really agree with her. Butler managed to write perfectly fine, self-contained short stories. Sure, sometimes you're left wanting more because the world she created is so fascinating, but almost all of the stories of the collection make perfect sense within themselves and don't leave the reader frustrated. For me, "Bloodchild" is a bit of a different case because even though I loved the story for its themes (LOVED IT, LOVED IT A LOT), I still feel like it should've at least been a novella.
Apart from that, we have the usual of some stories being stronger than others, but overall, Bloodchild and Other Stories is a wonderful short story collection that I would recommend to everyone who wants to dip their toe into the sci-fi genre or who just really wants to read some clever stories that also challenge you as a reader and make you think! Another reviewer summed it up perfectly: "Excellent. Disturbing. Distressing. Hopeful."
March 11, 2021
I gotta hand it to Octavia E. Butler. This is the first collection of short stories that I really, really liked. Usually I dislike them because as soon as I start getting into them, they end. I start the next only to flounder around still thinking about the previous story, and by the time my brain catches up and gets in the present one, it ends. Repeat the process throughout the book.
However, Ms. Butler was able to pull me into each new story on the very first page. I didn't have that moment of disorientation wondering who these new characters were and why the story didn't seem familiar and where is so-and-so. As much as I liked each story, I was able to immediately get into the next.
These stories were terrific and imaginative and they built entirely new worlds in such a short space. The only thing I didn't love about them is that they didn't last long enough (except for the last story which I didn't like).
There were two essays included as well, one I found interesting; one semi-interesting.
(In case you're wondering why I read this when I usually dislike short stories.... after being recently disappointed by Fledgling I was hoping to find something of hers that would pull me in like her Earthseed: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents books had. I didn't know this was a story collection when I put a hold on it and when I started reading it and realised it, figured I'd at least try the first story.)
My favourite in the collection is Amnesty and that would have been one kick-ass phenomenal book, had Octavia Butler decided to expand it. Wow! It was worth reading the book just for that one story alone. The ideas in it could take you so many places!
Octavia E Butler fans and fans of speculative short stories will no doubt appreciate this collection as much as I did.
However, Ms. Butler was able to pull me into each new story on the very first page. I didn't have that moment of disorientation wondering who these new characters were and why the story didn't seem familiar and where is so-and-so. As much as I liked each story, I was able to immediately get into the next.
These stories were terrific and imaginative and they built entirely new worlds in such a short space. The only thing I didn't love about them is that they didn't last long enough (except for the last story which I didn't like).
There were two essays included as well, one I found interesting; one semi-interesting.
(In case you're wondering why I read this when I usually dislike short stories.... after being recently disappointed by Fledgling I was hoping to find something of hers that would pull me in like her Earthseed: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents books had. I didn't know this was a story collection when I put a hold on it and when I started reading it and realised it, figured I'd at least try the first story.)
My favourite in the collection is Amnesty and that would have been one kick-ass phenomenal book, had Octavia Butler decided to expand it. Wow! It was worth reading the book just for that one story alone. The ideas in it could take you so many places!
Octavia E Butler fans and fans of speculative short stories will no doubt appreciate this collection as much as I did.
June 16, 2020
I love everything Octavia E. Butler writes. Though not every story was 5-stars from me, this collection of short stories was quality writing. Just really true perfection here. Made me want to re-read Octavia Butler's entire body of work.
Bloodchild- 4 stars
Very intense. I find it interesting that the author says in the discussion that this isn't a commentary on slavery because that is what it felt like to me. Sickly fascinating, I couldn't stop reading. My first time seeing mPreg outside of a romance book.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night- 4.5 stars
I'm very interested in inherited diseases and chromosomal abnormalities, so this story was very well suited for my tastes. I right away pinpointed which diseases the author based her fictional syndrome on, and it felt extremely possible, in a horrifying way. The more mind-altering aspects of the story towards the end were a bit iffy for me, but I still found it to be brilliant.
Near of Kin- 4 stars
Difficult for me to review without spoilers. The topic of this story is a personal no-go area for me, but I think the author handled the situation delicately and with such skill that I ended up enjoying the story anyway.
Speech Sounds- 3.5 stars
Truly painful to read. This is a bleak story that came from a place of pain. It's a post-apocalyptic world with almost no hope and no happiness. It was hard to read, even if the writing moved me. I can't say that I really enjoyed it that much.
Crossover- 3 stars
Short. I didn't quite get this one.
Positive Obsession- 5 stars
I was really moved by this essay. Powerful. All the stars.
Furor Scribendi- 5 stars
I'm not a writer but this really inspired me. Just motivational, tight writing. Short but perfect.
Amnesty- 4.5 stars
God, this just made we want a full-length story. I can't get over how Octavia Butler immediately sucks me in and doesn't let me go. Such an interesting alien species she created. i wanted more.
The Book of Martha- 4.5 stars
Chilling in its own way, but something to really think about. I loved Martha's shifting perspectives as to the physical appearance of God and the decisions that she makes. Another winner and another fascinating story.
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Bloodchild- 4 stars
Very intense. I find it interesting that the author says in the discussion that this isn't a commentary on slavery because that is what it felt like to me. Sickly fascinating, I couldn't stop reading. My first time seeing mPreg outside of a romance book.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night- 4.5 stars
I'm very interested in inherited diseases and chromosomal abnormalities, so this story was very well suited for my tastes. I right away pinpointed which diseases the author based her fictional syndrome on, and it felt extremely possible, in a horrifying way. The more mind-altering aspects of the story towards the end were a bit iffy for me, but I still found it to be brilliant.
Near of Kin- 4 stars
Difficult for me to review without spoilers. The topic of this story is a personal no-go area for me, but I think the author handled the situation delicately and with such skill that I ended up enjoying the story anyway.
Speech Sounds- 3.5 stars
Truly painful to read. This is a bleak story that came from a place of pain. It's a post-apocalyptic world with almost no hope and no happiness. It was hard to read, even if the writing moved me. I can't say that I really enjoyed it that much.
Crossover- 3 stars
Short. I didn't quite get this one.
Positive Obsession- 5 stars
I was really moved by this essay. Powerful. All the stars.
Furor Scribendi- 5 stars
I'm not a writer but this really inspired me. Just motivational, tight writing. Short but perfect.
Amnesty- 4.5 stars
God, this just made we want a full-length story. I can't get over how Octavia Butler immediately sucks me in and doesn't let me go. Such an interesting alien species she created. i wanted more.
The Book of Martha- 4.5 stars
Chilling in its own way, but something to really think about. I loved Martha's shifting perspectives as to the physical appearance of God and the decisions that she makes. Another winner and another fascinating story.
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November 7, 2021
Libro de relatos y 2 breves ensayos (sobre su biografía o inicios en la escritura y sus reglas para escribir, muy breves)
Puntuación de los relatos:
HIJA DE SANGRE 4/5
LA TARDE LA MAÑANA Y LA NOCHE 3.5/5
PARIENTES CERCANOS 2.5/5
SONIDOS DEL HABLA 4.5/5
AL OTRO LADO 1/5 (MUY CORTO)
ANMISTIA 4/5
EL LIBRO DE MARTHA 2.5/5
TOTAL 3/5
Mi primer acercamiento a esta autora y me gusta como escribe.
Seguro que leeré algo más de sus obra.
Puntuación de los relatos:
HIJA DE SANGRE 4/5
LA TARDE LA MAÑANA Y LA NOCHE 3.5/5
PARIENTES CERCANOS 2.5/5
SONIDOS DEL HABLA 4.5/5
AL OTRO LADO 1/5 (MUY CORTO)
ANMISTIA 4/5
EL LIBRO DE MARTHA 2.5/5
TOTAL 3/5
Mi primer acercamiento a esta autora y me gusta como escribe.
Seguro que leeré algo más de sus obra.
April 23, 2022
When I was a child, I read Madeleine L'Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time countless times. I didn’t think of it as science fiction or fantasy—I didn’t know the terms then anyway—it was just a story I loved and connected to on many levels. After reading this collection’s title story, the first thing I’ve read by Butler, I thought of the L’Engle novel and not because of its genre. In a biographical essay collected here, Butler speaks to her voracious reading, courtesy of the public library. I don’t know if she read A Wrinkle in Time from those shelves, but it wouldn’t surprise me. “Bloodchild” is a compelling story and I never wanted to stop reading it, not even during a scene that might’ve grossed me out in lesser hands.
I was again reminded of A Wrinkle in Time, if only slightly, in the story “The Evening and the Morning and the Night.” Butler is a powerful writer and the only time my attention flagged was when I thought there was too much dialogue. But that’s a personal preference. Butler uses a lot of dialogue to advance her stories and she does do it well.
I found the two longest stories—“Bloodchild” (1995) and “Amnesty” (2003)—the best of the collection, perhaps pointing out, as her fans likely already know, that her forte was the novel. “Amnesty” is full of important themes: how 'visitors' to the planet treat the inhabitants compared to how law enforcement treats the citizens they're supposed to protect; how those with no power are in constant negotiation with those in power, no matter the species. And then the threat of just possessing nuclear weapons, a form of blackmail, and what, if anything, can be done about that once they're in the hands of a perceived enemy, an obvious concern for our moment.
The final story, “The Book of Martha,” is an interesting thought experiment. It feels poignant knowing it was one of Butler's last writings before her sudden death a couple years later.
I was again reminded of A Wrinkle in Time, if only slightly, in the story “The Evening and the Morning and the Night.” Butler is a powerful writer and the only time my attention flagged was when I thought there was too much dialogue. But that’s a personal preference. Butler uses a lot of dialogue to advance her stories and she does do it well.
I found the two longest stories—“Bloodchild” (1995) and “Amnesty” (2003)—the best of the collection, perhaps pointing out, as her fans likely already know, that her forte was the novel. “Amnesty” is full of important themes: how 'visitors' to the planet treat the inhabitants compared to how law enforcement treats the citizens they're supposed to protect; how those with no power are in constant negotiation with those in power, no matter the species. And then the threat of just possessing nuclear weapons, a form of blackmail, and what, if anything, can be done about that once they're in the hands of a perceived enemy, an obvious concern for our moment.
The final story, “The Book of Martha,” is an interesting thought experiment. It feels poignant knowing it was one of Butler's last writings before her sudden death a couple years later.
May 27, 2022
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In Bloodchild and Other Stories Octavia Butler demonstrates how fluid Afrofuturism is. In these stories, Butler combines different genres—such as speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, horror—presenting her readers with thought-provoking stories that challenge Western influences and beliefs. Within these stories, Butler is able to simultaneously reclaim the past and to promote visions of possible futures. This reappropriation of the past and the future occurs through a Black cultural lens, and Butler’s stories not only challenges white historical narratives but enable projections of Black futures to address and reexamine a lost or stolen past. Often within Butler’s stories, time and space collapse, past and future coalesce, empowering both those with histories of oppression and those who are systemically discriminated against to transcend their realities.
Many of the stories in this collection feature dystopian settings. Within these futuristic narratives, Butler interrogates the fraught relationship between power and justice, exploring encounters between ‘us’ and the ‘Other’. Many of her stories revolve around those who have been systematically oppressed and exploited by those in power/control. In ‘Bloodchild’ we learn of a human colony that lives alongside insect-like aliens called Tlic. Humans are used as egg hosts for Tlic eggs and our narrator, a human boy named Gan, was chosen to carry the eggs of a female Tlic. At the end of this frankly disturbing story, Butler herself provides us with some insight into her storytelling process. While according to Bulter this story is not about slavery I couldn’t help but make that connection. The Tlic have subjugated the humans and I couldn’t really bring myself to believe that the relationship between the Tlic and the humans was powered by love. I guess we can see this as an early example of the pregnant male trope.
In ‘The Evening and the Morning and the Night’ Butler looks at genetic diseases. In this story, the children of those who have taken a cancer cure have developed Duryea-Gode Disease, a genetic disease that results in psychosis, dissociation, and self-mutilation. Those who have DGD are discriminated against and inevitably detained in centres where they are subjected to horrific treatments. Our narrator is a double DGD who lives in fear of ‘losing control’. She eventually becomes involved with a man who is also DGD. The two of them eventually come across a centre for DGDs where they are surprised to discover, the DGDs in question are actually treated with humanity.
‘Near of Kin’ is an incest-y kind of story that owes a lot to Butler’s Baptist background. ‘Speech Sounds’ takes place in a post-apocalyptic America where a virus has eradicated people’s ability to speak, write, and/or read. This scenario allows Butler to interrogate themes of justice, survival, and envy.
There are three more fiction pieces, the most notable of which follows a woman named Marhta who is selected by God to improve humanity.
Additionally, there are two non-fiction pieces where Butler discusses her experiences in publishing and the realities of being one of the few Black sci-fi authors. These are a definite must for fans of Butler.
All in all, this was a solid collection. It is by no means an easy read. These stories filled me with unease and discomfort, they disturbed and repulsed me. Butler was a terrific writer and her stories are great examples of Afrofuturism. The themes and issues Butler touches upon are still relevant today and I admire her ability to explore distressing & taboo topics. I did find myself wishing for more lgbtq+ rep but these stories are rather heteronormative (yeah, in one men get pregnant but the pairing is still f/m).
While the stories in this collection don’t quite match to the masterpiece that is Kindred, they still make for some challenging reading that will undoubtedly provide the reader with a lot of food for thought.
In Bloodchild and Other Stories Octavia Butler demonstrates how fluid Afrofuturism is. In these stories, Butler combines different genres—such as speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, horror—presenting her readers with thought-provoking stories that challenge Western influences and beliefs. Within these stories, Butler is able to simultaneously reclaim the past and to promote visions of possible futures. This reappropriation of the past and the future occurs through a Black cultural lens, and Butler’s stories not only challenges white historical narratives but enable projections of Black futures to address and reexamine a lost or stolen past. Often within Butler’s stories, time and space collapse, past and future coalesce, empowering both those with histories of oppression and those who are systemically discriminated against to transcend their realities.
Many of the stories in this collection feature dystopian settings. Within these futuristic narratives, Butler interrogates the fraught relationship between power and justice, exploring encounters between ‘us’ and the ‘Other’. Many of her stories revolve around those who have been systematically oppressed and exploited by those in power/control. In ‘Bloodchild’ we learn of a human colony that lives alongside insect-like aliens called Tlic. Humans are used as egg hosts for Tlic eggs and our narrator, a human boy named Gan, was chosen to carry the eggs of a female Tlic. At the end of this frankly disturbing story, Butler herself provides us with some insight into her storytelling process. While according to Bulter this story is not about slavery I couldn’t help but make that connection. The Tlic have subjugated the humans and I couldn’t really bring myself to believe that the relationship between the Tlic and the humans was powered by love. I guess we can see this as an early example of the pregnant male trope.
In ‘The Evening and the Morning and the Night’ Butler looks at genetic diseases. In this story, the children of those who have taken a cancer cure have developed Duryea-Gode Disease, a genetic disease that results in psychosis, dissociation, and self-mutilation. Those who have DGD are discriminated against and inevitably detained in centres where they are subjected to horrific treatments. Our narrator is a double DGD who lives in fear of ‘losing control’. She eventually becomes involved with a man who is also DGD. The two of them eventually come across a centre for DGDs where they are surprised to discover, the DGDs in question are actually treated with humanity.
‘Near of Kin’ is an incest-y kind of story that owes a lot to Butler’s Baptist background. ‘Speech Sounds’ takes place in a post-apocalyptic America where a virus has eradicated people’s ability to speak, write, and/or read. This scenario allows Butler to interrogate themes of justice, survival, and envy.
There are three more fiction pieces, the most notable of which follows a woman named Marhta who is selected by God to improve humanity.
Additionally, there are two non-fiction pieces where Butler discusses her experiences in publishing and the realities of being one of the few Black sci-fi authors. These are a definite must for fans of Butler.
All in all, this was a solid collection. It is by no means an easy read. These stories filled me with unease and discomfort, they disturbed and repulsed me. Butler was a terrific writer and her stories are great examples of Afrofuturism. The themes and issues Butler touches upon are still relevant today and I admire her ability to explore distressing & taboo topics. I did find myself wishing for more lgbtq+ rep but these stories are rather heteronormative (yeah, in one men get pregnant but the pairing is still f/m).
While the stories in this collection don’t quite match to the masterpiece that is Kindred, they still make for some challenging reading that will undoubtedly provide the reader with a lot of food for thought.
November 27, 2021
Puede contener lo que yo creo que son pequeños spoilers.
Hacer una reseña de un libro de relatos es un poco complicado, así que haré una pequeña reseña de cada relato.
RELATOS
-Hija de sangre (5⭐)
Una historia magnífica, y al mismo tiempo horrible y algo perturbadora.
Los humanos viven en una colonia en el planeta de los Tlic (una raza alienígena muy parecida a algo parecido a cien pies? escorpiones?), con los que comparten una relación bastante física.
Hay una escena en particular que me dejo mal cuerpo. Es brutal y está contada de una manera brutal. Es una escena de un "parto", no digo más.
Aún siendo un relato con toques de terror, la historia nos habla de amor. También se trata el tema de: ¿qué pasaría si fueran los hombres los que se quedaran embarazados?
-------
-La tarde y la mañana y la noche (4⭐)
Este relato trata sobre la Enfermedad de Duryea-Gode (que surge de un medicamento que tomaban las mujeres embarazadas) que provoca un defecto genético y hace que al crecer uno pierda la cabeza. Y cuando digo perder la cabeza digo perder la cabeza (mutilaciones, arañazos hasta llegar al hueso, comerse su propia carne, etc.). Generalmente estas personas son peligrosas para si mismas.
Me pareció que tenía mucha similitud a las historias de zombies, aunque no los haya.
Nos cuenta de una forma bastante cruda y realista como es convivir con personas con enfermedades mentales, o enfermedades que no se curan.
-------
-Parientes cercanos (3'5⭐)
Este relato no creo que se pueda catalogar en ciencia ficción.
Es la historia de la relación de la protagonista con su madre (ahora fallecida), o la falta de relación más bien. También trata sobre como ella es más cercana a su abuela y a su tío. Trata sobre un secreto familiar, un secreto que la protagonista intuye saber. La vergüenza, el miedo, el rechazo...
Un relato que deja al lector pensando sobre los matices de este, ya que la autora no cuenta mucho.
-------
-Sonidos de habla (3'5⭐)
En este relato también tenemos una enfermedad como tema principal, aunque esta historia es más post-apocalíptica. La enfermedad causa daños intelectuales? (algunas personas dejan de poder hablar, otras de escribir, otras de leer, etc.).
En este mundo no hay ley, todo se ha ido a la mierda, y el poco transporte que hay son algunos autobuses que te puedes cruzar muy de vez en cuando. Como en toda historia post-apocalíptica la violencia está servida.
La historia te transmite tristeza, pesadumbre, miedo. Pero hacia el final también se siente un poco de esperanza, aunque muy poca.
-------
-Al otro lado (3⭐)
La protagonista tiene una vida bastante mala y no es feliz. Tiene un trabajo en una fábrica donde sus compañeras no son amables y sus jefes la explotan. Se da a la bebida porque tiene alucinaciones (¿o quizás sea al revés?). La alucinación que tiene es la de un hombre con una cicatriz en la cara. Al parecer ese hombre fue su pareja o amante en el pasado.
Es una historia que se siente fría, triste, oscura.
______________________
DOS ENSAYOS
-Obsesión positiva (3'5⭐)
La autora nos habla de su obsesión por leer desde que es una niña, pero también, y/o sobre todo, sobre su obsesión por escribir.
Este fragmento me encantó:
"Pero aún me siguen preguntando: ¿de qué les sirve la ciencia ficción a las personas negras?
¿De qué les sirve cualquier forma de literatura a las personas negras?
¿De qué sirve la reflexión sobre el presente, el futuro y el pasado que ofrece la ciencia ficción? ¿De qué sirve su tendencia a advertir de peligros o a considerar formas alternativas de pensar y hacer? ¿De qué sirve su análisis de los posibles efectos de la ciencia y la tecnología, o de la organización social y la dirección política? Los mejores ejemplos de ciencia ficción estimulan la imaginación y la creatividad. Saca a lectores y escritores del camino trillado, de la estrecha senda de lo que ��todo el mundo» dice, hace, piensa, sea quien resulte ser «todo el mundo» ese año.
¿Y de qué les sirve todo esto a las personas negras?"
-------
-Furor scribendi (3⭐)
La autora da unas reglas o unos pasos para escribir.
______________________
RELATOS NUEVOS
-Amnistía (4⭐)
En este relato la Tierra ha sido conquistada, aunque dejando ciertas libertades a los humanos.
A estos alienígenas les encantan los desiertos, que es donde se han asentado en algo parecido a colonias (aunque ellas lo llaman comunidades). Durante los primeros años estudiaron al ser humano haciendo experimentos con ellos, y sin quererlo, torturándolos.
Al no poder comunicarse verbalmente con los seres humanos, establecen otro tipo de comunicación (mediante gestos sobre todo).
La forma más rápida y fácil de hacer dinero en este mundo es trabajar para estas comunidades, y la protagonista del relato es una traductora, y lo que hace es hacer entrevistas a los posibles candidatos/as que quieren trabajar con los alienígenas.
Al principio me pareció un relato bastante confuso y complejo, pero poco a poco se va aclarando todo.
Trata el tema de la crueldad entre humanos.
-------
-El libro de Martha (4'5⭐)
La protagonista, Martha, se despierta al lado de Dios. Tiene una conversación con él/ella, y este le pide que salve a la humanidad como ella crea conveniente. Dios le dará parte de su poder, o un poder similar al suyo para que Martha pueda llevar a cabo su labor. Pero ella tiene dudas y miedo a fallar o a hacer algo incorrecto.
Me ha gustado como Butler retrata a Dios; no lo muestra como alguien/algo perfecto. Además cambia de aspecto según avanza el relato.
Lo que nos transmite esta historia es que hay que tener cuidado cuando se tiene el poder, por sus posibles consecuencias.
______________________
Los epílogos de la autora al final de cada relato y ensayo me han parecido muy interesantes y muy necesarios. Es un detalle que los publicaran al final de los relatos (como quiso la autora) y no al principio.
Hacer una reseña de un libro de relatos es un poco complicado, así que haré una pequeña reseña de cada relato.
RELATOS
-Hija de sangre (5⭐)
Una historia magnífica, y al mismo tiempo horrible y algo perturbadora.
Los humanos viven en una colonia en el planeta de los Tlic (una raza alienígena muy parecida a algo parecido a cien pies? escorpiones?), con los que comparten una relación bastante física.
Hay una escena en particular que me dejo mal cuerpo. Es brutal y está contada de una manera brutal. Es una escena de un "parto", no digo más.
Aún siendo un relato con toques de terror, la historia nos habla de amor. También se trata el tema de: ¿qué pasaría si fueran los hombres los que se quedaran embarazados?
-------
-La tarde y la mañana y la noche (4⭐)
Este relato trata sobre la Enfermedad de Duryea-Gode (que surge de un medicamento que tomaban las mujeres embarazadas) que provoca un defecto genético y hace que al crecer uno pierda la cabeza. Y cuando digo perder la cabeza digo perder la cabeza (mutilaciones, arañazos hasta llegar al hueso, comerse su propia carne, etc.). Generalmente estas personas son peligrosas para si mismas.
Me pareció que tenía mucha similitud a las historias de zombies, aunque no los haya.
Nos cuenta de una forma bastante cruda y realista como es convivir con personas con enfermedades mentales, o enfermedades que no se curan.
-------
-Parientes cercanos (3'5⭐)
Este relato no creo que se pueda catalogar en ciencia ficción.
Es la historia de la relación de la protagonista con su madre (ahora fallecida), o la falta de relación más bien. También trata sobre como ella es más cercana a su abuela y a su tío. Trata sobre un secreto familiar, un secreto que la protagonista intuye saber. La vergüenza, el miedo, el rechazo...
Un relato que deja al lector pensando sobre los matices de este, ya que la autora no cuenta mucho.
-------
-Sonidos de habla (3'5⭐)
En este relato también tenemos una enfermedad como tema principal, aunque esta historia es más post-apocalíptica. La enfermedad causa daños intelectuales? (algunas personas dejan de poder hablar, otras de escribir, otras de leer, etc.).
En este mundo no hay ley, todo se ha ido a la mierda, y el poco transporte que hay son algunos autobuses que te puedes cruzar muy de vez en cuando. Como en toda historia post-apocalíptica la violencia está servida.
La historia te transmite tristeza, pesadumbre, miedo. Pero hacia el final también se siente un poco de esperanza, aunque muy poca.
-------
-Al otro lado (3⭐)
La protagonista tiene una vida bastante mala y no es feliz. Tiene un trabajo en una fábrica donde sus compañeras no son amables y sus jefes la explotan. Se da a la bebida porque tiene alucinaciones (¿o quizás sea al revés?). La alucinación que tiene es la de un hombre con una cicatriz en la cara. Al parecer ese hombre fue su pareja o amante en el pasado.
Es una historia que se siente fría, triste, oscura.
______________________
DOS ENSAYOS
-Obsesión positiva (3'5⭐)
La autora nos habla de su obsesión por leer desde que es una niña, pero también, y/o sobre todo, sobre su obsesión por escribir.
Este fragmento me encantó:
"Pero aún me siguen preguntando: ¿de qué les sirve la ciencia ficción a las personas negras?
¿De qué les sirve cualquier forma de literatura a las personas negras?
¿De qué sirve la reflexión sobre el presente, el futuro y el pasado que ofrece la ciencia ficción? ¿De qué sirve su tendencia a advertir de peligros o a considerar formas alternativas de pensar y hacer? ¿De qué sirve su análisis de los posibles efectos de la ciencia y la tecnología, o de la organización social y la dirección política? Los mejores ejemplos de ciencia ficción estimulan la imaginación y la creatividad. Saca a lectores y escritores del camino trillado, de la estrecha senda de lo que ��todo el mundo» dice, hace, piensa, sea quien resulte ser «todo el mundo» ese año.
¿Y de qué les sirve todo esto a las personas negras?"
-------
-Furor scribendi (3⭐)
La autora da unas reglas o unos pasos para escribir.
______________________
RELATOS NUEVOS
-Amnistía (4⭐)
En este relato la Tierra ha sido conquistada, aunque dejando ciertas libertades a los humanos.
A estos alienígenas les encantan los desiertos, que es donde se han asentado en algo parecido a colonias (aunque ellas lo llaman comunidades). Durante los primeros años estudiaron al ser humano haciendo experimentos con ellos, y sin quererlo, torturándolos.
Al no poder comunicarse verbalmente con los seres humanos, establecen otro tipo de comunicación (mediante gestos sobre todo).
La forma más rápida y fácil de hacer dinero en este mundo es trabajar para estas comunidades, y la protagonista del relato es una traductora, y lo que hace es hacer entrevistas a los posibles candidatos/as que quieren trabajar con los alienígenas.
Al principio me pareció un relato bastante confuso y complejo, pero poco a poco se va aclarando todo.
Trata el tema de la crueldad entre humanos.
-------
-El libro de Martha (4'5⭐)
La protagonista, Martha, se despierta al lado de Dios. Tiene una conversación con él/ella, y este le pide que salve a la humanidad como ella crea conveniente. Dios le dará parte de su poder, o un poder similar al suyo para que Martha pueda llevar a cabo su labor. Pero ella tiene dudas y miedo a fallar o a hacer algo incorrecto.
Me ha gustado como Butler retrata a Dios; no lo muestra como alguien/algo perfecto. Además cambia de aspecto según avanza el relato.
Lo que nos transmite esta historia es que hay que tener cuidado cuando se tiene el poder, por sus posibles consecuencias.
______________________
Los epílogos de la autora al final de cada relato y ensayo me han parecido muy interesantes y muy necesarios. Es un detalle que los publicaran al final de los relatos (como quiso la autora) y no al principio.
July 16, 2011
Bloodchild is a collection of short stories by the famous science-fiction writer Octavia Butler. The problem with most short story collections is that they are usually a mixed bag, populated with mostly mediocre stories speckled with a few stinkers and a few gems. Well, I am happy to report to you that Bloodchild is not like that at all. Every single story in this collection is captivating, intelligent, and written in a style that is clear and accessible without losing any of its sophistication.
What really struck me about Bloodchild was the sheer emotional impact of each story. Because each story is such a perfect little world, and because the characters are so well realized, every story really packs a punch. I put down the book between each story, incapable of doing any real thinking because I was so blown away by what I had just read. I think the effectiveness of the stories comes from a mix of excellent writing and characterization and the way Butler uses those characters to explore complex ideas. One of Butler's strengths is in never letting her work become preachy or one-sided. Butler's ideas are as complex as her characters, and that makes her stories resonate in a very real and powerful way.
Usually, this would be the part of the review where I would tell you which stories were my favorite and which ones to skip, but I can't really do that with this collection, because they are all absolutely worth reading. I believe that Butler's most famous stories are Bloodchild and Speech Sounds, both of which are in this collection and both of which are absolutely mind-blowing. Bloodchild actually left me speechless and shaking by the time I finished it. Her other stories are more subtle, but are still incredibly well-written. There are also two essays included in the book, my favorite of which was Positive Obsession. Since I bought the updated version of the book, I got an extra two stories on top of the original five stories and two essays. If you are going to get it, I recommend getting the updated version, because the two added stories are both very good, especially Amnesty. In all of the stories Butler's characters are absolutely convincing, and her story-telling is so smooth that you never need time to get adjusted to the story, even when you are dropped right in the middle of the action. That is, to me, a sign of a great writer.
I know this review is vague, but that is only because Butler's stories are so good. I don't feel like I need to speak for them, and I'm not sure that I could even if I wanted to. If you want intelligent stories with concise yet vivid writing and realistic characters, then Octavia Butler is absolutely the writer for you.
Rating: 5 stars
Vivid writing, engaging plot, convincing characters, and intelligent world building. Highly recommended.
What really struck me about Bloodchild was the sheer emotional impact of each story. Because each story is such a perfect little world, and because the characters are so well realized, every story really packs a punch. I put down the book between each story, incapable of doing any real thinking because I was so blown away by what I had just read. I think the effectiveness of the stories comes from a mix of excellent writing and characterization and the way Butler uses those characters to explore complex ideas. One of Butler's strengths is in never letting her work become preachy or one-sided. Butler's ideas are as complex as her characters, and that makes her stories resonate in a very real and powerful way.
Usually, this would be the part of the review where I would tell you which stories were my favorite and which ones to skip, but I can't really do that with this collection, because they are all absolutely worth reading. I believe that Butler's most famous stories are Bloodchild and Speech Sounds, both of which are in this collection and both of which are absolutely mind-blowing. Bloodchild actually left me speechless and shaking by the time I finished it. Her other stories are more subtle, but are still incredibly well-written. There are also two essays included in the book, my favorite of which was Positive Obsession. Since I bought the updated version of the book, I got an extra two stories on top of the original five stories and two essays. If you are going to get it, I recommend getting the updated version, because the two added stories are both very good, especially Amnesty. In all of the stories Butler's characters are absolutely convincing, and her story-telling is so smooth that you never need time to get adjusted to the story, even when you are dropped right in the middle of the action. That is, to me, a sign of a great writer.
I know this review is vague, but that is only because Butler's stories are so good. I don't feel like I need to speak for them, and I'm not sure that I could even if I wanted to. If you want intelligent stories with concise yet vivid writing and realistic characters, then Octavia Butler is absolutely the writer for you.
Rating: 5 stars
Vivid writing, engaging plot, convincing characters, and intelligent world building. Highly recommended.
Currently reading
May 23, 2024breaking this bitch down as we go (aka accommodating my consistently high levels of stress and tiktokified attention span):
1. bloodchild - 5 stars
i’m so thoroughly disturbed.
i’ve always considered flying insects to be my personal least favorite but the botfly might have topped it.
honestly, i was pushed to read this when first, a friend of mine gave me her copy, and second, when someone highly recommended her to me for her ability to show how nothing is ever black and white. that’s my favorite compliment to give a book, so naturally, my curiosity was peaked.
and it shows.
how—in 20 odd pages—butler described an entirely different world and species and also the layers within the relationships between multiple characters, i can’t even understand.
an onion could never and even i don’t have as many layers as an onion.
but girl, a love story??? crazy. but you might have to be to write this.
2. the evening and the morning and the night - 3 stars
honestly, i didn't love this one. that sucks since i had high expectations, but i just found it a bit underwhelming. interesting, but maybe lacking a bit of an overall message i enjoy in short stories. i like them to have a REASON.
and i know it had a reason, but i wasn’t feeling the reason!
in other news, i love reading these. like, the physical experience of reading these. going along and trying to figure out what is going on in each story, trying to piece together realism and fiction. it makes me feel like a detective.
3. near of kin - don’t even ask me.
as i just said, i like these because every time i start it im trying to piece together where i am and what’s happening. this one seemed very normal to start, which was strange.
a red flag, even.
because incest? really?? i mean, it is terrifying.
4. speech sounds - 4-5 stars
this one was very good… weird (what else is knew), but good.
honestly pretty fascinating, especially the authors notes, it really gives you a different way to think about it.
1. bloodchild - 5 stars
i’m so thoroughly disturbed.
i’ve always considered flying insects to be my personal least favorite but the botfly might have topped it.
honestly, i was pushed to read this when first, a friend of mine gave me her copy, and second, when someone highly recommended her to me for her ability to show how nothing is ever black and white. that’s my favorite compliment to give a book, so naturally, my curiosity was peaked.
and it shows.
how—in 20 odd pages—butler described an entirely different world and species and also the layers within the relationships between multiple characters, i can’t even understand.
an onion could never and even i don’t have as many layers as an onion.
but girl, a love story??? crazy. but you might have to be to write this.
2. the evening and the morning and the night - 3 stars
honestly, i didn't love this one. that sucks since i had high expectations, but i just found it a bit underwhelming. interesting, but maybe lacking a bit of an overall message i enjoy in short stories. i like them to have a REASON.
and i know it had a reason, but i wasn’t feeling the reason!
in other news, i love reading these. like, the physical experience of reading these. going along and trying to figure out what is going on in each story, trying to piece together realism and fiction. it makes me feel like a detective.
3. near of kin - don’t even ask me.
as i just said, i like these because every time i start it im trying to piece together where i am and what’s happening. this one seemed very normal to start, which was strange.
a red flag, even.
because incest? really?? i mean, it is terrifying.
4. speech sounds - 4-5 stars
this one was very good… weird (what else is knew), but good.
honestly pretty fascinating, especially the authors notes, it really gives you a different way to think about it.
February 19, 2023
¿Me gustó? No. Me encantó.
Dedicaré la primera parte de esta reseña a describir cómo es que descubrí a Octavia Butler. Como todo fanático de la ciencia ficción, no me alcanza con conocer uno o dos nombres del género. Tuve durante mucho tiempo la-ilusoria-ambición de conocer a todos los grandes escritores de ciencia ficción. Así, revisando listados y compilaciones de nombres, conocí a la autora. Sin embargo, por mucho tiempo no pude leer a Butler por un motivo muy sencillo: sus libros son casi imposibles de conseguir en Argentina. Incluso ahora solo hay dos o tres disponibles, y éste es el único a un precio accesible (como lector asiduo, sé cuándo me están estafando, y no estoy dispuesto a pagar cinco veces más el precio de un libro). Sabía que, como mujer, como afroamericana, y como una persona nacida en la pobreza en plena segregación, probablemente Butler tendría un enfoque diferente de muchos tópicos clásicos de la ciencia ficción.
En este libro, si bien cabe aclarar que no todos los relatos son de ciencia ficción, asoma una prosa simple pero elegante. Una prosa que expresa muy bien el principio de "menos es más". Butler afirmaba no ser buena escritora de cuentos, pero creo que pecaba de humilde. Estos relatos son excelentes, están repletos de sensibilidad y donde otros escritores habrían apostado por resoluciones rimbombantes o por personajes que luchan y triunfan, los de Butler son en cierto modo más realistas: personas rodeadas por circunstancias que a menudo no pueden cambiar y a las que deben adaptarse para sobrevivir. "Hija de sangre", "Sonidos de habla" y "Amnistía" tienen personajes así. También en muchos de los relatos podemos vislumbrar la importancia de las relaciones familiares, en particular entre madres e hijas, y la diferente perspectiva de protagonistas femeninos, con sus preocupaciones y limitaciones, comparados a los personajes masculinos.
De todos los relatos, mi favorito es "Amnistía". Quedó como un eco en mi cabeza después de leerlo. Es un relato que acepta más de una lectura, aunque en mi opinión, describe bien cómo la ignorancia y la intolerancia son primos hermanos, y como la reacción natural del ser humano es la agresión, a pesar de que casi nunca le rinde buenos resultados.
Por último, el libro contiene dos ensayos muy cortos. Al leerlos, no puedo evitar sentir simpatía por Butler: por su baja autoestima, por la manera en que tuvo que tolerar que todos a su alrededor dieran por sentado que no podía escribir, que no iba a cumplir su sueño, que una mujer y además negra no podía triunfar en la ciencia ficción, que no esto, que no aquello, que no, que no, que no.
Pero bien que sí. Y creo que todos nos podemos sentir agradecidos de ello.
Dedicaré la primera parte de esta reseña a describir cómo es que descubrí a Octavia Butler. Como todo fanático de la ciencia ficción, no me alcanza con conocer uno o dos nombres del género. Tuve durante mucho tiempo la-ilusoria-ambición de conocer a todos los grandes escritores de ciencia ficción. Así, revisando listados y compilaciones de nombres, conocí a la autora. Sin embargo, por mucho tiempo no pude leer a Butler por un motivo muy sencillo: sus libros son casi imposibles de conseguir en Argentina. Incluso ahora solo hay dos o tres disponibles, y éste es el único a un precio accesible (como lector asiduo, sé cuándo me están estafando, y no estoy dispuesto a pagar cinco veces más el precio de un libro). Sabía que, como mujer, como afroamericana, y como una persona nacida en la pobreza en plena segregación, probablemente Butler tendría un enfoque diferente de muchos tópicos clásicos de la ciencia ficción.
En este libro, si bien cabe aclarar que no todos los relatos son de ciencia ficción, asoma una prosa simple pero elegante. Una prosa que expresa muy bien el principio de "menos es más". Butler afirmaba no ser buena escritora de cuentos, pero creo que pecaba de humilde. Estos relatos son excelentes, están repletos de sensibilidad y donde otros escritores habrían apostado por resoluciones rimbombantes o por personajes que luchan y triunfan, los de Butler son en cierto modo más realistas: personas rodeadas por circunstancias que a menudo no pueden cambiar y a las que deben adaptarse para sobrevivir. "Hija de sangre", "Sonidos de habla" y "Amnistía" tienen personajes así. También en muchos de los relatos podemos vislumbrar la importancia de las relaciones familiares, en particular entre madres e hijas, y la diferente perspectiva de protagonistas femeninos, con sus preocupaciones y limitaciones, comparados a los personajes masculinos.
De todos los relatos, mi favorito es "Amnistía". Quedó como un eco en mi cabeza después de leerlo. Es un relato que acepta más de una lectura, aunque en mi opinión, describe bien cómo la ignorancia y la intolerancia son primos hermanos, y como la reacción natural del ser humano es la agresión, a pesar de que casi nunca le rinde buenos resultados.
Por último, el libro contiene dos ensayos muy cortos. Al leerlos, no puedo evitar sentir simpatía por Butler: por su baja autoestima, por la manera en que tuvo que tolerar que todos a su alrededor dieran por sentado que no podía escribir, que no iba a cumplir su sueño, que una mujer y además negra no podía triunfar en la ciencia ficción, que no esto, que no aquello, que no, que no, que no.
Pero bien que sí. Y creo que todos nos podemos sentir agradecidos de ello.
June 14, 2019
Octavia Butler never fails to delight me, make me think about things differently and make me feel... well, an awful lot of feelings!
I will not attempt to summarize the stories in this collection of short fiction: that whole book can be devoured in a couple of sittings, and if you enjoy speculative fiction, you owe it to yourself to check this out. These are stories about survival, love, family, language, intimacy, dreams and faith. Sometimes there are aliens, sometimes there is a disease and sometimes there is just a mystery that hovers lightly over the characters, like a veil. But in every case, the question of what it means to be human and how we can be better at it is deeply pondered. The prose is clean and elegant, never didactic but always thought-provoking.
My edition also includes two essays about writing, which would honestly be worth the price of the whole book, because anyone who has ever even thought of writing can benefit from Ms. Butler's thoughts on the matter.
These stories are truly beautiful and not a single word of them is wasted. Highly recommended!
I will not attempt to summarize the stories in this collection of short fiction: that whole book can be devoured in a couple of sittings, and if you enjoy speculative fiction, you owe it to yourself to check this out. These are stories about survival, love, family, language, intimacy, dreams and faith. Sometimes there are aliens, sometimes there is a disease and sometimes there is just a mystery that hovers lightly over the characters, like a veil. But in every case, the question of what it means to be human and how we can be better at it is deeply pondered. The prose is clean and elegant, never didactic but always thought-provoking.
My edition also includes two essays about writing, which would honestly be worth the price of the whole book, because anyone who has ever even thought of writing can benefit from Ms. Butler's thoughts on the matter.
These stories are truly beautiful and not a single word of them is wasted. Highly recommended!
March 6, 2019
Where do I begin with this treasure trove of a book? This book has fortified my love for Octavia E. Butler, a collection of eight wondrous short stories and two incredible essays all with afterwords from Butler herself.
The stories explore human relations with each other, with their environments and to those that are alien and unlike them. All bursting with lurid imagination, the short stories examine human experience and the essays told in simple wise words, some that I'd seen in quotes but found context and continuity to make a wonderful enriching experience. The essays I'd strongly recommend for those that are writers or artists or anyone really who does something that requires crafting and practice.
A great book and I am glad to have found it.
The stories explore human relations with each other, with their environments and to those that are alien and unlike them. All bursting with lurid imagination, the short stories examine human experience and the essays told in simple wise words, some that I'd seen in quotes but found context and continuity to make a wonderful enriching experience. The essays I'd strongly recommend for those that are writers or artists or anyone really who does something that requires crafting and practice.
A great book and I am glad to have found it.
September 2, 2020
As grim and bleak as Octavia E. Butler’s work is in many ways, there’s also always a sense that she believes in the possibility that individuals can, and do, find ways to survive any difficulty, although often at a great cost. She writes with a clear-eyed simplicity that allows the power of her ideas to come through without heavy neon signage or melodrama. Hugely influential, with very good reason, I wish that more SFF writers would trust their readers’ intelligence as much as Butler seems to have.
August 19, 2018
"Speech Sounds"
In a dystopian setup, people lost their abilities to read, understand words, speak, hear, etc because of a disease. Still, in such a dark, somber and depressing world, there is hope and humanity might still have the will to survive and to communicate with each other.
It is one of those short stories with a weight beyond words; loved it to pieces.
In a dystopian setup, people lost their abilities to read, understand words, speak, hear, etc because of a disease. Still, in such a dark, somber and depressing world, there is hope and humanity might still have the will to survive and to communicate with each other.
It is one of those short stories with a weight beyond words; loved it to pieces.
November 20, 2021
Muy buena colección de relatos, imaginativos, brillantes y con un estilo muy elegante.
Muy buena lectura.
Muy buena lectura.
August 18, 2017
“I believed I was ugly and stupid, clumsy, and socially hopeless. I also thought that everyone would notice these faults if I drew attention to myself. I wanted to disappear. I hid out in a big pink notebook—one that would hold a whole ream of paper. I made myself a universe in it. There I could be a magic horse, a Martian, a telepath.… There I could be anywhere but here, any time but now, with any people but these.”
This anthology includes two essays, one of which is autobiographical. I don’t normally read biographies but I wanted to read every page in this book and I am very glad Ms. Butler decided to include this little essay. I get such a sense of her kindness, warmth, and generosity that I am surprised to learn she was a lonely child, if I had a friend like her I would have strived to make her my bestie. But she does mention that she was very shy, but she did mature into a pillar of strength and an inspiration for many writers and readers. This year’s Hugo winner N.K. Jemisin, a black female science fiction author, calls Butler her “personal grandmaster” and that “left behind a lot of children, spiritually speaking”.
Young Octavia
Bloodchild and Other Stories contains five (mostly great) short stories and a couple of excellent essays. There is also an “Afterward” after each story where she briefly talks about the inspiration that led to the story. When I read professional reviews of anthologies they do not generally go through each story one by one, I thought I would try to be more professional for the sake of skill development, but then I thought, Nah! I like doing it like this. So here we go!
Blood Child
Her most famous story (available to read free online , you can also download a PDF version if you Google for it). It is something of a sci-fi body horror story where humans in a colony on an alien planet have a long running bizarre symbiotic relationship with an alien race called the Tlic.
It is a brilliant story, but also quite horrifying and gross, yet the underlying theme is love and sacrifice. According to the Afterward, Butler was inspired by something that frightened her and she coped by making the idea benign (in a gross sort of way), it is also a thought experiment on male pregnancy; don’t worry, I am not giving anything away because there is no male pregnancy as such in the story.
“T’Gatoi liked the idea of choosing an infant and watching and taking part in all the phases of development. I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
“Then he began tearing at himself, through skin and bone, digging. He had managed to reach his own heart before he died.”
Oh my gawd! Does that make you doubt the warm and fuzzy description of Ms. Butler earlier in this review? This story is about a disease called “The Duryea-Gode Disease” caused by drugs taken by pregnant women which lead to a genetic flaw in their children that will cause them to lose their minds later in life. How much later varies between individuals. Initially, it reminds me of the berserker madness like 28 Days Later, but this is decidedly not a zombie apocalypse story. There are no zombies and civilization is still fully operational. The situation is more analogous to the “Thalidomide” birth defects in the 60s. On a deeper level, it is about how genetic diseases affect the sufferers’ lives and the value they put on their lives.
Near of Kin
This is a mainstream (non-SF/F) human drama story about the relationship (or lack thereof) between a girl and her now deceased mother, her closer relationship with her uncle and grandmother, the secret she always suspected about her mother, the mother’s shame, and the regret of mutual rejection of each other until it is too late. This kind of introspective melancholy story is not usually my cup of tea but if Ms. Butler makes the tea I will happily have a few cups. It is also very short and it is certainly not bad, Octavia Butler does not do "bad"; I imagine her laundry list is also quite a good read. I like her Afterward for this story more than the story itself, she does not explain the nuances of the story (leaving that to the reader) but talks about what inspired it.
“She’s dead,” said my uncle flatly. “How much more time and energy are you going to waste resenting her?”
Speech Sounds
This is a post-apocalypse and a dystopia story. Civilization seems to be on its last legs here, the details are a little vague, some buses still run intermittently, but there is no law and order left. The apocalypse is caused by a disease contracted by everybody that causes “intellectual impairment”, in the form of irreversible loss of literacy, speech or both. It is amazing how Butler can write such a poignant post-apocalypse short story. I have always expected post-apocalypse fiction to be epic in scope. Again a wonderful Afterward follows the story, there is a slightly chatty tone in this one that makes me feel as if she was telling me of the anecdote that inspired the story. How she felt mankind was hopeless when she started writing it and feels hopeful again when she finished. Writing was potent therapy for her.
Crossover
This is another very short mainstream story, full of sadness, alienation, self-loathing and passion. It is, of course, well written but is a completely miserable story. If it was not written by Butler I would have hated it. Again it is about an outcast woman who does not fit in, but the anti-heroine here is not the typical strong resourceful Butler protagonist, quite the opposite. The Afterward to this story is great. Apparently, Butler was scared of weirdos.
Positive Obsession
This is an essay/autobiography about Butler’s obsession with writing as a child, the first story she sold, the numerous rejections that followed and the eventual success. This is a beautiful autobiography, I don't normally read bios, and she did not enjoy writing it; she prefers writing fiction. In spite of all that she wrote something very special here that I will always remember. I love how much she loves the sci-fi genre and staunchly defends it, she is like an anti-Atwood.
"At college, I took classes taught by an elderly woman who wrote children’s stories. She was polite about the science fiction and fantasy that I kept handing in, but she finally asked in exasperation, “Can’t you write anything normal?”
Furor Scribendi
This essay is basically advice for aspiring writers, it reminds me a little bit of Stephen King’s On Writing, but much shorter obviously, and it has that charming Octavia touch. Her drive and burning passion for writing are like a force of nature. The essay ends with a one-word paragraph: “Persist”.
Amnesty
Back to science fiction. The basic concept is similar to Blood Child, there is even some kind of symbiosis going on, yet the theme is very different. Earth has been colonized, but not subjugated, by aliens. They set up colonies in desserts, vast areas not used by humans. Their technology is far superior and Earth’s military forces can pose no threat to them. When the aliens first arrived they captured, experimented on and - unintentionally - tortured human beings, but only because they had no knowledge of human physiology. Once communication between the two species is established the aliens treat humans with respect due to sentient life forms. Some humans go to work for them, helping with research, experiments, and whatnot. One of the human leave the alien colony after living with them for years and is immediately arrested by the military and treated as a traitor, imprisoned and tortured.
Ultimately this is a story of man’s inhumanity to man; even with full understanding of what causes pain and suffering some of us are still quite happy to inflict pain that we would not want to be inflicted on us. In spite of her exasperation with the human race, Butler did love humanity and tried her best to help nudge it in the right direction.
The Book of Martha
“Don’t you know what I see?” she demanded and then quickly softened her voice. “Don’t you know everything?”
God smiled. “No, I outgrew that trick long ago. You can’t imagine how boring it was.”
This is a story about a woman who is tasked by God to make the world a better place in any way she can think of. It is not a religious story and God is not portrayed entirely positively. It is a story about the responsible application of power and possibly dire consequences from misuse. A story to ponder.
These are diverse stories (the two essays notwithstanding) they all have a moral center, depth and complexity. However, if you read her essays you will know how she loves stories and storytelling, so her fiction is not a platform for preaching. The themes of each story lend substance or meaning beyond the narrative, but I am sure she would be just as happy if you just read them as stories. This wonderful anthology is up there with Ted Chiang’s classic Stories of Your Life and Others. The Afterward after each story is very much appreciated. She never over explains any of the preceding stories but gives some insight into her inspiration and thought processes. Read this for a thrilling, moving, thought-provoking experience.
Notes:
Here is an excerpt from Ms. Butler’s notebook:
When you read top part it may seem like she was simply chasing fame and fortune, but by the end of the page you will get her humanity and compassion, and why she is such an inspiration and a great role model.
Another noteworthy - uh - note.
This anthology includes two essays, one of which is autobiographical. I don’t normally read biographies but I wanted to read every page in this book and I am very glad Ms. Butler decided to include this little essay. I get such a sense of her kindness, warmth, and generosity that I am surprised to learn she was a lonely child, if I had a friend like her I would have strived to make her my bestie. But she does mention that she was very shy, but she did mature into a pillar of strength and an inspiration for many writers and readers. This year’s Hugo winner N.K. Jemisin, a black female science fiction author, calls Butler her “personal grandmaster” and that “left behind a lot of children, spiritually speaking”.
Young Octavia
Bloodchild and Other Stories contains five (mostly great) short stories and a couple of excellent essays. There is also an “Afterward” after each story where she briefly talks about the inspiration that led to the story. When I read professional reviews of anthologies they do not generally go through each story one by one, I thought I would try to be more professional for the sake of skill development, but then I thought, Nah! I like doing it like this. So here we go!
Blood Child
Her most famous story (available to read free online , you can also download a PDF version if you Google for it). It is something of a sci-fi body horror story where humans in a colony on an alien planet have a long running bizarre symbiotic relationship with an alien race called the Tlic.
It is a brilliant story, but also quite horrifying and gross, yet the underlying theme is love and sacrifice. According to the Afterward, Butler was inspired by something that frightened her and she coped by making the idea benign (in a gross sort of way), it is also a thought experiment on male pregnancy; don’t worry, I am not giving anything away because there is no male pregnancy as such in the story.
“T’Gatoi liked the idea of choosing an infant and watching and taking part in all the phases of development. I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”
The Evening and the Morning and the Night
“Then he began tearing at himself, through skin and bone, digging. He had managed to reach his own heart before he died.”
Oh my gawd! Does that make you doubt the warm and fuzzy description of Ms. Butler earlier in this review? This story is about a disease called “The Duryea-Gode Disease” caused by drugs taken by pregnant women which lead to a genetic flaw in their children that will cause them to lose their minds later in life. How much later varies between individuals. Initially, it reminds me of the berserker madness like 28 Days Later, but this is decidedly not a zombie apocalypse story. There are no zombies and civilization is still fully operational. The situation is more analogous to the “Thalidomide” birth defects in the 60s. On a deeper level, it is about how genetic diseases affect the sufferers’ lives and the value they put on their lives.
Near of Kin
This is a mainstream (non-SF/F) human drama story about the relationship (or lack thereof) between a girl and her now deceased mother, her closer relationship with her uncle and grandmother, the secret she always suspected about her mother, the mother’s shame, and the regret of mutual rejection of each other until it is too late. This kind of introspective melancholy story is not usually my cup of tea but if Ms. Butler makes the tea I will happily have a few cups. It is also very short and it is certainly not bad, Octavia Butler does not do "bad"; I imagine her laundry list is also quite a good read. I like her Afterward for this story more than the story itself, she does not explain the nuances of the story (leaving that to the reader) but talks about what inspired it.
“She’s dead,” said my uncle flatly. “How much more time and energy are you going to waste resenting her?”
Speech Sounds
This is a post-apocalypse and a dystopia story. Civilization seems to be on its last legs here, the details are a little vague, some buses still run intermittently, but there is no law and order left. The apocalypse is caused by a disease contracted by everybody that causes “intellectual impairment”, in the form of irreversible loss of literacy, speech or both. It is amazing how Butler can write such a poignant post-apocalypse short story. I have always expected post-apocalypse fiction to be epic in scope. Again a wonderful Afterward follows the story, there is a slightly chatty tone in this one that makes me feel as if she was telling me of the anecdote that inspired the story. How she felt mankind was hopeless when she started writing it and feels hopeful again when she finished. Writing was potent therapy for her.
Crossover
This is another very short mainstream story, full of sadness, alienation, self-loathing and passion. It is, of course, well written but is a completely miserable story. If it was not written by Butler I would have hated it. Again it is about an outcast woman who does not fit in, but the anti-heroine here is not the typical strong resourceful Butler protagonist, quite the opposite. The Afterward to this story is great. Apparently, Butler was scared of weirdos.
Positive Obsession
This is an essay/autobiography about Butler’s obsession with writing as a child, the first story she sold, the numerous rejections that followed and the eventual success. This is a beautiful autobiography, I don't normally read bios, and she did not enjoy writing it; she prefers writing fiction. In spite of all that she wrote something very special here that I will always remember. I love how much she loves the sci-fi genre and staunchly defends it, she is like an anti-Atwood.
"At college, I took classes taught by an elderly woman who wrote children’s stories. She was polite about the science fiction and fantasy that I kept handing in, but she finally asked in exasperation, “Can’t you write anything normal?”
Furor Scribendi
This essay is basically advice for aspiring writers, it reminds me a little bit of Stephen King’s On Writing, but much shorter obviously, and it has that charming Octavia touch. Her drive and burning passion for writing are like a force of nature. The essay ends with a one-word paragraph: “Persist”.
Amnesty
Back to science fiction. The basic concept is similar to Blood Child, there is even some kind of symbiosis going on, yet the theme is very different. Earth has been colonized, but not subjugated, by aliens. They set up colonies in desserts, vast areas not used by humans. Their technology is far superior and Earth’s military forces can pose no threat to them. When the aliens first arrived they captured, experimented on and - unintentionally - tortured human beings, but only because they had no knowledge of human physiology. Once communication between the two species is established the aliens treat humans with respect due to sentient life forms. Some humans go to work for them, helping with research, experiments, and whatnot. One of the human leave the alien colony after living with them for years and is immediately arrested by the military and treated as a traitor, imprisoned and tortured.
Ultimately this is a story of man’s inhumanity to man; even with full understanding of what causes pain and suffering some of us are still quite happy to inflict pain that we would not want to be inflicted on us. In spite of her exasperation with the human race, Butler did love humanity and tried her best to help nudge it in the right direction.
The Book of Martha
“Don’t you know what I see?” she demanded and then quickly softened her voice. “Don’t you know everything?”
God smiled. “No, I outgrew that trick long ago. You can’t imagine how boring it was.”
This is a story about a woman who is tasked by God to make the world a better place in any way she can think of. It is not a religious story and God is not portrayed entirely positively. It is a story about the responsible application of power and possibly dire consequences from misuse. A story to ponder.
These are diverse stories (the two essays notwithstanding) they all have a moral center, depth and complexity. However, if you read her essays you will know how she loves stories and storytelling, so her fiction is not a platform for preaching. The themes of each story lend substance or meaning beyond the narrative, but I am sure she would be just as happy if you just read them as stories. This wonderful anthology is up there with Ted Chiang’s classic Stories of Your Life and Others. The Afterward after each story is very much appreciated. She never over explains any of the preceding stories but gives some insight into her inspiration and thought processes. Read this for a thrilling, moving, thought-provoking experience.
Notes:
Here is an excerpt from Ms. Butler’s notebook:
When you read top part it may seem like she was simply chasing fame and fortune, but by the end of the page you will get her humanity and compassion, and why she is such an inspiration and a great role model.
Another noteworthy - uh - note.
April 24, 2024
I very much enjoyed these thought provoking science fiction/speculative tales, especially the title story Bloodchild. I've never read Octavia Butler before, I've obviously been missing out.
August 31, 2020
Octavia Butler abre essa coletânea dizendo que odeia escrever contos. Ainda assim, ela faz um excelente trabalho — como sempre — ao tratar de temas tão interessantes.
O que eu mais gostei sobre "Filhos de Sangue e Outras Histórias" foi entender como se dá o processo criativo da autora. Descobrir que sua escrita vem do hábito, não apenas da inspiração, e que essas histórias são resultado daquilo que deixava sua mente inquieta ou contemplativa. Seus dois ensaios sobre escrita, que compõe essa obra, falavam mais sobre isso.
Meus contos favoritos foram "O livro de Martha", "Filhos de Sangue", "Parentes Próximos" e "Sons da Fala". Não acho que consegui captar por completo a mensagem de todos eles, mas certamente foram experiências importantes. O jeito como ela pega situações normais e as transforma em situações fantásticas, levando ao extremo cada ideia, é genial.
Curti bastante as notas da autora ao final de cada texto. Para mim, foram um componente indispensável para entender melhor o que ela estava dizendo exatamente. A de "Filhos de Sangue", em especial, me deixou tão enojado quanto o próprio conto. A ideia daquele verme me causa arrepios. Já a de "O livro de Martha" me deixou pensativo, esse virou um dos meus contos favoritos.
Essas histórias curtas eram o impulso que eu precisava para continuar lendo o trabalho da autora. Quero pegar um romance dela agora em setembro, tenho certeza de que vai explodir minha mente do jeito que só Octavia Butler consegue fazer.
O que eu mais gostei sobre "Filhos de Sangue e Outras Histórias" foi entender como se dá o processo criativo da autora. Descobrir que sua escrita vem do hábito, não apenas da inspiração, e que essas histórias são resultado daquilo que deixava sua mente inquieta ou contemplativa. Seus dois ensaios sobre escrita, que compõe essa obra, falavam mais sobre isso.
Meus contos favoritos foram "O livro de Martha", "Filhos de Sangue", "Parentes Próximos" e "Sons da Fala". Não acho que consegui captar por completo a mensagem de todos eles, mas certamente foram experiências importantes. O jeito como ela pega situações normais e as transforma em situações fantásticas, levando ao extremo cada ideia, é genial.
Curti bastante as notas da autora ao final de cada texto. Para mim, foram um componente indispensável para entender melhor o que ela estava dizendo exatamente. A de "Filhos de Sangue", em especial, me deixou tão enojado quanto o próprio conto. A ideia daquele verme me causa arrepios. Já a de "O livro de Martha" me deixou pensativo, esse virou um dos meus contos favoritos.
Essas histórias curtas eram o impulso que eu precisava para continuar lendo o trabalho da autora. Quero pegar um romance dela agora em setembro, tenho certeza de que vai explodir minha mente do jeito que só Octavia Butler consegue fazer.
Read
July 14, 2015Octavia Butler hit me with the humanity and relatability I didn’t know I was seeking in the often cool and clinical world of science fiction. This was my first Butler book and, as it turns out, I adore the writer as much as I adore the writing. Who couldn’t fall for someone who sets out to write a pregnant man story (“Bloodchild), and gets real about that day she was so disgusted with humans and our inability to communicate with each other that she had to tell a grim tale about the end of communication through words (“Speech Sounds”)? For this reason, please don’t pass over the afterwords following each story or the two essays at the end. Butler was one of the greats; I can’t wait to read Kindred. — S. Zainab Williams
from The Best Books We Read In June: http://bookriot.com/2015/06/30/riot-r...
from The Best Books We Read In June: http://bookriot.com/2015/06/30/riot-r...
July 21, 2021
I should have been reading Octavia E. Butler years ago! Bloodchild and Other Stories serves as an exceptional introduction to the work of one of SFF's greats. Across five classic stories, two essays, and two "new" stories Butler shows incredible range in topic and style. The writing here is snappy, readable, and endlessly fascinating.
The eponymous story, Bloodchild, is the type of science fiction tale that burrows deep in the consciousness and lays eggs that hatch for days afterwords. Each of the stories that follow present an interesting idea that is presented through a character's specific viewpoint. Rather than great gobs of info dumps, the reader will find out about the world and its concepts in a slow trickle. This could be obnoxious in another writer's hands, but Butler makes the style soar.
So, yeah, do read this one. I'll be foisting it upon SFF fans and the normal reader alike. I think it would make for a great bookclub read too! You won't find me waiting long before diving into more of what Butler has on offer.
The eponymous story, Bloodchild, is the type of science fiction tale that burrows deep in the consciousness and lays eggs that hatch for days afterwords. Each of the stories that follow present an interesting idea that is presented through a character's specific viewpoint. Rather than great gobs of info dumps, the reader will find out about the world and its concepts in a slow trickle. This could be obnoxious in another writer's hands, but Butler makes the style soar.
So, yeah, do read this one. I'll be foisting it upon SFF fans and the normal reader alike. I think it would make for a great bookclub read too! You won't find me waiting long before diving into more of what Butler has on offer.
August 5, 2021
Popsugar reading challenge 1. Un libro afrofuturista
Lo escogí sólo por la categoría e igual iba con un poquito de miedo por lo que me iba a encontrar, ya que había leído un libro antes de ella pero no me habían gustado ciertas cosas de él. Además que no soy muy buena para leer relatos xd pero me sorprendió gratamente, me gustaron casi todos y los que no, me parecieron interesantes. Voy a dejar un mini resumen por c/u.
Hija de sangre
Me costó un poco enterarme de que iba pero me gustó bastante, la verdad es que quedé con ganas de un par de páginas más pero aún así me gustó mucho como relato. Hombres embarazados y una colonia humana conviviendo con otra raza de seres.
La tarde y la mañana y la noche
Segundo relato y aunque el primero me gustó más este fue más interesante. Trataba de un grupo pequeño de la población que sufría la enfermedad de Duryea-Gode, a cierta edad te perdias y te autolesionabas hasta la muerte. Si bien era una enfermedad inventada por la autora a través de otros cuatro trastornos no deja de ser muy interesante, y me quedaron ganas de que fuera más largo, me hubiera encantado más desarrollo y un final más claro.
Parientes cercanos
Ya este relato no me gustó, más que nada por el tema que trata. Es una de las pocas cosas que nunca podré tolerar.
Sonidos de habla
Este relato, más o menos. Me gustó la idea, se trataba de un mundo distopico donde una enfermedad había afectado en el mejor de los casos al lenguaje, ya nadie podía hablar ni mucho menos escribir o leer, solo sé comunicaban a través de gestos. Y en el peor, ya muchos habían muerto. Lo que no me gustó, y ya es solo por manía, que no habían diálogos 🤦🏻♀️🤣
Al otro lado
Meh, en cierta forma muestra la realidad pero ya al punto de rendirse ante lo que se está viviendo. Casi como echarse a morir.
Obsesión positiva
De acuerdo al libro, este ya sería uno de los dos ensayos. Y básicamente habla, en forma resumida, sobre su historia con la escritura desde que prendió a leer hasta que vendió sus primeras novelas.
La obsesión positiva hace que no puedas parar aunqué tengas miedo y estés llena de dudas.
Furor scribendi
Segundo y último ensayo, se enfoca en consejos para quienes quieran escribir una historia. Y que al final la clave de todo es la perseverancia.
Amnistía
Dios mio, creo que este va a ser mi relato favorito de este libro xd y básicamente sólo me hicieron una charla para explicarme las reglas que había en este mundo distópico xd
El libro de Martha
Me faltó el final ps me dejó a medio camino xd se trata de Dios pidiéndole a Martha que haga, con su ayuda, solo un cambio que permita que la gente no se destruya tan rápido, ya que al paso que van no les queda mucho tiempo. Ella lo hace pero como mencione, me hubiera gustado ver las consecuencias de su idea. Personalmente no me gustó lo que eligió.
Y eso sería, tambien me gustó que cada relato y los ensayos tuvieran un pequeño epílogo explicando de dónde le había surgido la idea.
Hasta ahora, las interpretaciones que se han publicado sobre mi obra han sido las de otras personas: «Butler parece expresar…», «Claramente, Butler cree…», «Butler deja patente un sentimiento de…».
De hecho, creo que lo que otras personas ven en mi trabajo es para ellas tan importante o más que lo que vuelco yo en él. Pero me alegro igualmente de poder hablar un poco sobre lo que sí vuelco en mi trabajo y lo que este significa para mí.
Lo escogí sólo por la categoría e igual iba con un poquito de miedo por lo que me iba a encontrar, ya que había leído un libro antes de ella pero no me habían gustado ciertas cosas de él. Además que no soy muy buena para leer relatos xd pero me sorprendió gratamente, me gustaron casi todos y los que no, me parecieron interesantes. Voy a dejar un mini resumen por c/u.
Hija de sangre
Me costó un poco enterarme de que iba pero me gustó bastante, la verdad es que quedé con ganas de un par de páginas más pero aún así me gustó mucho como relato. Hombres embarazados y una colonia humana conviviendo con otra raza de seres.
La tarde y la mañana y la noche
Segundo relato y aunque el primero me gustó más este fue más interesante. Trataba de un grupo pequeño de la población que sufría la enfermedad de Duryea-Gode, a cierta edad te perdias y te autolesionabas hasta la muerte. Si bien era una enfermedad inventada por la autora a través de otros cuatro trastornos no deja de ser muy interesante, y me quedaron ganas de que fuera más largo, me hubiera encantado más desarrollo y un final más claro.
Parientes cercanos
Ya este relato no me gustó, más que nada por el tema que trata. Es una de las pocas cosas que nunca podré tolerar.
Sonidos de habla
Este relato, más o menos. Me gustó la idea, se trataba de un mundo distopico donde una enfermedad había afectado en el mejor de los casos al lenguaje, ya nadie podía hablar ni mucho menos escribir o leer, solo sé comunicaban a través de gestos. Y en el peor, ya muchos habían muerto. Lo que no me gustó, y ya es solo por manía, que no habían diálogos 🤦🏻♀️🤣
Al otro lado
Meh, en cierta forma muestra la realidad pero ya al punto de rendirse ante lo que se está viviendo. Casi como echarse a morir.
Obsesión positiva
De acuerdo al libro, este ya sería uno de los dos ensayos. Y básicamente habla, en forma resumida, sobre su historia con la escritura desde que prendió a leer hasta que vendió sus primeras novelas.
La obsesión positiva hace que no puedas parar aunqué tengas miedo y estés llena de dudas.
Furor scribendi
Segundo y último ensayo, se enfoca en consejos para quienes quieran escribir una historia. Y que al final la clave de todo es la perseverancia.
Amnistía
Dios mio, creo que este va a ser mi relato favorito de este libro xd y básicamente sólo me hicieron una charla para explicarme las reglas que había en este mundo distópico xd
El libro de Martha
Me faltó el final ps me dejó a medio camino xd se trata de Dios pidiéndole a Martha que haga, con su ayuda, solo un cambio que permita que la gente no se destruya tan rápido, ya que al paso que van no les queda mucho tiempo. Ella lo hace pero como mencione, me hubiera gustado ver las consecuencias de su idea. Personalmente no me gustó lo que eligió.
Y eso sería, tambien me gustó que cada relato y los ensayos tuvieran un pequeño epílogo explicando de dónde le había surgido la idea.
Hasta ahora, las interpretaciones que se han publicado sobre mi obra han sido las de otras personas: «Butler parece expresar…», «Claramente, Butler cree…», «Butler deja patente un sentimiento de…».
De hecho, creo que lo que otras personas ven en mi trabajo es para ellas tan importante o más que lo que vuelco yo en él. Pero me alegro igualmente de poder hablar un poco sobre lo que sí vuelco en mi trabajo y lo que este significa para mí.
October 20, 2017
I must now read everything she's ever written!'
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