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Reconstruction
In Reconstruction, award-winning writer and musician Johnson delineates the lives of those trodden underfoot by the powerful, and how they rise up. Meet the humans who serve a coterie of vampires in Hawai’i, explore the taxonomy of anger with black Union soldiers and the woman who travels with them during the American Civil War. Consider what you would give up for a better life in a place that you have never been. Johnson maps the people in these and other, stranger landscapes.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2021
About the author
Alaya Dawn Johnson
83 books679 followersAlaya Johnson graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 18, 2020
This book of short stories of speculative fiction stretches the imagination. There are stories of vampires who have invaded the world. They have set up concentration camps of humans as feeding stations. It is an orderly society with laws, rules, regulations, and ethics on feeding on humans. It gives a different perception on victimization.
There is a story about teenagers going thru adolescence, peer pressure, and Camp Ondawalla to discover their changing bodies. Read about the social activist who was killed by police in a cover up and how the investigation into his death settles the score. Reading speculative fiction requires the reader to beware that all things are possible. There are no limits. This was interesting reading.
Quotes
Key is a different kind of monster.
“You aren’t sorry if you’d do it again,” I say. “And I’m not sorry if I’d let you.”
“Mama says it’s right for me to love you because you’re my father, even though you’re not always the best father.”
There is a story about teenagers going thru adolescence, peer pressure, and Camp Ondawalla to discover their changing bodies. Read about the social activist who was killed by police in a cover up and how the investigation into his death settles the score. Reading speculative fiction requires the reader to beware that all things are possible. There are no limits. This was interesting reading.
Quotes
Key is a different kind of monster.
“You aren’t sorry if you’d do it again,” I say. “And I’m not sorry if I’d let you.”
“Mama says it’s right for me to love you because you’re my father, even though you’re not always the best father.”
February 24, 2021
It’s interesting the way the short story style consistently left me wanting more from each story, but sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a... less good way. Some of the stories (particularly “they shall salt the earth with seeds of glass” and “the mirage”— ha, I guess I have a thing for post apocalyptic stories) I wish were full-length novels because I’m so intrigued and want more! Conversely, other stories were harder for me to get into at all because I spent the whole time confused, having been thrown into the middle of these worlds and finding myself struggling to picture what was happening. But even with those ones, I was still intrigued and could appreciate the idea of the story, even if I struggled to lose myself in the story.
February 4, 2021
As the author acknowledges, most of these short stories were written within a specific and narrow timeframe: post-9/11 and pre-Trump. She also points out that it was much lonelier at the time for a Black speculative fiction author. It makes sense to me that much of these stories' on-the-noseness was intended as a direct challenge to the white male hegemony of science fiction and as a response to the calamity of U.S. imperialism.
These stories do reflect many of the anxieties of that moment. Some of them do not resonate as well outside the moment as they may have inside it. There are phrases here and there, patches of prose, that frankly read like an author still finding her voice and developing her talent. The two final stories, previously unpublished, I think are the strongest in the collection, and I would not be surprised to discover they were written more recently than the others. They are more confident, more self-assured.
For what it's worth, I picked this up because I recognized the author's name from her YA novel, The Summer Prince, which I found fresh, inventive. The first few stories disappointed; but the last few left me satisfied. I'm looking forward to what she does next.
These stories do reflect many of the anxieties of that moment. Some of them do not resonate as well outside the moment as they may have inside it. There are phrases here and there, patches of prose, that frankly read like an author still finding her voice and developing her talent. The two final stories, previously unpublished, I think are the strongest in the collection, and I would not be surprised to discover they were written more recently than the others. They are more confident, more self-assured.
For what it's worth, I picked this up because I recognized the author's name from her YA novel, The Summer Prince, which I found fresh, inventive. The first few stories disappointed; but the last few left me satisfied. I'm looking forward to what she does next.
December 16, 2023
3.5 stars review to come - I'm going to review this when I get back to Miami so I can talk about each of the stories more in-depth. Some of the stories were so GOOD and others did not resonate with me.
August 26, 2021
This is a wonderful collection, all of the stories felt entirely new and fresh. If you love speculative short stories, in particular sci-fi with a focus on the lives of ordinary people, you need to give this collection a go.
July 30, 2021
Had to pause and catch my breath after some of these!
February 21, 2021
A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i - A mildly interesting story about vampire's. Just couldn't get into it. Brought nothing really new to the genre and I don't even know the genre that well but I have read riffs like this before.
And They Shall Salt the Earth With Seeds of Glass - Two very well drawn main characters. I was disappointed with the end. Mostly because I wanted to know more. Would love to see these characters in a longer format. I want to know more about this world and what makes it.
Their Changing Bodies - Another mildly amusing riff on vampire's. While the twist is clever the characters are poorly written. As a whole it was hard to follow and mostly forgettable.
The Score - Another great idea and interesting take on time travel. But it falls apart with vague execution. It takes to long being clever and when it finally gets interesting ends abruptly. So far a lot of great ideas with very little follow through.
A Song to Great the Sun - Not sure what to make of this. An honor killing and how it affects people close to them? That's what I am putting together. It just didn't make much sense to me. Each just seemed hasty and random. There was a world there I just couldn't make it out.
Far and Deep - Just the beginning of an interesting world. There are many ideas at play through these stories but they just never seem to be satisfying. Never enough. Ideas are great, but there is also something lacking from all of them. The seed of an idea that never gets full form. I would have liked to know more about this world.
Down the Well - Love the premise. Not sure of the execution. Not sure if it is good or bad that I want more from these stories? They are well written and creative. I want to know the places they inhabit but am left wanting every time.
Third Days Light - Another valiant attempt at world building that just fell short. Grand cosmic ideas, reminded me of Jonathan Hickman with a touch of Grant Morrison, but it failed to gel and make coherent sense. To be fair so do Hickman and Morrison a lot of the time.
The Mirage - I really didn't understand this one at all. How North America is using up the world. It just didn't make much sense to me.
Reconstruction - Powerful. Righteous. Painful. Beautiful. This was by far the best of this collection. "There is the fear of the bullet, and the fear of the noose. The fear of watching one you love march away and never return. And then that other, stranger fear. Not of losing everything but of everything twisting away from you; the promises made and received distorted like a reflection in muddy water, recognizable, but wrong. The fear not of death, but of sickness. An affliction that mimics life but removes, with merciless intent, its foundations."
There were so many ideas in this collection. I will enjoy seeking out this authors longer works and seeing where she goes with them. Over all though what falls flat drags this collection down to average, for me. But when it is great, it is great.
And They Shall Salt the Earth With Seeds of Glass - Two very well drawn main characters. I was disappointed with the end. Mostly because I wanted to know more. Would love to see these characters in a longer format. I want to know more about this world and what makes it.
Their Changing Bodies - Another mildly amusing riff on vampire's. While the twist is clever the characters are poorly written. As a whole it was hard to follow and mostly forgettable.
The Score - Another great idea and interesting take on time travel. But it falls apart with vague execution. It takes to long being clever and when it finally gets interesting ends abruptly. So far a lot of great ideas with very little follow through.
A Song to Great the Sun - Not sure what to make of this. An honor killing and how it affects people close to them? That's what I am putting together. It just didn't make much sense to me. Each just seemed hasty and random. There was a world there I just couldn't make it out.
Far and Deep - Just the beginning of an interesting world. There are many ideas at play through these stories but they just never seem to be satisfying. Never enough. Ideas are great, but there is also something lacking from all of them. The seed of an idea that never gets full form. I would have liked to know more about this world.
Down the Well - Love the premise. Not sure of the execution. Not sure if it is good or bad that I want more from these stories? They are well written and creative. I want to know the places they inhabit but am left wanting every time.
Third Days Light - Another valiant attempt at world building that just fell short. Grand cosmic ideas, reminded me of Jonathan Hickman with a touch of Grant Morrison, but it failed to gel and make coherent sense. To be fair so do Hickman and Morrison a lot of the time.
The Mirage - I really didn't understand this one at all. How North America is using up the world. It just didn't make much sense to me.
Reconstruction - Powerful. Righteous. Painful. Beautiful. This was by far the best of this collection. "There is the fear of the bullet, and the fear of the noose. The fear of watching one you love march away and never return. And then that other, stranger fear. Not of losing everything but of everything twisting away from you; the promises made and received distorted like a reflection in muddy water, recognizable, but wrong. The fear not of death, but of sickness. An affliction that mimics life but removes, with merciless intent, its foundations."
There were so many ideas in this collection. I will enjoy seeking out this authors longer works and seeing where she goes with them. Over all though what falls flat drags this collection down to average, for me. But when it is great, it is great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2022
I loved this collection! The were some absolutely incredible stories in here in a wide range of genres. Speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, whatever you want to call it. There were two stories that were big misses for me, but I personally think that you can give five stars to a story collection even if not every story was a fit for you. If enough stories wowed you, it deserves five stars. And this one deserves it! I absolutely floored with Johnson's ability to create SO MANY different worlds - each story was a completely different world/situation with its own rules (social rules, magical rules, physical rules, biological rules) and mythology. In fact, my most common complaint for a good number of stories was: this could be a full novel! Indeed, there were a few stories that would have worked better, I think, if they were longer. Things just moved too quickly at the end. The world she built within them was too complex, filled with so many specific details. Those details could have been trimmed down, leaving the story more ambiguous but with more powerful emotional impact; or the story could have been expanded, leaving in the details but also allowing more space for emotions and characters to grow. Anyway, it was wonderful!
May 31, 2024
A varied collection of stories with a couple standouts to me. One is the very funny story "Their Changing Bodies" about teens at a summer camp and crushes and vampires and the gross things they're willing to do, haha. (The boys especially are super gross.) The other I really enjoyed was "Far and Deep," which I believe is set in Johnson's never-finished Spirit Binders series, where a young woman's taboo-breaking mother is murdered, and everything that arose from that.
Others of interest were "The Score" (a mysterious epistolary/found documents story of a prophetic ghost protesters), "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i" (vampire resorts and what we really want when we finally get it), and "Reconstruction" (a historical story following Black troops in South Carolina during the Civil War with small elements of magic).
Having read this and Johnson's (cowritten with Janelle Monáe) "The Memory Librarian" recently, I'm very intrigued by her novels, even if not every story worked for me in this collection.
Others of interest were "The Score" (a mysterious epistolary/found documents story of a prophetic ghost protesters), "A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i" (vampire resorts and what we really want when we finally get it), and "Reconstruction" (a historical story following Black troops in South Carolina during the Civil War with small elements of magic).
Having read this and Johnson's (cowritten with Janelle Monáe) "The Memory Librarian" recently, I'm very intrigued by her novels, even if not every story worked for me in this collection.
June 9, 2021
I deeply admire Alaya Dawn Johnson's writing style and she is one of my favorite authors for sure, so I was definitely excited to dive into these short stories—and I was not disappointed. ADJ always manages to blow me away with such beautiful language, paired with soul-crushing pathos even within such short pieces and so many deep questions about humanity, love, faith, race and dichotomies, that she wraps up in these gorgeous science fiction/fantasy worlds. And she doesn't hold your hand through any of these works. I won't say that every story was a 5/5 for me, obviously, as I would have rated the whole collection that way if it were—but the ones that hit me really hit me right in the feelings.
January 24, 2022
So glad I randomly picked up this gem of a collection of short stories! They inhabit gorgeous worlds filled with magic, intrigue and imagination. The diversity of the characters and settings was wonderful and I will never forget my favourite story, Hard and Deep.
March 24, 2022
Some of these short stories are stories that have stuck with me since reading it a year ago, especially Reconstruction and Far and Deep 27. So for these stories to continue to haunt me, the author and the book itself must be something special.
January 18, 2023
A collection of short stories where reality meets fantasy (vampires, aliens, post-apocalyptic world). Main characters feature people of color/indigenous people. There were a couple of stories that I loved and wished there was entire book instead of a short story.
January 11, 2021
Superb collection. Full review coming at the Chicago Review.
January 15, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised by how great this was. The plot is definitely amazing.
February 26, 2022
I wanted to like this so much more than I did :(
May 11, 2023
A solid story collection, the highlights being a cook's perspective on the Black Union regiments in South Carolina and a gross but darkly hilarious account of vampires at summer camp.
November 29, 2023
Johnson shreds. These stories are so strong and moving and powerful. Can't wait to see what's next.
July 13, 2024
short stories. a curious mix of fantasy, science fiction, and suffering / affliction.
And a mix of how much appealed to me -- a number of good ones, and number of ones didn't like at all.
And a mix of how much appealed to me -- a number of good ones, and number of ones didn't like at all.
June 18, 2023
*read for school*
my favorite stories:
a guide to the fruits of hawai’i
their changing bodies
the mirages
my favorite stories:
a guide to the fruits of hawai’i
their changing bodies
the mirages
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews