Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Lagune

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor is a Afrofuturist novel following Adaora, Agu and Anthony after a sonic wave disrupts Nigerian life. Taking place over the span of a couple of days, Okorafor takes us through multiple perspectives and the inner workings of technology, ecology and challenges the reader to question whether multiple narratives actually remove the issues that come with a single story.

After having read the authors’ The Book of Phoenix, I was going into this with some sort of expectation of her writing style, which is very abrupt and explicit and poignant, and while this book definitely can be described similarly, it can be a very overwhelming book with odd portrayals of characters. Okorafor has said this book is a response to the portrayal of Nigerians in the movie District 9, and it makes sense considering there are so many characters, but sometimes I think it became too character driven and not really Nigerian driven.

Some brilliant aspects of the book were the interweaving of the lives of the characters, making it something of a game for the reader to work out which characters have more information than we do, and which characters are in for a shock because we know what’s about to happen. The jumping forwards and backwards, often by only a matter of minutes or hours, really places the reader at a vulnerable crossroad in the plot, and it is quite remarkable how Okorafor pulled it off without the characters muddling together as one. However, the effect was that sometimes the perspectives didn’t really add to the story and they were merely present.

The presence of animal perspectives as well was really quite unique I think, and really highlighted how literal Okorafor took the question “who is affected by X?”, as she always does. This all-encompassing approach to cause and effect in the context of an alien invasion is brilliant to me and I actually appreciated the animal perspectives more than some human ones.

Additionally, the religious dynamic of the novel, with conversations of Christianity in the south and Islam in the north, which is the current situation in Nigeria, played out really beautifully, especially when paired with the traditional Igbo and Yoruba mythologies and spirits. These traditions sprinkled throughout were very intentional and felt like they deserved a place in the plot, which I cannot say for all the characters.

Overall, while this book is slightly chaotic and overwhelming, I do think this book is one worth reading, but maybe not as Okorafor’s first book. If you were interested in her novels, I would wholly recommend the Binti trilogy first and then The Book of Phoenix. This book may fascinate some people I am sure, especially sci-fi lovers who are looking for something a little different and modern, but it didn’t quite excite me as much as make me anxious.

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loreandlullabies's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

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onyxpages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. it demonstrates Dr. Okorafor's love for Nigeria, particularly Lagos, in all its beauty and complexity. And the aliens are great too!

You can hear my thoughts here: https://youtu.be/r8aXLcvhyBg

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bex_knighthunter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This story contained many intriguing and unique elements but they didn't come together for me - it felt like it was trying to do too much and the pay-off wasn't there. I liked the exploration of possible reactions to first contact in Nigeria, and the aliens themselves were interesting - I was quite happy with some mystery being left at the end. However, having so many POV characters detached me from the story and meant there was less space for developing the main characters (and the frustrating romance). I also didn't enjoy how many of the more minor characters were selfish, mean and idiotic (but this is personal taste). The introduction of the gods was really interesting, and made the story feel like it was deeply related to the location, but those elements felt underexplored.

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