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A review by sofipitch
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The writing style is really simple, 70% of this book is dialogue. Personally I'm not crazy about it. And this books is slow-paced but Carrie's no emotion. I think I've read plot summaries that carry more emotional weight than this. The characters aren't characters but vehicles to move the plot forward. And everything about vampirism is just taken at face-value, vampirism explores themes of being an outsiders and existential dread, and this book doesn't. It comes up with vampire lore that completely rejects the roots of what makes vampire literature good. This books moral themes were just too black and white.
What I really did NOT like was the sexual content of this book. The main character, Shori, is a 53 yr old vampire, but she looks 10/11. She has sexual relationships with adult humans which is uncomfy and what makes it worse is that she and her partner didn't know she was "technically an adult" by human standards (50ish) (butshe is explicitly stated to be child in the vampire culture and not developed sexually, wtf wtf)before they had sex. So basically this character, Wright, was just interested in having sex with a child. And even the backup logic of the given culture supports viewing Shori as a child, not an adult. I wish I had known this before buying the book, bc I don't like whatever this mess is, and I probably wouldn't have bought it.
I had Parable of the Sower and Kindred on my reading lists but I don't know if I want to read anything else by Butler.
What I really did NOT like was the sexual content of this book. The main character, Shori, is a 53 yr old vampire, but she looks 10/11. She has sexual relationships with adult humans which is uncomfy and what makes it worse is that she and her partner didn't know she was "technically an adult" by human standards (50ish) (butshe is explicitly stated to be child in the vampire culture and not developed sexually, wtf wtf)before they had sex. So basically this character, Wright, was just interested in having sex with a child. And even the backup logic of the given culture supports viewing Shori as a child, not an adult. I wish I had known this before buying the book, bc I don't like whatever this mess is, and I probably wouldn't have bought it.
I had Parable of the Sower and Kindred on my reading lists but I don't know if I want to read anything else by Butler.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism