From the Bookshelf of Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror…

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer

Janelle Monáe,

Yohanca Delgado (Contributor)

Start date: April 15, 2023

Finish date: May 14, 2023

Discussion: Previous Books of the Month

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What Members Thought

May 10, 2022 Kaa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: things-i-won, short-story-novella, audiobook

Overall a three star read, bumped up to four for the last story, because I really needed some utopia this week.

This is an intriguing exploration of the world built in Monáe's Dirty Computer emotion picture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdH2S...) and previous albums. I'd suggest the Dirty Computer video as part of your experience with this book, as the story told there is a direct prequel to one of the stories in Memory Librarian. I also recommend her other music/videos on general principle, ...more

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Apr 22, 2023 Chukwudima rated it liked it

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I was ready to dnf barely a quarter of the way through Nevermind until I came across this video https://youtu.be/ECPKpWX9ypk and heard Janaya's (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...) thoughts on the story Timebox.

The titular story, The Memory Librarian, did way too much explaining and it failed to move the plot forward in an intriguing way. I still recommend reading it if you were a fan of Dirty Computer and it’s short film adaptation like I was. But the story I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I was ready to dnf barely a quarter of the way through Nevermind until I came across this video https://youtu.be/ECPKpWX9ypk and heard Janaya's (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...) thoughts on the story Timebox.

The titular story, The Memory Librarian, did way too much explaining and it failed to move the plot forward in an intriguing way. I still recommend reading it if you were a fan of Dirty Computer and it’s short film adaptation like I was. But the story and the dystopian world Janelle Monáe created just wasn’t doing it for me. And that sucks because we’re actually living in New Dawn right now. If anyone should’ve enjoyed this, it’s a dirty computer like myself.

I ended up enjoying Nevermind more than The Memory Librarian because of how it explores the ways in which hegemonic ideals can arise even within oppressed and marginalized spaces. But we spend so little time on that exploration, and so much time on explanations (some of which don’t contribute to the plot in a significant way) that the story still ended up leaving a lot to be desired. I also wish the antagonist wasn’t so cartoonish. This story could’ve been something special since it has such a powerful message that’s especially relevant today as we grapple with transphobia within literary circles that claim to be against patriarchy (I’m looking at you, J.K. Rowling).

Timebox was by far my favorite. To me, Timebox was the only diamond in the rough that was the rest of this collection. It had a compelling yet simplistic idea, and it explored that idea in an interesting way with characters we could relate to. This story highlights what good speculative storytelling is all about. It uses fantastical concepts to explore our own humanity and the world around us.

I don’t really have much to say about Save Changes and Timebox Altar[ed] other than that they felt sort of aimless for me in terms of plot structure. I know Save Changes builds up to a nice twist ending with one of its characters, but I felt like the supernatural ability in that story was severely underutilized.

The stories besides Timebox either felt like half-baked short stories with no direction or compelling character arcs (i.e. Save Changes and Timebox Altar[ed]) or full-length novels trying in vain to confine themselves to the format of shorter prose (i.e. The Memory Librarian and Nevermind).

My ranking list goes as follows:
Timebox
Nevermind
Save Changes
The Memory Librarian
Timbox Altar[ed]

I do appreciate Janelle Monáe for taking the time to sit down and write this though (and for bringing a lot of exposure to Black speculative fiction writers in the process). I really needed an escape like this as a young Black queer Floridian (who knows if others like me will even be able to check this out for much longer under New Dawn oppressors like Ron DeSantis). That’s one thing I’ll give Monáe props for, no matter what she does, she does it with the best of intentions and the meaning behind her art is always on point. ...more

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May 04, 2023 Joe rated it really liked it

A thin grasp on the 4-star rating, provided mainly because there was enough 4-star material in there to make up for the extensive sections of not-4-star material. It was often verbose enough - or impenetrable enough - to make the collection feel overlong, especially given the small number of stories contained herein. Enjoyable, but not addictive. (view spoiler) ...more

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