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Everfair
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"Everfair" Discuss Everything *Spoilers*
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What does this mean? at 20% "Bolombo River, Everfair, August 1896" chapter
A man screamed. Josina looked around. Only women escorted her. The paddlers would be guarding the boats. Another scream. Shouts of anger. Mademoiselle Lisette was running toward the disturbance. She scrambled to follow. They entered another house. Loyiki lay on a mat. Shreds of hardened tears hung from the hands of women kneeling at his sides. “It hurts, my queen,” he complained. “I had forgotten.” Others crowded the doorway, obscuring the light. She could barely see that Loyiki’s arms and legs were dark again. The tears had been ripped away. On other mats lay his companions, glowing like ghosts in the dimness. “We so much appreciate this gift,” said Mademoiselle Lisette. “It will help our machines to suck and hold the air—” Her sentence subsided into sobs.
Earlier in the chapter, Josina had seen Loyiki and his men covered in grey, dust?:
...filled with strange, grey-skinned men. One hailed her: “Queen! Let us go before you, making sure the way is safe!” They came closer. She had her paddlers hold the big boat still so she could look at them. She saw that, as she had thought, it was Loyiki who had hailed her. Loyiki’s face was clean and dark, but some pale substance covered his chest, arms, legs, and back. The same with his companions, all men from his home, as he explained.
Something with harvesting rubber? I think Vines-Who-Weep and Hardened Tears means rubber plants. But in the chapter "Liverpool, England, October 1890" the rubber was in grey lumps, remember the basket and Rev. Wilson held one up like Yorick's skull.
-So what was happening, maybe something with rubber??
-But how would that help Everfair's kilns, or metalworking, or filters or whatever?
-Why was there pain?
-Even if it did help Everfair (to steal or carry rubber somehow?), how would Loyiki have known about it?
P.S. Why did the chapter and Lisette say Welcome to Bolombo, weren't they in Bookerville / Mbuji-May?
I finished this a few days ago and honestly don’t know what to say about it. I haven’t written a review yet. I very much agree with everything AMG says both likes and dislikes. I loved the steampunk elements and the grand sweeping history it was trying to tell, but there were just too many characters. They were all intriguing, but we spent way too little time with any of them for a story to emerge. And yes, Lisette was perhaps the main character, but she was a little blah and uninteresting. I can’t remember even a single this about her other than she is 1/16 Black and from Belgium and spoke French. But what did she do for Everfair? :shrug:
I loved the idea of the book much better than the actual book. The style of the writing was nice, but there was something about it that was also mesmerizing and I found myself losing focus.
Bonnie, I only vaguely remember that scene. And I remember thinking when it was happening, “What is happening?!? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter.”And sadly, this is the main impression I was left with in general.
I listened to it, which was probably not the best (but my only) choice. This is probably a book which would benefit from an immediate retreading, now that I understand the basic structure. I just don’t have the time though.
DivaDiane wrote: "Bonnie, I only vaguely remember that scene. And I remember thinking when it was happening, “What is happening?!? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter.” "Well we are 2/3 through the month and only three people have posted here. That is not a good showing so far! I clicked through on some of the people who posted in First Impressions -- some are still Currently Reading and some have DNFed. I feel bad because I voted for it and it was close -- Empire of the Ants could have taken it.
It is indeed a tougher row to hoe than some books we have read. "What is happening?!? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter." Oh dear. I find it hard to connect to the characters; one reason is the chapters are so short. No sooner have I latched on to the people and what they are doing, than I leave them... months later, on to someone else.
I will try to add a few things as I go along, more like a Buddy Read, for those who are / will be reading.
End of Part One, 50%-The whole "Teen George (at the beginning of their relationship only 13!) and Mrs. Hunter the Widow" thing--WHY. It gives me the heebee-jeebies. He was "in thrall" to her, etc.
-Lisette and Daisy's split is somewhat sad. It doesn't leave me as sad, though, as it would if I felt more emotionally connected to them. There were very few scenes of them actually together? It seems to be some mis-communication + some guilt about Lily dying + some resentment over Mr. Jackie Owen, although I am not quite sure what the ongoing relationship *is* between Daisy and Jackie Owen.
-Will we ever see Mr. Albion, Ellen and Laurie Jr, again, or are they permanently gone from the story? Some might see the "free love" bit with Daisy + Ellen + Lisette as good, I don't see how it could have worked out though in 1800s Europe. Also, I don't think Lisette was brought in as a completely free and willing partner. Their household made me think of the TV show Big Love with the polygamous family in modern suburbia.
-"Kamina, Everfair, January 1904" chapter
FINALLY something about Everfair as a nation, its government, its character. Working on its constitution. The stuff about religion, Christianity vs. African tribal vs. NO religion, is interesting. That conflict is definitely messing up Rev. Wilson! The stress of the conflict is giving him fits, and then tribal people say the fits are proof that he should be a priest of their god Loango or whatever.
The paragraph with "it was so awesome how Everfair had all the equality principles. One of the first things they did was pass English as the official language, now Noka could do his translations to French and tribal languages as official biz!" That is a dig, right?
More of this, please!
What does "Mote" refer to besides "speck?"
Mod
I love the questions this book asks and examines, even if it never quite comes to any answers. What does healing look like when you're watching people who look like you be brutalized in front of your very eyes? What does love and tolerance look like when you're caught between the culture of your captors and the bits of history you keep from your ancestors? What happens when you are essentially a colonizer in native land? Do you assimilate? Do you assimilate them? Do you make something new? And is that new thing inevitable, warfare, or simply human growth?
Can you be an oppressor AND an ally?
And then throughout, though we have tough questions and existential threats, there's this undercurrent of hope and joy, that maybe right now everything is hard and new and hurtful, but that this might become something great, and that the children, or their children, might live in a world worth sharing. And that though the work never stops, neither does love and silliness. I just loved all those reminders, though I agree as a story it's a let down.
I like these meaningful questions. ^I am happy to report (hope for other readers?) that for me anyways, the second half--now 80% through--is easier to read than the first half.
It could be that now I know characters, or that Part One was table-setting and now the story is paying off, or that the chapters take place much closer chronologically. Not sure why? but there is more connective tissue, with story-threads continuing from one chapter to another, albeit from another person's point of view:
A person becomes ill... Person recovers.
A poem is composed... Poem is presented.
A play is rehearsed... Play is presented... Cast party... Tour research.
Lobbying for stance on World War I... vote on stance... wartime activity.
I wasn't originally going to comment as I don't have particularly strong feelings about the book. But as Bonnie mentioned, there isn't a ton of discussion so far and I do think that the story at least deserves that. :)There were a lot of great elements. I agree with the positive things that Allison pointed out. This is a very interesting examination at how you handle your personal ideals in an extremely diverse world while trying to create harmony from a brutal history. Particularly towards the end you see a lot of the characters who care about each other coming down on opposite sides of the conflict. I would have actually liked that to be examined a lot more closely.
I was just really bored. This did not move at a pace that works for my attention span.
My only other legitimate gripe were the fantasy elements. Namely Fwendi and her cats and the god Loango. They didn't feel like they fit to me. For a story focused on technology and real world politics, having these random magic elements was jarring.
Certainly not a favorite of mine, but I can see the book's appeal.
I actually really liked the “Rider” side of the story. It was vivid and moved what story there was along. I think it was meant to show us that there are aspects to this particular African culture that are distinct and different to the European/Western culture that is now trying to exist along side the African. I wish it had made an appearance earlier. It could’ve been used as an element of cohesion.
Mod
With your comments in mind, I am getting a bit more out of it.
Also the narrator is killing me (not in a good way) with her "accents"
Mod
re: the fantasy elements, I think there was an article shared about that...or maybe it was from Best of All Possible Worlds. In any case, to me it read more like a nod to a different way of thinking about SF. We have myths that we build with science fiction -- the martian with a green head and three fingers, the computers that become sapient and can tell us the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42 and so on...but what would Congolese SF rest on? What traditions inform how they see religion, politics, and technological advances?
Not to say that this "works" per se but it was something I enjoyed chewing on while I read.
I thought this passage, depicting the reuniting of Daisy & Lisette, was particularly lovely:________
Lisette’s turn. All her faults would be visible—how well she knew them, and how professionally she took them into account. But what use caution here and now? She stripped—tossed her blouse at the abandoned chair, snaked out of her skirt where she lay, shoving it aside to the floor. Lifting her chemise—
“No. Stop. Let me—please?”
She felt her arms drift to her sides. With a mother’s solicitude Daisy divested Lisette of the last of her defenses: stockings and slippers, silk and leather and lace. And then skin touched skin: no hindrance. Only unsparing pleasure and unremitting happiness.
_______
It also showcases Shawl’s fairly unusual approach, which doesn’t always work as well for me as this passage does. She’s got quite an original and eccentric voice.
Here’s my review:My experience of reading this ambitious, odd, intriguing novel was akin to spending time gazing at an ambitious, odd, intriguing painting in a museum. There was much to admire about Shawl’s technical skill in crafting sentences, and their ability to never let me get ahead of the story they were creating. There was much to admire about their willingness to take on the immense themes of colonization, racism, war, and espionage, and imagine an alternate history of an Africa that was affected by these things but never succumbed to the fullest terrible weight of them. I just wanted to feel more let in on the moment-to-moment beats between her many and varied characters. But I’m glad to have read this, even though I never fell fully in love with it.
Yes, Anthony. This.
Mod
good to have you back! a perfect summary of the experience for me, too!
Mod
Everfair, great ideas, valiant attempt but not quite there.
Some context, some info on Everfair, some interesting links >Book Review: Everfair by Nisi Shawl
https://skiffyandfanty.com/blogposts/revieweverfairshawl/
Finally got to and finished - late as usual - and reading through above comments. @Bonnie, I had the same thought about the grey/"tears" bit - I thought maybe it had to do with raw rubber that he was carrying? Will have to research that later.
I had high hopes for this book, but wasn't really satisfied during the reading - but more thought may help it improve. I liked the steampunk idea, but it wasn't a strong enough component for me (other than dirigibles being used for transport).
I know little enough about Leopold and the Congo that I needed to research that while I was reading the book to feel like I was getting the context, but once I had done some research, it turned out that it wasn't that critically important anyway (kind of like those "tears" mentioned previously). There are big questions here about colonialism which was interesting and relevant today. Everfair did a good job illustrating various characters' intentions, including missionary conversion, seeking a Utopia, and economic/resource harvesting, among others. The indigenous leadership's alternate perspectives, maintaining power and autonomy through guerilla war, espionage and their religion was an interesting counterpoint.
Despite this, I think there were too many characters for such a short book. It was hard to keep up with them all, and many could have been better explored. Lisette seemed interesting initially, but the huge gaps in time made understanding her difficult.
A few questions to get us started:
1. What did you think of the world?
2. What did you think of the different POVs?
3. What do you think the message, theme, or tone of this story is?
4. Overall thoughts? What worked or didn't?
Non-spoiler thread here: First impressions