Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion
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Fledgling
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Discussion: Fledgling
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I kind of really like the fact that renee is the body of a small black girl. Wright having complete agency of his actions and making the choices he makes says a lot to me about the character, and I am having a difficult time imagining that particular relationship told without their specific physical differences. And I found it very interesting that she explicitly states that wright is sexually mature, while Shori is, even from the point of view of her own people, a child.And since wright smelled good from the beginning, I hope he wasn’t planted to find and bond with shori. There’s a lot of foreshadowing.
I’m also reminded of a similarity to the morning and the evening and the night where the women have some physical idiosyncrasy that makes them a more determining factor in the social structure and that they are intensely separatist-to the point of physical revulsion.
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I feel like I’m the only person still reading…I had a moment of conflict with Joel, since he’s the first person to willingly come to Shori, as a symbiont, completely aware of the nature of the relationship, but he’s just graduated college and liked a picture of her.
This book feels like a murder mystery, with more clues uncovered as we go along, but it’s a lot of fumbling in the dark will little information as the events unfold. The pacing is great and I’m tempted to just finish the book since I have the time and the story is unfolding nicely.
I really appreciate the thought she’s put into crafting the parallel communities and the necessities of having a parallel community.
Lamar wrote: "I’m tempted to just finish the book since I have the time and the story is unfolding nicely..."I admire your restraint - I read it in 3 days, I just couldn't stop myself :)
Nadine in California wrote: "Lamar wrote: "I’m tempted to just finish the book since I have the time and the story is unfolding nicely..."I admire your restraint - I read it in 3 days, I just couldn't stop myself :)"
I'm with you on this one Nadine. I read it in 3 or 4 days and usually I'm a slow reader. lol
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How would Fledgling be different if Shori had an adult woman's body instead of a child's? How are physical and emotional intimacy entwined in the novel? How does Shori's physicality affect her worldview and/or our understanding of her?
all the discussion of shori has made me wonder if octavia intented to point out the many ways looks are such a distraction in our society. if shori's physicality is an invitation to look at the assumptions we make about others -- their knowing and capabilities, their wisdom and autonomy.
This was such a fun read. Especially towards the end it felt very much like an allegory of being black in america: taken from your past, having to learn how the society around you operates, having to learn what your needs and moral compass are, and how those fit in (or don't) with the society you wake up to; being perceived as other (both pitiable and worthless), partially because you have no past.I especially liked towards the end of the courtroom scene, where Shori makes a point to ask in front of everyone if there had been a socially accepted avenue open to the Silks to resolving their differences with the Matthews family without resorting to vigilantism. She didn't know whether such an option existed, but she made it clear that one existed and everyone in the room knew.
yeah, earlier in the novel it was a bit more subtle, but by the end these issues were being confronted head on and with directness!
Literary Fiction by People of Color
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Thanks for this. I read it & found it to be interesting. I don't know if it made me comfortable enough to finish The Fledgling though, but it explained a couple things to me.