The Struggle is Real
I have such mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I continue to struggle with how Chatora writes women, although in this collection just about everyone is flawed. I was often not sure what to take a way from any given story. The descriptions of the romantic relationship in the story "Hidden Lives" were excruciating to read, and I'm genuinely not sure whether that was intentional or not.
On the other hand, Chatora's stories touch on a lot of interesting and relevant subjects. "Black Britain" was probably my favorite, exploring issues of racial identity and social justice in the 2020s. The titular story follows a man who, after dedicating his life to serving a fascist regime, is turned against his old cause by two socially conscious prisoners he's sent to interrogate. "Tales of Survival" includes passages about a variety of different women who pursue the oldest profession (I think the 'Zon gets touchy about certain phrases) and end up suing a man who has taken advantage of their situation. "First Wave" is from the perspective of a nurse on the front lines of Covid-19 care.
I like that the collection addresses these things, but the writing was often clunky, and would sometimes jump around between ideas and timelines without warning.
I will add this caveat: I had similar struggles when reading Diaspora Dreams, and I know I'm in the minority there. I appear to be the first person to review Inside Harare Alcatraz on Amazon, but the Goodreads rating indicates that other people enjoyed it more than I did, so if you're on the fence, check it out. There are some good stories in here, and Chatora is tackling topics that I don't often see addressed in fiction.
[Note to the BookishFirst team: Due to ebook delivery times, I ended up reading this book on Kindle Unlimited, which is why I haven't included the usual ARC caveat in the GoodReads and Amazon reviews.]
On the other hand, Chatora's stories touch on a lot of interesting and relevant subjects. "Black Britain" was probably my favorite, exploring issues of racial identity and social justice in the 2020s. The titular story follows a man who, after dedicating his life to serving a fascist regime, is turned against his old cause by two socially conscious prisoners he's sent to interrogate. "Tales of Survival" includes passages about a variety of different women who pursue the oldest profession (I think the 'Zon gets touchy about certain phrases) and end up suing a man who has taken advantage of their situation. "First Wave" is from the perspective of a nurse on the front lines of Covid-19 care.
I like that the collection addresses these things, but the writing was often clunky, and would sometimes jump around between ideas and timelines without warning.
I will add this caveat: I had similar struggles when reading Diaspora Dreams, and I know I'm in the minority there. I appear to be the first person to review Inside Harare Alcatraz on Amazon, but the Goodreads rating indicates that other people enjoyed it more than I did, so if you're on the fence, check it out. There are some good stories in here, and Chatora is tackling topics that I don't often see addressed in fiction.
[Note to the BookishFirst team: Due to ebook delivery times, I ended up reading this book on Kindle Unlimited, which is why I haven't included the usual ARC caveat in the GoodReads and Amazon reviews.]