Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

[nymeth]

The protagonist of Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death, Onyesonwu, is an Ewu – a child of rape whose sand-coloured skin and eyes unmistakably mark her as an outsider. The Ewu are the sons and daughters of mixed Okeke and Nuru couples; because the two tribes are involved in a brutal civil war, sexual contact between different tribe members is mostly (though not always, as we later find out) the result of rape. Additionally, these rapes are politically motivated – the Nuru soldiers deliberately impregnate Okeke women in an effort to wipe out the tribe and sow discontent.

Legend has it that the Ewu are an embodiment of anger – they’re supposedly violent individuals whose mere existence is a threat. Onye is indeed angry, and I loved that this was validated; however, we come to realise that the main threat she poses to the Okeke town where she grows up is that she’s a constant reminder of the Nuru’s planned genocide, of their use of rape as a weapon, and of the horrific things happening in the West. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of modern Sudan, Who Fears Death follows Onyesonwu as she finds out the truth about her conception, as she develops her magical powers, and as she eventually goes on a quest to confront her biological father, who is not only a violent Nuru general but also a powerful wizard determined to kill her.
( Read More )