International award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor enters the world of
magical realist literature with a powerful story of genocide in the far
future and of the woman who reshapes her world.
In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in
one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years
of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the
Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who
has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an
enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives
birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand.
Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different--special--she
names her child Onyesonwu, which means "Who Fears Death?" in an ancient
tongue.
From a young age, stubborn, willful Onyesonwu is trouble. It doesn't
take long for her to understand that she is physically and socially
marked by the circumstances of her violent conception. She is Ewu--a
child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed
rejected by both tribes.
But Onye is not the average Ewu. As a child, Onye's singing attracts
owls. By the age of eleven, she can change into a vulture. But these
amazing abilities are merely the first glimmers of a remarkable and
unique magic. As Onye grows, so do her abilities--soon she can
manipulate matter and flesh, or travel beyond into the spiritual world.
During an inadvertent visit to this other realm she learns something
terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.
Desperate to elude her would-be murderer, and to understand her own
nature, she seeks help from the magic practitioners of her village. But,
even among her mother's people, she meets with frustrating prejudice
because she is Ewu and female. Yet Onyesonwu persists.
Eventually her magical destiny and her rebellious nature will force her
to leave home on a quest that will be perilous in ways that Onyesonwu
can not possibly imagine. For this journey will cause her to grapple
with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries
of her culture, and ultimately to learn why she was given the name she
bears: Who Fears Death?
