Kabu Kabu
 First edition | |
| Author | Nnedi Okorafor |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Yetide Badaki |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Speculative fiction, Africanfuturism, Africanjujuism |
| Publisher | Prime Books |
Publication date | September 29, 2013 |
| Publication place | United States/ Nigeria |
| Pages | 264 |
Kabu Kabu is a speculative fiction short story collection written by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor with stories in both Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism styles and themes. The collection was first published in 2013 by Prime Books.[1]
Background
[edit]The collection includes the titular piece, co-authored by Alan Dean Foster, six other previously unpublished short stories, and 14 stories that had been previously published in other venues since 2001; with a foreword by Whoopi Goldberg.[2] The title "Kabu Kabu" is gotten from name of the non-registered illegal cab that operates in some part of Nigeria.[2]
Contents
[edit]- "The Magical Negro"
- "Kabu Kabu"
- "The House of Deformities"
- "The Black Stain"
- "How Inyang Got Her Wings"
- "On the Road"
- "Spider the Artist"
- "The Ghastly Bird"
- "The Winds of Harmattan"
- "Long Juju Man"
- "The Carpet"
- "Icon"
- "The Popular Mechanic"
- "Windseekers"
- "Bakasi Man"
- "The Baboon War"
- "Asunder"
- "Tumaki"
- "Biafra"
- "Moom!"
- "The Palm Tree Bandit"
Reception
[edit]Publishers Weekly gave Kabu Kabu a starred review and said the stories were "worth reading again and again",[1] later including it in its 2013 "Top 10: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror" books.[3]
For Tor.com, Lee Mandelo praised Okorafor's storytelling, but called the collection more of a sampler of her writing that draws readers to her other related works rather than a stand-alone story.[4]
Wole Talabi reviewed the book in Brittle Paper lamenting that it did not include more diverse tribal mythology of Nigeria, but overall commending the collection for making it clear that writers in the speculative fiction genre include Nigerians, Africans, and women—not just white men.[5]
The audio performance read by Yetide Badaki was praised by Kat Hooper for the website Fantasy Literature, who also highlighted the African "settings, mythologies, folklore, food, flora, fauna, and other plot elements that are rarely seen in speculative fiction."[6]
In a Strange Horizons review, however, Matthew Cheney felt that readers would better appreciate it instead as a sketchbook showing Okorafor working through her material, and that the book as a whole is much more interesting than any of its parts.[7]
Accolades
[edit]In the 2014 Locus Award voting, the collection placed fourth in the Best Collection category.[8][9] The audiobook release was also a finalist for the 2014 Audie Award in the Short Stories/Collections category.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor". Publishers Weekly. October 21, 2013. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ a b Mandelo, Lee (2013-11-08). "We All Tell Stories About Her: Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor". Tor.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
- ^ Fox, Rose. "Fall 2013 Announcements: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror - Growth Spurts". Publishers Weekly.
- ^ Mandelo, Lee (November 8, 2013). "We All Tell Stories About Her: Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor". Tor.com.
- ^ Edoro, Ainehi (November 11, 2014). "A Magical Journey! | A Review of Nnedi Okorafor's Kabu Kabu | by Wole Talabi". Brittle Paper.
- ^ Hooper, Kat (April 26, 2019). "Kabu Kabu: Are you ready for a change of scenery? | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews". Fantasy Literature.
- ^ Cheney, Matthew (January 13, 2014). "Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor". Strange Horizons. No. 13.
- ^ "2014 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. June 28, 2014.
- ^ "sfadb: Locus Awards 2014". sfadb.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ "Audies Award Finalists and Winners 2020". www.audiopub.org. Audio Publishers Association. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ "sfadb : Nnedi Okorafor Awards". www.sfadb.com.