This review is for the entire Xenogenesis Trilogy aka Lilith's Brood. I was Introduced to Octavia E. Butler by another sci-fi loving friend of mine. When I read the Trilogy several years ago the novels were published together in one book titled Lilith's Brood. I had no idea it was originally titled something else and I also knew nothing about Butler. I'm so glad that I originally read them in this state of ignorance because it has made it possible for me to review and appreciate the novel(s) for the amazingly imaginative story and the evocative prose used to tell it. I won't summarize the books as others have already done so. I will say that in my opinion Butler has reframed the Genre of extra-terrestrial, space travel and dystopian stories. Xenogenesis is a thought provoking trilogy that will make the reader question her beliefs regarding humanity's origins and its future. I was completely fascinated by the Oankali's ancestral knowledge. Oh to be able to truly understand who we are and where we came from!
That brings me to my other reading of Xenogenesis. When I discovered that Butler was an African American woman I began to rethink my understanding of Lilith and her descendants stories. I now see it more as an allegory of the African American experience. Like Africans kidnapped and sold into slavery Lilith is forced into a world that she despises. Her story illustrates two of the oposing methods for slaves to live with being enslaved. Like some slaves Lilith believes there was no hope for escape for her. She finally decides to survive by enduring. I kept picturing Bell Waller - Kunte Kinte's wife in Roots. She also endures. Just as "resistors" of the Oankali invasion despise Lilith for surviving WITH the Oankali Kunte Kinte feels disgust for the American born slaves including Bell. he sees them as weak and degraded just as the rebels see Lilith. Like the resistance some slaves formed rebellions or attempt escape. Some survived by enduring like Lilith. additionally i could not stop thinking of the rape of black women by white masters as I read of Lilith's reluctant joining with her Oankali mates. Like many of those African American slave women she must have been torn apart by her love of her children born off rape and her hatred of their human/Oankai mix. I recall Kunte Kinte fearing that his child would be light skinned and not pure African. Also like the American slave experience The human's culture is obliterated. They are also forced into a mass exodus from their homes to a barely liveable planet. There are too many more examples to list and not enough time
. It's an even more thought provoking piece of literature when read with the knowledge of Butler's own heritage. I found that my respect for Lilith grew when I thought of her in this way. She ensured that at least a small piece of humanity would survive just as American enslaved women ensured that one day their culture would survive. It's these women's' ability to endure that makes them honorable and heroic in my eyes.
It's a new and unique way to think of the dirty history American slavery and the extraordinary people who survived that awful institution. This should be required reading for all Americans - especially in today's NOT-post-racism-culture
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2022
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- KrishnaReviewed in India on August 3, 2024
A sci-fi pages turner that questions morality
