Reviews

The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase

lezreadalot's review

3.0

“If you don’t believe in yourself, someone’s belief will kill you.”

2.5 stars. Great ideas; weird execution. And not weird in the appealing way. This is a queer novella about racism (and internalised racism), segregation, cultural erasure, assimilation, and the evils of colonialism, with a particular focus on language and how it can be stifled. It takes place in a city where no one has a name; a city divided in two where a great train passes every month to collect the dead. So far so great; these are all themes that I love seeing in books; especially in sff. And the bare bone of the writing was sometimes really lovely; several lines read like so much poetry and I adored it. I've only dipped my toes into African fantasy, and this gave me a taste that has me wanting more.

But the plot? The structure? The way this was told? Oof. I really struggled with it! It was dense and unclear and confusing in a way it absolutely did not need to be. The world-building wasn't great; I really didn't like how the details of the world were communicated to the reader, in this meandering, roundabout way that sometimes repeated itself without ever making itself fully understood. Sometimes I felt like the author was going for a dreamy, stream-of-consciousness type thing? It didn't work out. The form overwhelmed the content; there was so much I flat out didn't understand. I honestly just wanted less abstract and more clarity from this novella. Even simple things could have helped, like better paragraph breaks and structure. The characters didn't help much; I liked them fine, and I loved the queerness (this is mostly f/f; there's a poly aspect that comes into play near the very end) and exploration of the peculiar type of oppression in this society. But they didn't compel me.

Honestly, my reading experience with this was pretty meh; I'm only rounding up on this 2.5 because the ideas were so creative and the themes were so much that I want to see in discussions in fantasy/sci-fi. When I think of this novella as a whole, it has so many things I liked! But it was kinda rough. I'm glad I can say I genuinely liked the writing, and will maybe try this author again.

“No smoke, no mirrors, no fire—but I am burning.”

cri_s's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

meixiaotian's review

3.0

It’s a very surreal story that makes sense in a meta way rather than literally. It’s about the loss of culture, language, ethnic identity to (white) people who seek to expand and assimilate. I think the way this is represented is really interesting and creative. I was struck by a line where the protagonist is begging for help, but “my throat throws up my own language in italics forms into the air.” The way the (black) protagonist and her family and neighbors lose their homes and bodies is also a strong image and metaphor.

However, I wasn’t a fan of how the narrative feels like a meandering dream. Things happen, but it doesn’t feel like there’s a coherent plot. Characters exist, but they aren’t well defined and their dialogue is unnatural. Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t. The many strange elements of the world, like the dreamskins, or the love medicine, or the loss of names, are cool and interesting, but there are too many weird things, and they’re not developed as much as I would like. They’re also often explained by characters expositing to each other, which is just odd. I know this story has left realism far behind, but I still don’t like characters explaining familiar parts of their world to each other.

I thought I had a decent tolerance for surreal, Weird stories, but it’s not enough for this one.

daja's review against another edition

I’m just not interested. I’m never called to pick it up even though I’ve had it for so long in KU.

culown's review against another edition

4.5

Beautifully written and so lyrical. ✨
Sometimes hard to follow if you're not a native speaker imo. 

valodniece's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

So utterly surreal and bizarre, but at the same time, I think the most succinct and suitably horrifying depiction of the cruelties of assimilation and cultural genocide that there can be.

remigves's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mdpenguin's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a pretty amazing surrealist tale of the loss of cultural and personal identity.  The language is enjoyable to read and the story flows solidly, carrying its dreamlike narrative along well.  It's such a vivid and effective collection of imagery and I really liked it a lot.

jckmd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

3.0

jonmhansen's review against another edition

4.0

"Where do you get all this faith?"
"Very simple. If you don't believe in yourself, someone’s belief will kill you."