A review by lezreadalot
The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase

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.”