So talk to me about Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson. :) I've been meaning to read some of her novels because she wrote one of my favorite short stories of all time but I haven't known where to start.
AHH!! What short story did you read by her? Midnight Robber was my first Nalo Hopkinson title (and it shant be my last). It’s a girl’s coming of age story starting in “New Half-Way Tree” - A future planet colonized by Jamaica and it shows. Caribbean folklore, Patois, references to historical leaders in fighting against slavery, food, costumes, festivals, lullabies and references to African diaspora abound. (I used Google a lot and learned so much) However if you strip the story to its core it’s one that could have happened 5000 years ago, and one that could happen 5000 years in the future in absolutely any country or any planet to any woman. I think that’s why it’s such a powerful story.
The main character is Tan-Tan who grows through the novel from daughter to wife to mother, slowly gains autonomy, and endures brutal hardships, all the while having no one to rely on but herself, and her stories. With no female role models, she decides for herself what motherhood means to her and how to be a mother. The book frighteningly parallels African Diaspora via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trades in a lot of ways and even Tan-Tan comments on that at times. The story also makes reoccurring notes on the interlinking of rape and colonization.
One of the really cool things about Midnight Robber is that it subverts the “Big Brother” trope by having “Granny Nanny” instead. -Granny Nanny is more like an over protective grandmother who limits the freedom of her grandchildren instead of letting them learn on their own for fear that someone may get hurt (kinda). But at the same time she prevents a lot of crime, murder, and corruption.
It’s such a vivid book I hope you get time to read it! :)
