Mother of Invention

by Nnedi Okorafor, LeVar Burton (Narrator)

A young woman in a future Nigeria finds herself in a deadly pollen storm, alone but for her smart home.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Africa, Audiobook, Fiction, School

1 pages, Audiobook

First published February 21, 2018

About the author

Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com and follow Nnedi on twitter (as @Nnedi), Facebook and Instagram.

Reviews

[Berengaria · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars
*this review is a postcard from Outlier Island* 🌴📨

short review for busy readers: A short story by popular Afrofuturist writer Nnedi Okorafor written specifically for an anthology...and it reads like it.

in detail:
It's awkwardly paced, largely pointless, standard climate sci-fi full of typical Nigerian fiction tropes, such as cheating men who lie to get laid, their angry, dangerous wives, highly conservative religious ideas mixed with futuristic technology and the ideals of motherhood.

Basically, what any female Nigerian writer could throw together after about 10 minutes of thought.

Yes, some of the sci-fi bits are neat as are the GM pollen storms, but they're nice details on what is essentially a womb/motherhood story, and not a very original one at that. With more time and thought, it could have gone somewhere, but...anthology deadlines, etc etc one could suppose.

Most other readers seemed to be reading for the sci-fi elements, which they greatly enjoyed, so mine is very much an outlier opinion.

Read here for free like I did and make up your own mind: https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/...

[Nicole Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nnedi Okorafor has a way of writing with a perfect blend of African-futurism, speculative-fiction, character-realism and believability. She has a way of intertwining potentialities that are (or could be scary) with the fundamental hopefulness deep in the core of humanity. People can be terrible, but often that is rooted in fear. And, sometimes fear is seen…and handled together.

Plus: Okorafor has this way of pausing (not ending) a story. Sometimes her work is subtle, and you know that there is more, and you surely hope she’ll write more…but even if she doesn’t—you know the characters are experiencing more even if we readers don’t get to witness it. In this one? The story doesn’t just pause…I turned the page fully expecting the next bit. I need to know what happens next!

I hope she’ll write it…but even if she doesn’t, my brain keeps trying to tell itself the story of what happens next. And, perhaps (while potentially distressing), for a reader, that is a gift? To write a story so well…that it just carries on—evolving and dissolving.


If you, like me, enjoy the voice of Levar Burton; then, check out his podcast “Levar Burton Reads.” He has three episodes dedicated to this short story: the story broken into two, and then a fascinating and insightful interview with Okorafor, herself. (https://pca.st/episode/8a051a7f-db3a-...)

[MollyK · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/...

Interesting speculative concept. There is always a lot going on in the author's work. Her style is quite unique too. I really got pulled into the main character and her situation. For me it was five stars until the ending though. If it would have stopped before the last paragraph or continued on, I would have liked it better. But that's me. The author will likely tell you that the piece ended exactly where it need to.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating sci-fi story about a pregnant Nigerian woman abandoned by her fiance, living in an AI controlled smart house.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really warmed my heart! Cheers to smart homes everywhere!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expertly read by Levar Burton, really brings the story to life.

[Lorena (Stained Edges) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart warming and eerie

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭 was not expecting to be in tears over the kindness of a smart home

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

LeVar Burton reads

[Katelynn Sobota · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HIGHLY recommend listening to LeVar Burtom read this short story on his podcast. SO GOOD. I'm excited to read more works by Nnedi.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the smart home and the future world 4.5 stars

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother of Invention - by Nnedi Okorafor
Indigenous African feminist sci-fi
“Shame, desperation, embarrassment and abandonment burned hotter and shined brighter than her future.”

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautiful 

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost a star for me because it ended on a cliffhanger. But otherwise, I really enjoyed this story.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! I really enjoyed the imagining of a smart house, and some of the other future climate chaos. And it had a pretty amusing ending.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the premise and appreciated the future that wasn’t fully dystopian. I thought the periwinkle grass was clever.
I liked the themes about motherhood and creation.

[Emily]

Eco/techno horror motherhood

[Marlene]

Excellent story regarding adaptation to climate change. Well read as is usual in Lavar Burton Reads

[Cami]

I had fun with this short story! It went in a direction I wasn’t quite expecting!

[nirvana · Rating 5 out of 5]

AFROFUTURISM book from grsj with doctor Kim
best book out of all the books we were assigned in that class

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this short story via the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. It was an Intriguing look into the possibilities of beneficial non threatening A.I particularly smart houses. Growing up hearing about futuristic/contemporary architecture discussed in my household the idea of a smart house that has emotions and can also make and carry out well thought out plans made for an engaging read. I loved the ending of this story. I am still debating how it should be interpreted and what I think the most likely fates of several of the characters was. I also was intrigued by the examination and reinterpretation of traditional female gender roles in this story while also being a powerful commentary on the need to protect the environment for future generations. I am looking forward to reading more stories by this author.

[Sara]

I like that house and how its protecting but i love our h and who has her caruge and gd strength against bad storms.i love N O