Rosewater

My first taste of African sci-fi, this was an intriguing, brilliant and almost uncomfortable read. Rosewater dumps you straight into some future version of the Earth where alien contact has been made, the US has withdrawn into self isolation and the UK has made a mess of its initial interaction with the alien life. The echoes of the current isolationist tendencies of those countries give the story a real poignancy. The story gives very little initial context for what is going on and lets you build your impression over the course of the novel - an impressive exercise in letting the readers imagination do a lot of the work.

The narrator, Kaaro, is Nigerian living in a city called Rosewater, surrounding the dome, an alien thing, also known as Wormwood. These aliens have seeded the world with fungus like things, which have let some people (including Kaaro) become psychic. The central plot of the story is revolving around the relationship between these psychics, the alien being and the government, and the idea of what it is to be human.

My one gripe is with the very confusing timeline. The story jumps backwards and forwards in time a slightly jarring amount of times which can make it difficult to follow. Fortunately each chapter does specify which date the chapter is referring to, but keeping track of the order of things can be a little challenging.

Overall, an impressively deep work, with interesting cultural references and a timely sense of place. Highly recommended