Bloodchild: And Other Stories
By: Octavia E. Butler / Narrated By: Janina Edwards
Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
Infinitely intriguing; Infinitely disturbing… AWESOME…!
What I liked best about Bloodchild was that each short story came with an Afterword where Butler writes her thoughts regarding what inspired each story, what each really means, how each might’ve been misinterpreted. Her thoughts are candid and really quite simple.
Let’s start with the first story: “Bloodchild” which Butler posits is her Pregnant Man story. What if men could get pregnant. Simple, right?
Oh Jiminy H. Cricket, yikes! This is a blood and guts horror show where humans have been given refuge on a different planet where they’re welcome, yes, but they kiiiiiinda have to do this ooooone thing: Mostly males have to serve as vessels to bear children. Since Butler can’t just write a plain ol’ story withOUT making it something that causes nightmares, she waxes foul about a man nearing the time of bearing, being split asunder as maggot-like creatures eat his flesh.
Mmmmm…. just a Pregnant Man story, eh, Ms. Butler (I ask her spirit as she’s no longer on the planet)?
Or how about the Afterword where she states that she’d just kinda sorta been bogged down in how crappy humans are. And she kept getting example after example, especially one testosterone-fueled duel on, of all places, the danged city bus. Hence: “Speech Sounds” where a plague has descended, robbing humans of speech and morality. Hiiiiiiighly dystopian, and infinitely brutal, it winds up being a story of hope amongst the ruins, as tho’ Butler couldn’t help herself, her own good nature shining through.
Stories of the sweet side of incest, or genetic disorders run amok, of abduction and brutal testing done by an invading alien race—only to be released and treated more woefully by humans. And there’s one story I had to listen to twice because the Afterword cued me onto what I’d totally missed (Oblivious git that I am).
Plus two essays which Butler expounds were more difficult to write than fiction.
Plus a final story of a middle-aged Black woman being challenged by God to make the hard choice—solve all humanity’s problems but lose your joy and delight in the bargain. Is it worth it, and who is God anyway? Can we play God and not BE God, and does He have to laugh as you struggle with unintended and devastating consequences?
Janina Edwards does a magnificent job, making simple narration a true performance and bringing such hardcore words, such horrific nightmares, to bright and vivid life. She perfectly captures the essence of each character be it a woman barely using a carefully hidden voice, be it a wheedling greedy alien ready to impregnate and impregnate NOW.
This is my second journey into the twisted and wide-open space of Ms. Butler’s imagination, and I’ve gotta say: I’m TOTALLY hooked! P’raps you’ve noticed that I’m sorely lacking when it comes to stocking up on SciFi for Audiobook Accomplice? Just haven’t found any authors that provoked such thought, inspired such questions (Except for each and every now classic Ray Bradbury who spoke lovingly of mankind and man’s aspirations). Nope, unlike Bradbury, Butler seemed to have a fairly good sense of the coming apocalypse, of how man is doomed to destroy himself and take as many others down with him as he can. There’s nothing golden about Butler’s worlds.
Nothing, except?
Hope.
Despite her delightfully-crafted horror shows, she can’t help but people them with individuals who’ve seen the worst but who carry on. Who do the right thing. Who carry the burdens however heavy they might be. Horror shows? Yesssss. But pretty gosh danged inspiring at the same gosh danged time. Dunno how she does it.
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