Is it too early to say this genre-bender is one of my favorite books of 2025?
I know it’s only January 15th, but I can confidently say that I’ve already found one of my favorite books of the year. Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the authornow available, is a genre-defying metafiction about the author of a popular science fiction book, the stories she tells, and the stories others tell about her.
The anchor of the story is Zelu, a daughter of Nigerian immigrants who hits rock bottom when she is fired from her job as an adjunct professor and receives the tenth rejection of a novel she has spent years working on. Zelu has used a wheelchair since she was twelve, and her family has always been condescendingly overprotective – let alone never seeing value in her creative pursuits in the first place. Not feeling like she can turn to her family for comfort, a dejected Zelu throws herself into writing a new novel that is unlike any world she ever imagined. The result is Rusted robotsa science fiction story set in post-apocalyptic Nigeria about a robot dedicated to collecting stories and developing an unlikely bond with an AI. The pair’s loyalty to each other is built on a weak foundation, as both species deliberately ignore a unifying threat in favor of an escalation of the tribalistic war between the body-owning and body-avoiding automatons.
When Rusted robots becomes a global hit, Zelu is suddenly showered with wealth, fame and opportunity, including the chance to obtain a set of experimental exoskeleton legs. Everyone in Zelu’s life tells her not to get them: they’re skeptical about their safety, they make fun of the attention they’d give her and their family, and, most hurtfully, they wonder what makes her so special. But Zelu has never let the opinions of others or social conventions distract her from her desires. However, with the ‘exos’ comes a new wave of fame and criticism, and so does the cycle of Zelu’s life. With every step she takes to reclaim and redefine her identity, she carries the exhaustion of having to endlessly defend it – from her family, her partner, her fans, the press and strangers.
Zelu’s story is interwoven with fragments from Rusted robots and interviews with her family members, where the three modes of storytelling work in harmony to tell a larger story about the web of creation, intention, and meaning that plays out between author, art, and others. By means of Rusted robotswe gain deeper insights into how Zelu sees her relationship to herself, her body, her culture and the world. And through the interviews, we see how those closest to Zelu view her, and the otherwise invisible impact she has had on their lives and perspectives.
Death of the author is a book that, like Zelu, defies all attempts to pigeonhole it, and begs to be discussed. I can’t say I like Okorafor’s book the most (it might not even be her book I like the most released this year), but I would like to let others read it. There is so much in this story to explore, critique, and appreciate. (The ending in particular will no doubt be divisive, and I’m still sorting through my own feelings about it with complete transparency.) But it’s always exciting when one of your favorite authors does something completely unexpected and so tangibly personal. So yeah, I don’t care how early in 2025 it is, I’ll call it: Death of the author is one of this year’s most intriguing new releases, and one I look forward to reviewing again and again in the coming months.