Rosewater (2017), which I read for my book group, is set in Nigeria in the second half of the 21st Century.
Rosewater is a community which has built up around an alien biosphere which, when it opens, attracts the sick who appear to be cured.
Protagonist Kaaro has been changed too. He and others like him have gained psychic abilities and are known as Sensitives. He is recruited by an opaque government agency to assist with interrogations and investigations.
Tade Thompson convincingly evokes Nigerian culture and society and Rosewater is a really inventive, gritty, vivid and original slice of modern science fiction peopled by characters who are convincingly flawed and confused. There are also clever and amusing allusions to colonialism and global politics.
However the novel's non-linear structure is challenging, particularly as the book reaches its conclusion. The novel’s coherence would be improved by less jumping back and forth through time and space. I'd advise any reader to pay close attention to the dates at the start of each chapter and to read the book in as fewer sittings as possible.
Rosewater is the first of a trilogy and, whilst I don't feel inspired to continue with the narrative, I recommend it if you find the scenario appealing.
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I’ve never read anything quite like Rosewater.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2018
This is a unique book in many different ways. It’s an almost-fantastical science fiction set in a future Nigeria that features telepaths, reanimated corpses, aliens, and secret government agencies. The story has a non-linear structure, meaning that there is a central storyline set in the present (the year 2066) with snippets from the past sprinkled throughout to provide context.Our main character is Kaaro, a sensitive that works for a government agency. Sensitives are able to enter the “xenosphere”, which is a mysterious alternate space where sensitives can meet each other, manipulate their appearance, and interact with our own reality in the form of reading other peoples’ thoughts (among other things).Kaaro is an interesting, flawed character. He isn’t exactly the nicest person in the world, and he has used his gifts in the past for personal gain—despite knowing that it was to the detriment of others. He is reserved, perhaps a little bit judgmental, and has a remarkable ability to take almost anything in his stride. I didn’t exactly like him, but I was intrigued by him. Tade Thompson does an excellent job of making Kaaro’s past—and the world itself—seem fascinating.Rosewater is a masterclass in worldbuilding. It can be tremendously difficult for authors to communicate the specifics of a high-concept world in an interesting way, and so quite a few authors will resort to long, often-tedious paragraphs of exposition. Thompson neatly sidesteps this issue by raising questions for the readers to ask… and then denying them the answers unless they read on. The desired information is then drip-fed through various flashback chapters which explore Kaaro’s enigmatic past, and complement the story unfolding in the present.This is a novel which drives you forward with questions. Why are the sensitives dying off? What is the biodome? What is inside the biodome? What did Kaaro see inside the biodome, and why does it matter now?This is a very well constructed story, with plot, character, and setting interlinked in the most delightful way. It’s not hard to see why this novel won the first ever Nommo Best Novel award.Rosewater is a brilliant read. It offers an honest and slightly cynical view of how our world would be should things take a turn to the fantastical. I’ve never read a sci-fi book like this, and I doubt I will again.Well… at least not until the sequel.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2018
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