This was my 1st book by this author. The book was slow to grasp my attention. I didn't really start getting invested into it until about 40% in. I'm not a Sci-Fin fan either, so the novel within the book wasn't my style. At times Zelu frustrated me along with her family. She was strong but angry. Also misunderstood. I think I need to read this book again to really understand it, as it was a bit slow.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher & of course the author for gifting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this courtesy NetGalley and William Morrow. In this work by Nnedi Okorafor, it’s hard to be able to tell what the disability is. Is it the main character’s paraplegia, or is it the culture’s insistence that she can’t take care of herself? Zelu, our heroine, is at a low point when the story begins, and using strength of character—and her decision to write for herself, live for herself, despite her disability, changes her life—for good or ill. Okorafor’s work plunges us into a world not far from now, not far from here, and explores what we can look forward to—for good or ill. An absorbing, wonderful read.
#DeathoftheAuthor #NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the characters and the character development. The pacing and story is just utter fantastic and breathtaking. The story within a story is fantastic. I am telling everybody about this one it is so real, so human, so true. Thank you thank you thank you Nnedi for writing such an amazing and truly beautiful book. I read a NetGalley copy.

“”What use is a story when you have truth?” Udide said” - the story takes the truth and makes it something more, a light that shines out in an infinite number of beams and touches all.
This book is a Story! Beautiful, maddening, uplifting

Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow for the ARC. This was a really unique read. My favorite part of the story was Rusted Robots. I also really liked the ending. I didn't enjoy the interview chapters that much where the other characters talk about Zelu.

In this quasi-autobiographical novel, Okorafor explores disability, the concept of "cure" or "being cured," robotics, humanity, emotion, intelligences, the nature and methods of storytelling, relationships, family, fear, control, independence, and desire in complex, often engaging ways. Ostensibly the story of a young, disabled Nigerian-American woman who writes an enormously popular speculative, Africanfuturist novel, Death of the Author is many stories wrapped up in one--or two--that draw the reader into a broad tapestry of connected elements, doublings, and coping mechanisms. It also provides a masterclass in writing often unlikeable and unsympathetic--and very human--characters, and is an example of a solid twist at the end. I found some of the metafictional sections to be overly slow and a little tedious, but never to the point where I stopped reading--keep going, readers, and you will be rewarded.

A compelling read! Literary fiction blended with Sci-Fi/Afro-futurism, with a nice dash of metatextuality.

Death of the Author follows Zelu, a 32 year old paraplegic Nigerian-American woman who is set adrift after she is fired from her adjunct job. When she pens an instant-hit Sci-Fi novel, her life changes rapidly and she is forced to navigate fame, her identity, and her family dynamics.

The chapters switch between Zelu and her novel, "Rusted Robots." Unlike Zelu I AM a big fan of Sci-Fi, so I found the "Rusted Robots" chapters refreshing - often a welcome break from the stress of Zelu navigating a family gathering the chapter before.

I recommend this for both existing fans of Okorafor and new readers.

Wow! I'm still processing the ending of this book. I loved learning about Nigerian culture and the tight family bonds. Zelu was a wild ride of a character, sometimes I loved her and sometimes I wanted to yell at her for making selfish choices. Zelu is a struggling author that finally hits it big. We get to read chunks of the book she wrote interspersed throughout. A few times I had to read a page in to the chapter before I completely switched gears from either Zelu's life or interviews with her family or the book she wrote. It was such a unique concept and I would recommend for anyone wanting a sciencey story family, love and the will to fight for yourself.

This feels like something Okorafor has been building up to, and it's really fascinating to watch play out. You get a blend of family dynamics, the hellscape of adjunct teaching, dealing with disability, and the attention of the internet as you're pulled forward when you make a hit as representation and dealing with what that means. There's some stuff that clearly feels influenced by seeing others in her community deal with adaptation to other forms and the bs therein. Throw in excerpts from the book the main character is writing in the book itself, and you have catnip for me. Can be a bit awkward at times, but I'm for it.

Zelu is a writer and she’s recently lost her job and her last manuscript was rejected. She’s fed up and decides to write a story for herself. She submits this story and it takes off but then the hype from it takes things in a whole new direction.

This is the second story I’ve read by Nnedi Okorafor. Her writing is beautiful but sometimes the way things are worded requires me to reread a sentence. It’s not something to mindlessly read, but it requires some focus. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but something to consider. I think it’s probably a “me” problem.

I still recommend this story to anyone who finds the summary interesting. It’s not going to be for everyone, but that is the beauty in reading, everyone has their own viewpoint. The story within a story was also well done, this plot device can be “iffy” but Okorafor pulled it off.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read this early. These opinions are my own.

This is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read. I wish that I could give it 10 stars.

The writing was beautiful, haunting, and full of passion.

I loved how Zelu wanted her independence, yet depended upon her family. She was NOT meek and mild. She had a full life, while still trying to gain her freedom from her family.

I loved that Zelu was brave, adventurist, hurt when others criticized her and still tried to live her life on her own terms.

The Rusted Robots story was beautiful but I didn't fully understand it till the very end.

AND THE END! What a shock! WHat?! I loved it!

This book was so complex, and so beautifully written, many points in the book I wanted to scream at Zelu's family...JUST LEAVE HER BE! SUPPORT HER!

This book is for anyone who wants a different story told from a few viewpoints.

"I have come to understand that author, art, and audience all adore one another."*

Death of the Author is meta, literary, and science fiction all at the same time. We follow our protagonist Zelu, a disabled Nigerian American author, who is down on her luck after being fired from a teaching gig. When her new novel Rusted Robots suddenly becomes a bestseller, she's forced to reckon with fame and online criticism while dealing with personal and family issues. There's a story-within-a-story as we read chapters from Rusted Robots as well as interviews with family members about their relationship with Zelu.

This was an interesting ride: a mixture of Yellowface and an episode of the Netflix show Love, Death, + Robots, maybe with a bit of Becky Chambers mixed in. This explored art/writing, the audience, and author, and their relationship with one another. The story-within-a-story style book can be hit or miss as one story usually outweighs another, but this one was an overall hit.

I would recommend this for fans of meta fiction, literary fiction, and for those who want to dabble into a little bit of sci-fi or afro-futurism. I've read the Binti Trilogy and She Who Knows by this author, but this was much different than what I'm used to from her. 3.75

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

*Quote taken from advance copy, subject to change in final release.

I have read quite a few Nnedi Okorafor books. Some I have liked more than others. This one falls firmly into the "self indulgent" category for me, to use Okorafor's own phrase. This isn't an entir bad thing or with good reason. The boon is dedicated to jer sister who recently passed and is wholly a reflection on family and identity. It seems to be reflecting more on her own self-centered view though. Interesting premise that didn't follow through for me.

I do not know what it is with Okorafor's writing but I either love it and can't put the book down or cannot for the life of me get into it and cannot force myself to continue reading... I really don't understand it. Her stories have a distinctive feel to them, and yet still some of them resonate with me powerfully and some just don't do a thing for me at all. Unfortunately, this was one of the latter.

Despite a blurb, cover, and theme that I was certain I would connect with, I struggled with this one from the opening pages. I cannot put my finger on why. The characters had promise. The plot was intriguing. I generally love a story-within-the-story. I often enjoy the way she blends sci-fi with futurism and realism. Yet something about this one bugged me from the start. I just couldn't find my way into the story or the characters' lives...

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

love love love - anytime a book can surprise me immediately jumps it to being a gem - run, don't walk, to get this title. Highly recommend

Excellent storytelling, engaging and believable characters. I came away from the story wishing I could read more of Zelu's work, which is a testament to how well the story-within-a-story was executed.

First, thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book. I loved Zelu and her boisterous, noisy, loving, and confusing family. I loved her partner and all of the characters we meet along the way. I LOVE that we get not just one book, but BONUS--a SF novel too! The one our main character writes at the lowest point of her life. I did often feel frustrated by her family whose love threatened to smother Zelu. It seemed unrealistic to me that everyone of them would be so negative about her achievements, dreams, and desires. But I was so caught up in her story, that I forgave them and just enjoyed the ride.

I read the eBook, but I would love to listen to an audiobook version of this. I'm sure I mangled most of the names (in my head). Like Zelu's fans in the book, I am already longing for a sequel, but I'll satisfy myself with seeking out another of Okorafor's books. I was delighted to learn that she is a resident of Phoenix, AZ as am I. Maybe she'll turn up at a Changing Hands Bookstore doing a reading one of these days.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style--very clear, visual, with many passages I found so compelling I had to highlight them to ponder later. There's so much in this book, it's hard to discuss it all. It's a book that deserves another reading. Maybe I'll listen to the audiobook--please make one!

As for the sequel, I think I want two books--one to carry on the Rusted Robot story and one to see what Zelu does next!

I was not crazy about the book until the very end. It may be novel for some readers but I am a little tired of the story within a story device. But then the two stories got tangled together in an infinity loop and you arent quite sure which story came first. That was magnificent.

Nnedi Okorafor always centers humanity within her science fiction and I love that so much! I am not a science fiction reader but I adore everything she writes and this was no exception. My only sadness is that it is too short.