Death of the Author

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How do you work through disagreements within your family? Are you and your parents, siblings, or other relatives prone to argument? Are you, as Amarachi says, “Easy” and “Noisy”? What are the ways you resolve your issues?

2. Zelu feels like people pity her for having a disability, going the extra mile to protect and coddle her, even when she doesn’t need it. Does this resonate with your experience? How do you feel about the ways people with disabilities are treated in society, compared to your experience?

3. How important is it to connect with your roots? Do you feel that your family has made a significant effort to keep you connected to your heritage?

4. What were your childhood dreams? Are you on track to achieving those dreams? Have you achieved them? If not, what are the challenges you face in fulfilling those ambitions?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Zelu’s narrative considers the ways science and technology might provide helpful living tools for people with disabilities. Does the novel impose any limits on scientific endeavor? How might you reconcile Zelu’s experience, for instance, with growing concerns about artificial intelligence, space travel, and climate change?

2. Okorafor’s arguments on Africanfuturism raise the concern that modern publishing and other cultural industries tend to center the Global West too much in their output. How does this novel contribute to the attempt to break away from the United States despite its characters’ American identities?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How do the interview sections of the novel paint a more complex picture of Zelu and the Onyenezi-Onyedele family? Do you find yourself sympathizing more with Zelu’s family members or with Zelu while reading them?

2. Discuss the symbolic role that water plays in the novel. How does it represent Okorafor’s position on individuality, marginality, and purpose? Consider how Zelu looks to water as a comfort zone and a respite from her many insecurities.

3. The novel ends on an ambiguous note, suggesting that Zelu’s story could have been written by Ankara. Do you agree with this interpretation? Use your answer to discuss Okorafor’s deployment of metafictional techniques.

4. Compare and contrast Zelu and Ankara as protagonists. In what ways does Ankara feel like an analog for Zelu? How does Ankara’s characterization deviate from Zelu’s?