Lois 's Reviews > Sky Full of Elephants

2.5 rounded up

This novel has a fascinating premise. The author is a poet, and there are many delightfully beautiful turns of phrase. Overall, this was slow. The characters are one dimensional and feel in most cases like literal stereotypes. I think if this was written in the 1920s, it would be fabulous, but as written in the 2020s and set in modern times, it falls flat. Honestly, this feels like an idea for a story that didn't get seasoned well or cooked long enough.

The author never capitalizes Black when referring to humans in the text. It's such an off-putting choice and bugged me throughout the text. It fits with the overall theme of infantilizing Black agency, which seemed to impact most of the story in the novel. I kinda like the anarchist aspect of folks working without pay and taking what they need. However, the idea that no one was left to run things is both suspect and insulting. Black cities with primarily Black governments exist right now.

A few, maybe 3, other countries are mentioned in an extremely minor way, but we don't even explore how the world responds to this situation. This had the potential to be really deep and say something profound but couldn't get out of its own way.

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Spoilers:
So white folks in a coma or on palliative care walked into water to drown themselves? What about white folks not near large bodies of water? Did white pilots' flying planes just fly the whole plane into the water, passengers, and all? Not to mention newborn babies. Did infants and toddlers walk into the water?
Given the explanation provided in the story, why would fresh off the plane white immigrants and white visitors from other countries also walk into the water? So, this didn't impact white folks in Canada or Mexico? Even with similar histories? Why not as we don't have straight borders? The 'frequency' must've reached them, too. Did it happen in Alaska? Our sky would at the least be covered in foreign drones. White folks would absolutely show up to test if it would kill them, too. Ok, I'll just accept that all white folks died. Ignore that this makes zero sense even from the explanation given in the story. This kinda reminds me of the book, Bird Box, when after establishing that looking outside would cause suicidal & homicidal rages, Mallory just drives from her suburban home to downriver without protecting her vision in anyway. Sloppy world building galore.

Why does the author pretend that Black folks aren't prepared to run the country? It's like this is written in an alternate universe in which Obama was never president for 2 terms and the first woman to hold the office of Vice President wasn't Blasian. The Black Caucus didn't step up? Black folks make up about 30% of the Armed Services, including prominent Black Generals. Why would none of those people be prepared or able to run the country? It's okay if we chose not to, but the author implicitly states that we were unable to. That makes no logical sense.

Other POC are practically non-existant. So only Black folks get agency, which they don't know what to do with, and currently existing Indigenous governments, Sovereign fucking nations, don't step into the gap or assert their authority on their own fucking land?

So after white folks are gone, Black folks decide to mammy the Brown and biracial folks who long for a return to white supremacy? They keep them close so they can provide for their fast food chains. This is insultingly ludicrous. White folk are gone, but Black folks are still babysitting white supremacy.😬

This prominently featured a tragic mulatto trope🙃 Sidney would've been born during Obama's presidency so it seems like mixed couples and biracial chikdren would've been not unusual or unique. I literally don't understand her journey to self acceptance even making sense in the context of a story like this. It beggars belief. My father married a white woman in the 60's. I'm literally part of the Loving Generation and Sidney's behavior and beliefs are ridiculous. If Charlie had no criminal record, basically good grades and was from a decent family (which shouldn't matter but does if you're Black) whole organizations exist that fight unfair legal systems. Now he might never have won but to give up without even trying is weird as fuck. Especially with a written confession in the letter from Sidney's mom. To pretend that Charlie had a love story with Sidney's mom is nauseating. She did not love Charlie or she wouldn't have lied to send him to jail. What the entire fuck is up with Sidney's bullshit origin story? What is the point of removing white people from the story to focus on a self-hating tragic mulatress suffering from internalized racism and to act as mammy's to biracial and brown folks who long for white supremacy. This story feels like an over the top attempt to appeal to white folks nonexistent 'better nature'.

The magical negro tropes are cringey and combined with the tragic mulatto trope make this story feel like it was written before desegregation was struck down by the US Supreme Court. It's insulting in many ways to Black & POC Americans. It seems to suggest that white people are why we have manufacturing and sigh. Why get rid of white people to double down on a white supremacist myth? White people are why we have oppression. The rest we had before colonization. Sigh. This novel feels like the author is USA adjacent, like maybe Canadian. Or not Black? Maybe married to a white partner with biracial kids? This is so close but wrong in really kinda white supremacist affirming ways. I am left mostly frustrated and confused.