Karen's Reviews > Sky Full of Elephants

“Let them inherit the earth by inheriting themselves.”

Let’s get uncomfortable. Just open this book. That is exactly the author’s intention when he chooses to have this book explore the aftermath of a genocidal event in which supposedly every White person in America wakes up, walks into the nearest body of water and drowns.

What kind of fantasy tale is this one?

What message is being conveyed here?

This circumstance, known as “the event” turns society upside down. The internet is barely working, what we referred to as the “Ivy League” is no longer, and the state of Alabama becomes a monarchy. And, along with all of this, people are unsealing the jails, boarding up police stations, as well as, setting country clubs on fire, among a few things.

Is this the future?

Whatever it is, it is the character Charlie’s journey. As a wrongfully incarcerated Black man he is now reunited with his daughter, Sidney. Prior to “the event,” Sidney had always believed she was White, because she was raised by her mother’s White side of the family. Now, they are on a journey to Alabama to visit the Alabaman king and queen.

This story is what we would refer to as “magical realism.” But as in any magical realism story, sometimes things can get a bit strange. After all, how “non-White” does anybody have to be to exist in this new world? And, will they overcome the problems of the old one?

So, suspending disbelief, one can imagine whatever utopia one wants to, right? Is the author daring readers to imagine what a new, better society looks like if we didn’t have any White people at all? Tell that to the incoming Trump administration. Would they walk to the nearest body of water and drown?

“History has never been silent.”

This book wants to make us think. Even if there are so many plot holes readers can find themselves wondering how we are going to manage getting out of any given hole. Thus, leaving us without a lot more questions, than answers. Is that the thinking part of this book – as we try to understand where the author is taking us?

As readers, we are being asked to imagine this future. Maybe we need to draw our colors outside the familiar boxes we have been living in. And, imagine a contemporary America that is not defined by a dominant White autocracy that determines the “governing” rules for its majority citizenry which is diversely non-White. Maybe Campbell is making this reading experience uncomfortable on purpose so we can confront our biases about people that are “different” than “us.”

Even if it is not a perfect society being depicted (because we certainly aren’t one now), and this is a rather imperfect read, it is thought-provoking, uncomfortable, and compelling, all at the same time.

3.5 stars