Being able to squeeze in at least one more science fiction novel before the end of the year is a win for me, as I know it is a genre I can often neglect. Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell first grabbed my attention due to its title, and the premise, as you will soon understand, was more than a little interesting, and I had to know where it would lead.
The Situation: Up until a year ago, Charlie Brunton was serving time in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now, he is a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University. His situation is certainly strange to believe, but what is stranger are the circumstances that allowed it to happen. Before Charlie made it out of prison - where he was broken out, not released - every white person in the U.S. suddenly walked into the nearest body of water. And what remains is a very different country, with a population of people that encompass a wide range of reactions and feelings about what happened. Charlie enjoys being a professor, and would have continued to do it if not for the letter he received from the biracial daughter he never got to meet.
The Problem: Sydney has spent the year since "the event" isolated in her home in Wisconsin, after the rest of her family walked into the lake. While she does not know him, or trust him (or even like him), Charlie was the only person she could think of to reach out to. He is the only person she could look to for help in reaching a place where she believes other members of her family now live. But as the two of them travel south, neither of them is truly ready for what they find. Every region and city operates a little differently, and when they reach what is now the Kingdom of Alabama, Charlie and Sydney will have to re-evaluate what they know about America, the event, and themselves.
Genre, Themes, History: The book has been tagged as science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopia, and even fantasy, while also including a decent amount of magical realism. Naturally, race is a theme as the book attempts to imagine what this new world looks like, how it operates, and how people would feel. But the reader also gets to see stuff like what Campbell imagines airports and air travel would look like, something I was certainly interested in as someone who loves to travel. Even everyday things like a trip to the local Wal-Mart is a different experience, as is a day trip to a beach. And then there are the people, whose reactions are as diverse as they are, as everyone continues on in various ways. While Charlie has his own complicated feelings, Sydney struggles even more, and must make her own difficult journey regarding grief and identity.
My Verdict: With such an ambitious (and for many, incredibly contentious and uncomfortable) plot, I was surprised to find that this book was less than 300 pages. Granted, it would be impossible to include every imagined or possible scenario following an event like the one suggested here, but I wanted to see even more of the different parts of the U.S, and see more communities and industries and how they operate. Campbell's style of writing is lyrical at times, and then overelaborate in others, with the story and plot coming second to character deliberation. But what is certainly clear is that being alive in this suddenly 'post-racial' country is a complicated matter, and that the struggle with identity continues, as does the desire for community and connection.
Favorite Moment: The description of the Mardi Gras festivities is fun and illuminating, and wonderful picture of joy and community.
Favorite Character: Sailor, a pilot, is on a mission and will not be deterred, although he is not as stubborn and cold as he first appears to be.
Recommended Reading: I recommend James by Percival Everett, which is a retelling of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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