Harare Review of Books

368 pages.

First published Apr. 9, 2024 (Ooligan Press)

Science fiction.

I will read (almost) any science fiction that happens to cross my path, and I’m so glad this collection did. Apart from Jules Verne (of course), I can’t say I’ve come across much French science fiction at all (except, of course, every science fiction fan knows that the first-ever science fiction movie was French). This gap in my knowledge is partly explained in the introduction to this collection: the quirks of Western publishing in the 20th century have meant the dominance of English language—American and Anglo, specifically—works, and particularly in science fiction. This cultural hegemony has pushed works in other languages into the shadows, even in Europe, and not very much has been translated until recently. So now I have learnt with joy about the long history of French SF (as well as some of its philosophy), and have now been introduced to authors like Julia Verlanger, Sylvie Denis, Laurence Suhner, Jacques Sternberg, and Serge Lehman, among others.

My favourite stories, in order of their appearance in the collection: Julia Verlanger’s The Bubbles (tr. Tessa Sermet) explores a now familiar trope in SF, where people are trapped in their homes (like we all were during Covid). The choice of POV is fantastic, and the ending is unnerving. Jacques Sternberg’s So Far From Home (tr. Brian Mather) gets progressively more depressing, but is an interesting look at modern life from an invented outsider’s perspective—another thing SF is really good at. That Which is Not Named by Roland C. Wagner (tr. Annabelle Dolidon) is an unexpectedly charming story that examines the place of language in shaping a people. Colette Fayard’s The Liberator (tr. Annabelle Dolidon) is another story with a wonderful POV: that of a kind of colonial policeman or spy, but in Space. From the perspective (mine) of a descendant of a once-colonised people, the ending is possibly the best I’ve ever read for retributive justice. The only troubling thing in this particular story is an implied paedophilic relationship; I will leave it to other readers to put it in context, and to judge whether it advanced the story, as I’m on the fence about it. Sylvie Denis’s Inside Outside (tr. Aishwarya Marathe, Annabelle Dolidon) is yet another SF trope, this time revolution, and is excellently executed with wonderful ideas (like a Door run by a human consciousness). Finally, the wonderful Beyond the Terminator by Laurence Suhner (tr. Sheryl Curtis) takes a more-than-human approach to what would be, on Earth, the practice of whaling.

Since there are nine stories only in this collection, you can tell how much I enjoyed it. Come for the exposure to French SF; stay for the genuinely wonderful worlds these authors have created. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Ooligan Press and to Edelweiss for early access.

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