Sofia Samatar is the author of the novel A Stranger in Olondria (Small Beer Press, 2013). She holds a PhD from the Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she specialized in Egyptian and Sudanese fiction. Her poetry, short fiction and reviews have appeared in a number of places, including Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Stone Telling, and Goblin Fruit. Sofia is Nonfiction and Poetry Editor for Interfictions Online: A Journal of Interstitial Arts. Find out more at www.sofiasamatar.com.
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
In A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar takes us on a journey that is as familiar and foreign as a land in a dream. It’s a study of two traditions, written and oral, and how they intersect. Samatar uses exquisite language and precise details to craft a believable world filled with sight, sound and scent.
The book follows Jevick, who journeys from Bain, the Harbor City of the land of Olondria to a distant valley, on a quest to settle the ghost that haunts him.
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Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.