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Title details for The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe - Available

The Memory Librarian

And Other Stories of Dirty Computer

by Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
In The Memory Librarian music, fashion, film and futurist icon Janelle Monáe returns to the Afrofuturistic world of her critically acclaimed album, Dirty Computer, to explore how different threads of liberation – queerness, race, gender plurality, love – become tangled in a totalitarian landscape... and to discover costs of unravelling them. Whoever controls our memories controls the future. Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts – as a means of self-conception – could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who'd convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate. That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it's like to live in such a totalitarian existence... and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the traditions of speculative writers such as Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor—and filled with the artistic genius and powerful themes that have made Monáe a worldwide icon in the first place – The Memory Librarian serves readers tales grounded in the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, but also reaching through to the worlds of memory and time within, and the stakes and power that exists there.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 14, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780008512439
      • File size: 350812 KB
      • Duration: 12:10:51

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Musician and actor Janelle Mon�e adds author and narrator to her considerable list of accomplishments with this story collection based on the themes of her 2018 album DIRTY COMPUTER. In this Afrofuturist dystopia, the totalitarian entity New Dawn seeks to hunt down and strip away all perceived deviance from humanity. Mon�e's narration of the eponymous first story is softly menacing as she introduces listeners to Seshet, a bureaucratic memory thief who longs for love and connection. The rest of the stories are engagingly voiced by Bahni Turpin, who uses her crisp and flexible tones to portray characters at odds with Seshet's mission, would-be victims turned rebels against conformity. Together, they create a memorable experience for listeners seeking classic science-fiction themes with new horizons. N.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 31, 2022
      In this moving, triumphant collection, singer Monáe returns to the dystopian world of her Dirty Computer concept album and short film. These five sci-fi shorts, each written with a different coauthor, explore the consequences of a totalitarian regime that, in pursuit of a pure society, monitors its citizens’ identities, thoughts, and relationships and scrubs clean the memories and personhoods of those who are labeled deviant. In “Save Changes,” written with Yohanca Delgado, a young woman has one chance to change the past and worries how to use it. “Timebox,” written with Eve L. Ewing, sees a couple fight over how to use a pantry removed from time, while in “Timebox Altar(ed),” written with Sheree Renée Thomas, a gaggle of children get a glimpse into a solarpunk future. The longest entries are the standouts: the title story, written with Alaya Dawn Johnson, and “Nevermind,” written with Danny Lore, are both odes to queer Afrofuturism, illuminating the importance of love, community, and human connection in the darkest of times. Though a special treat for Dirty Computer fans, readers won’t need to be familiar with the album to marvel at the big ideas, riveting action, and hopeful message here. This is a knockout. Agents: Eve Atterman and Suzanne Gluck, WME.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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