about "Bloodchild and Other Stories" (but mostly "Bloodchild") by Octavia E. Butler

By field_simple

I grabbed Octavia E. Butler’s “Bloodchild” figuring it probably wouldn’t be my kind of thing. I honestly only got past the opening bit because I don’t usually see any big science fiction characters with Vietnamese names (I’m Vietnamese). But I’m really glad I read it—still, that line about what she would’ve done to Hoa when he’s on the floor is stuck in my brain. I’ve never finished a story and felt this tense and grossly anxious. Like I’m not sure it’s gonna fade. After reading the afterword, I get that it’s supposed to be about a relationship between two totally different kinds of people. And I remember something about how the Tlic were parasitic before humans showed up, with the births basically killing the egg-bearer. Then with humans, they seem to kind of recognize human wishes and intelligence and actually try to make it work more mutually. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that one side’s status and rights are always way higher than the other. It’s like… imagine your dog could think like a person and understand you (kind of) through human logic, and you love it and even need it for something biological, but the bond still isn’t the same as a real, equal friendship with another human. How is consent supposed to even work in that setup? Also, Liên—Hoa’s mom—what’s her deal in all this? She barely shows up for like two-thirds of the story, so it’s hard for me to place her. Overall it’s horrifying, but I can’t stop thinking about it because it’s so messed up and interesting at the same time. I also liked “Speech Sounds” and “The Evening and the Morning and the Night,” but I don’t know if the same uneasy feeling I have now is just leftover from “Bloodchild.”