Other Worlds Were Possible - Joss Sheldon - ★★★

AUTHOR: Joss Sheldon

GENRE: Literary Fiction

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: I desperately wanted to love this book for the concept and the intention behind it, but the writing style and certain plot inclusions weren’t to my personal taste. That said, this is a thought-provoking book, and its flaws don’t stop it from offering a unique reading experience. Triggers galore!

Story Synopsis:

Sunny is a member of the Eagle clan, an indigenous tribe in an unknown place. The tribe have always lived by the laws of nature and are completely satisfied by their way of living. However, when a strange-looking “albino” people begin to take over their forest, their food, and even their lifestyle, Sunny and his clan face a tough decision: follow the outsiders’ diktats in order to save themselves, or protest to save their way of living.

The story comes to us in the limited third person pov of Sunny.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 The theme of the book is outstanding. It touches upon the harm colonisation has done in so many ways, but most of all, to the indigenous way of living. Their attitude towards nature, their care for animals and trees, the respect towards elders, their focus on long-term sustainability of their resources,…all are ideas that are needed today in modern living and things we ought to learn (or rather, relearn.)

😍 The way the whites misinterpreted the Bible for their personal glorification and gratification comes out very clearly. It is always irritating to see how the most innocent of Biblical verses were given the white-supremacist twist in order to boss over the natives. Similarly, the blind faith in the royalty that supposedly were God’s men on earth is also depicted well.

😍 There is a good amount of humour in the book, either stemming from Sunny’s (often sarcastic) reactions to the whites or from the tribal banter. This helps balance the serious topic.

Where the book left me with mixed feelings:

😐 The indigenous way of living wasn’t perfect, though it was definitely nature-friendly. There were some brutal elements to their life choices and some minor ways in which the imperial rules benefitted them (albeit indirectly and unwillingly.) This is glossed over entirely and the plot makes indigenous living appear flawless. I appreciate the spotlight on the native lifestyle and its benefits, but it made the overall presentation heavily lopsided, all the more as we see things only from Sunny’s pov.

😐 Sunny’s clan appears to be a composite of varied indigenous tribes: Native American, South American, African, Indian, Tibetan,… possibly even more that I couldn't figure out. This created an odd effect while reading as it was tough to visualise the tribe. Only when I started viewing the tribal identity as fantastical rather than historical could I get into the groove.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😒 Some of the word usage seemed anomalous. Like, I am not sure if tribes would understand the concept of ‘epidemic’ or ‘consumer culture’. How could these terms be a part of their lingo? How could Sunny use words such as ‘anaesthetic’ and ‘coping mechanism’ in his thoughts? It was odd to see these concepts be a part of his lingo.

😒 The writing is a bit simplistic at times, relying more on tell than show and getting a bit repetitive. This is especially applicable when Sunny stumbles upon ‘strange” white concepts such as mortgage or clock and reveals his feelings to us.

😒 It is also not consistent in terms of Sunny’s supposedly non-existent comprehension of English. Sunny can understand only a few words of the English language when he hears the whites speak, but they are always the right words. For example, when he is listening to some white’s conversation, his understanding is portrayed something like ‘Blah blah-di-blah survey blah blah-di-blah’ or he might remember just the word ‘tuberculosis’ and not understand the rest. It was not only too convenient, but also inconsistent. For instance, there’s a scene that says Sunny confused ‘yoke’ for ‘yolk’. But if he doesn’t know English at all, how will he think of ‘yolk’ when he hears ‘yoke’?

😒 Sex has a dominant focus in the narrative. Wherever the benefits of indigenous living are mentioned, sex is mentioned. I understand that sex is a natural part of life and of course, tribals also would have their beliefs about intercourse, but the somewhat voyeuristic depiction of this wasn't to my taste. Obviously, this point comes from my personal preference of not wanting explicit sexual content in books that don’t require such scenes. Those who don’t mind lustful depictions of ardour won’t have any problem with the content.

😒 At times, the content felt highly stereotypical (even caricatural) not just of the whites but also of the natives. As this isn’t an OwnVoices work, it left me confused about much of this content to accept and with how big a pinch of salt.

The topic and aim of the book is definitely praiseworthy. If only I could find it in me to look beyond the writing inconsistencies, I might have liked this better. If you want a different kind of plot that shows the issues and impact of colonisation on hunter-gatherer communities, and you don’t mind the explicit scenes, you ought to give this a try. Read it as a work of alternate history with minor fantastical elements. At the very least, the book will make you question our urban self-serving materialistic lifestyle, and wonder what the world would have been like today without the colonists. I would not have been writing this review in English, that’s for sure.

My thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Rebel Books, and NetGalley for the DRC of “Other Worlds Were Possible”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Trigger Warnings: I don’t know where to begin! Imagine everything horrible related to white supremacy and colonial attitudes, and it’s present in the book. Definitely not for the younger reading crowd, and absolutely not for the sensitive of heart.