Fledgling

I really enjoyed reading the book Fledgling by Octavia Butler and would recommend anyone interested in vampire literature to check it out. The book breaks the stereotypical plot the most vampire stories follow were a human female is in a romantic relationship with a male vampire. In Fledgling Butler’s main character has the looks of an eleven year old human female, however the vampire named Shori is actually fifty years old. Throughout the book the author goes against the standard vampire plot and creates new attributes and changes other characteristics we typically see in vampire literature. An example of this is Butler describes the vampires as Ina instead of using the word vampire. Another example of this is humans don’t turn into vampires, however they are infected by the Ina’s venom and without constant access to their saliva they will die or die searching for the Ina that infected them. Normally in this genre the strength of the vampire is determined by its age, however in the Fledgling Butler changes this by explaining how women are more powerful than men. During the book several characters tell Shori how scary she is especially for her size. Most vampire literature doesn’t portray women to be powerful, however in Fledgling women are inherently stronger than men and show tremendous amount leadership. For example, Shori is a great leader taking several people under her wing to protect them even when she lacks memory or knowledge from the past because of her accident. Typically a vampire is described as being pale, however in this book the Shori is a African American because her mother felt it would be an advantage to be able to stay in the sun for a longer period of time.

In Fledgling the plot development is great. The way she describes the venom in such detail is fascinating. I like the way they the author explains the logic behind being infected instead of turning into a vampire because it makes a lot more sense. Throughout the novel you are at the edge of your seat because you are curious who has attacked the Ina communities. Also I enjoyed the book because of all the violent action with Shori, Celia, Brooke, and Wright. During the book sex is a main theme. At first the reader is appalled at the relationship between Shori and Wright because you think she is eleven. Later you find out the she is actually fifty, however I still found is somewhat disturbing when they describe the sex scenes, especially when she described Shori constantly hopping onto Wright’s lap so they can make love. Also the author describes an complex sexual relationships between the Ina family. The Ina have a mate normally three siblings of the opposite sex and they also are in a relationship with many symbionts (humans that have been bitten). The idea of this multiple partner relationships may stem from the fact the author is a Mormon. Also the author explains that Shori’s brother are sexually territorially of her and that they are attracted to her sexually. This is disturbing, however it explains why the men and women families are separated between two communities to avoid incest. I really like this book because of its entertainment factor and that it goes against sexist ideals.