Everfair

Starred review from August 1, 2016
In this deeply compelling debut novel, Shawl, who’s well known for her short fiction (Filter House) and teaching (Writing the Other, with Cynthia Ward), takes readers to an alternate Earth where the inhumane history of the Belgian Congo is brilliantly rewritten when Africa’s indigenous populations learn about steam power. Determined to help former slaves return to Africa, African-American missionary and Civil War veteran Rev. Lt. Thomas Jefferson Wilson forms an alliance in 1889 with Great Britain’s Fabian Society, an organization interested in creating a model Socialist utopia. Together, they buy land in the Congo from Belgian’s King Leopold II and create Everfair, a homeland for returning former slaves, foreigners searching for a better life, and Congolese natives desperate to escape Belgium’s brutal grasp. Everfair draws in a variety of characters, including adventurers, broken families, poets, and inventors. Cultures clash as ancient traditions, old prejudices, and innovative technology feed fresh, new intrigues. Shawl deftly wields a diverse cast of characters to impressive effect, taking readers from the Victorian era to WWI and its aftermath. This highly original story blends steampunk and political intrigue in a compelling new view of a dark piece of human history.

August 1, 2016

In the late 19th century, the African colony of the Congo was Belgium's stronghold on the continent--one ruled with a cruel grip as native peoples were tortured and enslaved to produce the rubber valued in Europe. This first novel reimagines a refuge carved out of the Belgian Congo through the efforts of a group of Fabian Society reformers. The Fabians, alongside missionaries and local tribal leaders, build the community Everfair and invent steam-powered tools and airships that help them remain independent. As the world marches on and Europe's African colonies get drawn into World War I, Everfair will find it harder than ever to survive. VERDICT Fitting loosely under the banner of steampunk, this captivating look at a lesser-known corner of history includes a large cast of characters, which might make it harder for readers to form an emotional bond with any one protagonist in particular, but this is an important addition to the alternate history canon from the James A. Tiptree Award-winning Shawl, best known for her short stories. [See Eric Norton's "Genre Spotlight" feature, p. 24ff.--Ed.]--MM

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2016
Shawl's first novel offers a steampunk-influenced alternate history of the Belgian Congo from 1889 to 1919. It envisions what would have happened if Fabian Socialists from Europe and African American missionaries had purchased land in the Congo from King Leopold and established a free state made up of native Africans, freed slaves, European settlers, and even Chinese laborers. Told from the perspectives of several different characters, it touches on themes of colonialism, sovereignty, religion, prejudice, sexuality, and identity. It is structured episodically, with each chapter offering a snapshot from the lives of the characters and the history of Everfair; some chapters could almost stand on their own as short stories. Taken together, these snapshots weave an engrossing tapestry of the history and humanity of what might have been for the Congo. The work is elegant, rendered with masterful craft in simple, compelling languagea tour de force of Shawl's tremendous ability to create deeply nuanced characters. This is a beautifully told, important entry in the movement for greater diversity in sf.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)