Sky Full of Elephants By Cebo Campbell
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I noticed a batch of 1 star ratings not reviews popping up on Goodreads for this title presumably a blind backlash to the plot description Please don t make assumptions about what the book is actually about At no point do any characters rejoice in the absence of white people It s not a wish fulfillment parable about how to make the world a better place It s a fascinating what if scenario that shines a necessary light on the unvarnished realities of the country and who controls the levers of power and influence in our society There s no trivialization of the subject matter and the book offers many intriguing examinations of race and racial identity Give this book a chance.
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Sky Full of Elephants was a compelling read with a completely unique twist on a classic premise Not only was this an end of days sort of tale but it added a thought provoking component in which all white people walk into the sea and drown. Sky Full of elephantsville ny The book is about Charlie who meets his estranged biracial daughter Sidney after the event The two have a lot of time to make up and it isn t a hallmark reunion Sidney must grapple with the fact that this man has never been a part of her life in addition to mourning the losses of her white family members Charlie has a desire to prove his worth and prove to Sidney that he s her family too. Sky Full of Elephants kindle edition I enjoyed the story at the beginning than the end but I can t deny what an imaginative concept it was It was uncomfortable in a way it should be particularly as a white reader and I can picture this being THE book club pick later this year I m glad I picked this up Cebo Campbell This was a DNF for me I wanted so much to like it but the writing style was very literary and distant perfect for many readers when I wanted something entertaining. Book Sky Full of elephants delicatessen In addition though I understood the importance of the book I ve read similar things in the past and my head can t get past the science or lack thereof to concentrate on the message. Sky Full of elephantsmoking Series stand alone ARC Yes Thank you Simon Schuster for this free review copy of Sky Full of Elephants I appreciated being able to read this ARC on Netgalley SimonBooksBuddyThis book had me in a chokehold from the first chapter The book literally starts off with all White people killing themselves by walking into the nearest large body of water the Ocean and drowning themselves Like if that doesn t make your ears perk up and make you say What in the hell truly weigh and consider that fact that it not even equivalent to what has been done and CONTINUES to be done to Black Americans and Native People in the US Ok so lemme step off of my soapbox and talk about this book It is so beautifully written the characters are drawn for us in such powerful ways i thoroughly enjoyed learning about who Charlie and Sidney are and how complicated their relationship to each other and their Blackness is I wanted to stay with them and mourned a bit that the book was over I also love the ending i m a fan of ambiguous endings in art and think that the way that we interpret that final page says a lot about who we are I m excited to dive into of Cebo Campbell s work I hope this book gets wide recognition Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC Cebo Campbell This book is incredible The writing is beautiful The plot intriguing The characters are heartfelt and awe inspiring I loved every single word Cebo Campbell CEBO CAMPBELL is an award winning multi hyphenate creative based in New York and London He is a winner of the Stories Award for Poetry and his writings are featured in numerous publications As co founder and CCO of the renowned NYC creative agency Spherical Cebo leads teams of creatives in shaping the best hotel brands in the world His range of talents as a creative director have sent him all over the globe infusing creativity from working with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in the UK to concepting the Million Miracles humanitarian campaign throughout Africa and India to writing and directing the VR short film Refuge Triumph in Tulsa based on the famed Black Wall Street in Oklahoma Cebo s expansive work as a writer designer and director are powered by a singular mindset contribute meaningfully to the culture And he does With everything he touches. Sky Full of elephantsville ny At present Cebo is likely somewhere in Europe enjoying good whiskey and better conversation In this exquisite speculative novel set in a world where white people no longer exist college professor Charlie Brunton receives a call from his estranged daughter Sidney setting off a chain of events as they journey across a truly post racial America in search of answers One day a cataclysmic event occurs all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water A year later Charles Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction he s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn t even sure existed his daughter Sidney a nineteen year old who watched her white mother and step family drown themselves in the lake behind their house Traumatized by the event and terrified of the outside world Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin Desperate for help she turns to the father she never met a man she has always resented Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across America headed for Alabama where Sidney believes she may still have some family left But neither Sidney or Charlie is prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it When they enter the Kingdom of Alabama everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves and the world will be turned upside down Brimming with heart and humor Cebo Campbell s astonishing debut novel is about the power of community and connection about healing and self actualization and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America in both their world and ours Sky Full of ElephantsI ll start at the end The conclusion of this novel is a dud Like a flat soda no sizzle left for the denouement However getting to that end is quite a thoughtful journey Protagonist Charles is the center of this highly implausible tale As I m sure you are all aware the premise all the white folks walk into their nearest body of water in a massive self drowning leaving America to Black folks and others Wow So as you can imagine the language and thoughts and dialogue give readers much to ponder And Cebo Campbell s prose keeps the pages turning One thing most people haven t considered is the generational trauma that has impacted Black folks not only in America but in the world Clearly that has affected how Black people move in the world while others remain detached from the pain and the shame Feeling what deserves to be felt is the only pathway to understanding Let s get it straight white folks did rape and steal and kill and black folks died by the thousands was dying all the way up til a year ago Never feeling shame for that and not allowing us to feel anger over it means we don t evolve We just go on repeating evil we can t understand I m sure your momma was a nice lady with a good heart but her not feeling ashamed about all that happened is the same as not feeling anything at all Charles who is able to extricate himself from prison after the event becomes a professor at Howard University because he has valuable knowledge of electronics so the new standard becomes if you know teach credentials be damned Charles learns he has a daughter and when she reaches out to him for help getting to Alabama because she believes some of her people may be gathered there the novel gains propulsion So Charles makes his way to Wisconsin to scoop his daughter Sidney and they embark on a journey to Alabama And on the way they find out who they are to each other and who they are to their self In uncovering identity a discovery of fitting in unfolds. Sky Full of elephantspray This book will leave you with a lot to ruminate upon I m certain some will find some discomfort but push on and come through the tough questions that will arise Cebo Campbell will make you better for having persevered Thanks to Netgalley and SimonSchuster for an advanced DRC Book drops 9 10 24 get ready world Cebo Campbell Note I received an advanced reader copy of this work courtesy of NetGalley Sky Full of Elephants is not a work that I would consider post apocalyptic even though its premise and setting are based off the mass death of a large segment of the population However said premise and setting not to mention the weight of trauma that can be felt throughout the narrative also easily keep from me from categorizing it as utopic There s a few elements of science fiction and the fantastical but ultimately this is a read that is very much its own unique experience It carries its unapologetically introspection heavy story forward in a confident manner which is honestly very fitting given how deeply themes of identity self discovery and self actualization that permeate the narrative form start to finish I found myself hopelessly gripped as I flew through its pages This is definitely one of my standout fiction reads of 2024 and one that makes me excited to see what Cebo Campbell has in store for us in the future Cebo Campbell This spectacular idea was a bit bumpy in its execution but it did give me a lot to think about. Lucky elephants are very I know we as white people aren t always willing to embrace the part we may have played in Black trauma I wonder if that s why this was quickly bombed with one star ratings on Goodreads When I first glanced at the book s profile its average rating was under three stars I was enraged by this so I requested it on NetGalley Perhaps I was a bit too confident in the love I expected to feel for it I am glad however that others have now read and loved it so it can be fairly rated We all know those early one star ratings did not come from people who had actually engaged with the content. Book Sky Full of elephants delicatessen It hurts my heart to confess that I am not able to rate this as well as I d hoped to but it wasn t the premise that didn t work for me I think it s a brilliant one as well as an important concept to explore And I don t think the author was completely careless with the idea Sky Full of Elephants was uncomfortable and that discomfort communicated a powerful message but its potency was diluted by the issues I found within the text My first complaint is that the author explained too much Since he invested so much time into making his point the elements that needed a profound development were shortchanged The author wanted to mold a narrative around the harm that white people have done and that s fair but his overt communication muffled the actual story As a result no conflict ever truly felt strained including Sidney s relationship with her father. Book Sky Full of elephantstock I wish Charlie s storyline had been a bit different I do understand that what he endured has happened to Black men and that there was a time when a Black man wouldn t have even made it to a courthouse under such circumstances never mind prison I know the author s choices further exemplified the cruelty we are capable of He demonstrated Charlie s goodness beyond what had been done to him while explaining that he wasn t as Sidney presumed a deadbeat dad at all It was just difficult for me to embrace the device used because as a woman I know that my gender is also marginalized that our voices have been silenced and that most claims regarding sexual assault are actually true I realize Sidney s mother did not fling the initial accusation but this angle in the narrative felt problematic to me I did however like Charlie s character Sky Full of Elephants did make me think a lot about our failure to encourage cultural identity as well as our blatant attempts to erase it I felt saddened as I considered my own children who are mixed race like Sidney Although it was never deliberate I do fear I did not expose them to enough Black history or culture while they were growing up I d like to say that I was overwhelmed and dealing with my own trauma as I raised them but who s to say I would have done any better without those impediments Would I have even recognized the need The novel certainly made me want to do better even though my children are adults now I grieve the pieces of their identity I never nurtured I am immensely grateful to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for my copy All opinions are my own Cebo Campbell A bold high concept premise brought into sharp focus by Cebo Campbell s lively and vibrant prose. Lucky elephants are very A twist on a familiar formula see The Leftovers or The Last of Us here all white people walk into the sea and never return What follows is the quest of an estranged father and daughter seeking common ground as they trek across a fundamentally altered version of America. Sky Full of elephantsville ny I really enjoyed Campbell s writing style It is lively and flows smoothly from page to page making it a true pleasure to read It effortlessly conveys the complexities of the new world and the complicated feelings of the characters that inhabit it. Sky Full of Elephants ebooks An eyebrow raising plot development in the latter half of the book recontextualizes the way the story is understood And while certain plot beats push the boundaries of plausibility they are grounded in the magical realism that permeates the narrative. Book Sky Full of elephants and flowers Reviewer note Anecdotally and if you can t don t blindly bomb the ratings Blog Twitter Instagram Cebo Campbell I am a straight white middle class educated cisgender male I check off every category of privilege possible in the USA of 2024 This book was not written for me and it made me uncomfortable I think that s why it was important for me to read it. Book Sky Full of elephants by john Sky Full of Elephants begins with all the white people in America walking into the sea and drowning The book centers around Charlie a former inmate liberated after the event who is a master of electricity overseeing the transformation of a new United States He receives a message from his estranged daughter who was living in Wisconsin with her white family telling him to take her to the South where some white folks might still be alive The rest of the story follows Charlie and Sidney as they take electric cars because nobody drills for gas any into the South and expose the beauty and the complicated realities of a post White world. Book Sky Full of elephants lyrics The tough part for White readers of course is that this is a utopia predicated on genocide At some points in the book Campbell seems to savor that fact but at his best the characters in the novel wrestle with that reality in different ways In this new world Black folks can laugh and dance and sing without fear of violence or reprisal Campbell even seems to suggest that capitalism and oppression are natural features of White culture and both have been gleefully abandoned once the White folks are gone That s the Utopian piece and I can see where Campbell is coming from in his imagination but it s still an oversimplification that can lead to the very danger and violence that Campbell seems to be against I give Campbell credit for at points questioning this violence and for his imagination this world is a world that I would want to live in without question The bigger concern is whether I would be allowed to or whether the utopia requires the death of people like me Cebo Campbell
Sky Full of Elephants By Cebo Campbell |
1668034921 |
9781668034927 |
English |
304 |
Hardcover |
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