LINKDING

excerpt: The oldest members of the asamblea all agree that the idea for El Zopilote came out of the Plantation in Texas, back when it was still one more state in the old US. The Plantation is what they called the Sysco-Bush Memorial Carceral Center and it had slaves’ quarters and a master’s house and Black and brown inmates working for no pay all the day long, so it earned its nickname. The white patriarchal establishment said they were criminals. The truth, however, even in Texas, was common knowledge. ➤ a near-future novelette telling the story of the dystopian breakdown of the USA ➤ told by the granddaughter of a black woman who escaped prison slavery to head south of the border and found a new community for fellow escapees ➤ I love the voice of the narrator, her efforts to tell Symphonie's story in an objective and appropriate historical style, but with occasional notes to herself interjecting, wondering about if she's approaching her writing in the right way ➤ I also love the relationship between Symphonie and Karla! ➤ and the themes about how the past can't be left behind, it is an important part of what makes you what you are today ➤ 8k words

Summary: <blockquote>The tenth time Jakey broke the rules, he put a sandwich in the mailbox where the window boy could get it. Mom had taken her sleep-quick pills and gone to bed after dinner, on account of her headaches. And Dad was dozing in front of the TV, chin on his chest and a half-empty glass clutched in his hand. It got still enough that the only sounds were Dad’s shows and the hum of the house filters, so Jakey slipped into the kitchen and put together a ham and cheddar on a plate, then placed it in the parcel chamber near the front door. He sat by the parlor window for a good long while after, curled up at the bench cushions, and his eyelids drooped now and again until he began to see the shadows move.</blockquote>