Everfair

Everfair, the brilliant first novel by acclaimed short-story writer Nisi Shawl, potently explores the question of what might have come of Belgium's disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had access to advanced technology.In Shawl's eloquently explored vision, told by a multiplicity of historically silenced voices, land purchased from King Leopold II is set aside as an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo and former slaves returning from abroad. It will be nearly impossible to keep this land their own, yet the citizens of Everfair are determined.This speculative masterpiece thereby reframes the notorious atrocities of Leopold's reign into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history, and gives inspiring new insight into an often ignored period of history.