The blurb:
Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts as a means of self-conception—could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who’d convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate.
That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.
Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it's like to live in such a totalitarian existence...and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the traditions of speculative writers such as Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor — and filled with the artistic genius and powerful themes that have made Monáe a worldwide icon in the first place — The Memory Librarian serves readers tales grounded in the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, but also reaching through to the worlds of memory and time within, and the stakes and power that exists there.
The book is a collection of short stories and novellas; it ties in to the album Dirty Computer, and the Dirty Computer 'emotion picture' Monáe released at the same time. Collectively, they're an exploration of living in a totalitarian state ruled by New Dawn — a combined religion and government that sees its residents as 'computers', branding the non-conformist as 'dirty computers' in need of cleaning — which consists of having your memories removed and your personality replaced with a compliant one.
The stories dig into what living in a society like that means, especially when fundamental parts of your self are inherently 'dirty' by New Dawn terms — being black or queer, specifically.
In the title story, Seshet is a Librarian for New Dawn, working to enforce the rules by manipulating and erasing memories; she meets Alethia (the names are worth noting. Seshet was 'she who writes' in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of writing, wisdom and knowledge, while Aletheia is a Greek word meaning truth or disclosure, the opposite of Lethe, forgetting — like the river). Alethia disrupts Seshet's careful life, leaving her questioning her place in New Dawn. Nevermind steps outside the system, to a community of queer women living in the Pynk Hotel, a group of women who have escaped New Dawn. It's a commune, making decisions collectively, and aiming to be free. However, tension erupts over the presence of a transwoman; the story examines tensions and gatekeeping within the queer community.
The remaining stories are short stories rather than novellas. Timebox is SF - what would you do if the new apartment you moved into with your lover contained a funny little closet that somehow stopped time? You and your partner disagreed on how to use it? Add in an examination of privilege to this one, because Raven and Akilah, though both black and queer, have very different backgrounds. Save Changes veers a little more into fantasy, with a stone that can undo time, and the last story, Timebox Altar(ed) was probably the most hopeful, taking children who live on the fringes of New Dawn and showing them a glimpse of their future, where they have all helped break down New Dawn and become people they can't even visualise now.
It's an amazing collection of work. You don't need to have heard the album or watched the video, though the latter helps make a couple of concepts explicit. But it's ultimately a hopeful series of stories, and they're all well-crafted and thought-provoking.
Started: 6 May 2025
Finished: 10 May 2025
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