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5
Thought provoking
Format: Kindle
Sky Full of Elephants is a work of speculative fiction that begins with the premise that the white population of the United States has been wiped out. Starting a year after โthe eventโ and following Charlie, a man who spent 20 years in prison due to a cowardly lie, and his resentful, biracial 19 year old daughter, who witnessed her only known family drown themselves, it is at its core a quest for identity in its many forms and how trauma can co-opt that search. In rating and reviewing this book, Iโm aware that my lens as a Gen-X, cis-het, white woman, will have a differing view from othersโ lived experiences. In reading other reviews, I definitely saw points that I didnโt consider, which I hope is the main point of the book. I do think, as a work of speculative fiction, that it does require the suspension of disbelief from the get go. It is a philosophical โwhat ifโ that Mr. Campbell invites the reader to consider.
Intrigued by the premise, I was drawn into the story due to Mr. Campbellโs lyrical writing style. The narrative had a rhythmical flow to it that supported the world building and characterizations. I found Charlie to be a very sympathetic character, rebuilding a life shattered by lies in a new world and confronted with the daughter he never had a chance to know. Sydney, Charlieโs daughter, was more of a struggle to empathize with. While her feelings were justified and understandable, her growth throughout the novel was erratic. As the story has an ambiguous ending, perhaps her character will continue to improve. For supporting cast, the grumpy pilot Sailor and his nonbinary child, Zu, offer a counterpoint to Charlie and Sidneyโs emerging relationship. The king and queen of Alabama and the thriving town of Mobile were well fleshed out. The Walkers and Sidneyโs Aunt Agatha in Orange Beach represented those who were lost in their own way, either due to clinging to their former proximity to whiteness or to the religious biases they were raised with. I found the Walkers to be the most tragic of all.
The questions of identity throughout the story are what kept be invested throughout. Are we defined by the color of our skin, our behaviors, the groups we belong to, the choices we make? Are others more valuable or worthy who donโt suffer the same things we do? Does there have to be those that are โlesserโ to make us feel whole? As a trauma survivor with C-PTSD, I struggle with my own issues of identity and worthiness, and as a former Special Education teacher, Iโve been witness to that struggle in others. I have never understood or accepted the idea of White Supremacy or Christian Supremacy or any of the myriad ways that humanity continues to other each of us. In reality, there is no โusโ or โthemโ onlyโweโ. Charlie questions who he is as a Black man in the US, a convict, a teacher, a father, and ultimately a fixer and healer. Sidney grapples with her biracial otherness, her wealthy upbringing and sheltered life, the trauma of abandonment, and the lies that her life was built on.
The ethical question of the machine at the epicenter of the event adds another layer to the story. While the effects of the first usage were unintended, once they were known is it right to continue to fix it and use it again? Can healing a part of collectiveness that harms or destroys another part ultimately be worth the cost? The world and its people are broken and desperately need healing. But just like the question of eugenics, what of value is lost when specific traits are universally stripped away? And who gets the to decide what is of value anyway? The ambiguity of the ending doesnโt answer the question entirely of what happens when the machine is repaired, but Charlieโs ability to fix things leads me hopeful. Personally, I cared enough about these characters to be interested in a sequel.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2026