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Falling in Love with Hominids
Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring, Skin Folk) has been widely hailed as a highly significant voice in Caribbean and American fiction. She has been dubbed “one of our most important writers,” (Junot Diaz), with “an imagination that most of us would kill for” (Los Angeles Times), and her work has been called “stunning,” (New York Times) “rich in voice, humor, and dazzling imagery” (Kirkus), and “simply triumphant” (Dorothy Allison).
Falling in Love with Hominids presents over a dozen years of Hopkinson’s new, uncollected fiction, much of which has been unavailable in print. Her singular, vivid tales, which mix the modern with Afro-Caribbean folklore, are occupied by creatures unpredictable and strange: chickens that breathe fire, adults who eat children, and spirits that haunt shopping malls.
Falling in Love with Hominids presents over a dozen years of Hopkinson’s new, uncollected fiction, much of which has been unavailable in print. Her singular, vivid tales, which mix the modern with Afro-Caribbean folklore, are occupied by creatures unpredictable and strange: chickens that breathe fire, adults who eat children, and spirits that haunt shopping malls.
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2015
109 people are currently reading
6193 people want to read
About the author
Nalo Hopkinson
143 books2,033 followersNalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.
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June 24, 2019
Falling in Love with Hominids, Nalo Hopkinson’s 2015 collection of shorter works, blends elements of magical realism, fantasy and subtle science fiction into an anthology that proclaims her originality and demonstrates her unique talent.
Hopkinson introduces the work with a nod to her influence by Cordwainer Smith and then begins each short story with a brief description of what the story is about and how it came to her. Her smooth fantasy and magical realism places her in the category of, and her work is reminiscent of, such writers as China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, Catherynne M. Valente, and Lucius Shepard. Eighteen short stories, novelettes and sketches form this pleasing and thoughtful collection.
“Easthound” is a post apocalyptic story about zombies with a twist. “Message in a Bottle” describes a Theodore Sturgeon like setting blending elements of time travel and weird science fiction. Both “Left Foot, Right” and “Old Habits” add a paranormal ingredient to this heady mix of surrealist fantasy.
“Emily Breakfast” and “Herbal” both show off her ability to weave a tale of magical realism while “A Young Candy Daughter” and “Delicious Monster” demonstrate her skill at mysticism and Caribbean / African inspired myth.
“Ours is the Prettiest” has one of the best lines from the book - “Blackness comes in every possible skin shade” and this was inspired by the Bordertown series created by Terri Windling and could be expanded into a fun longer work.
My personal favorite was “Shift” – a wonderful re-telling and a fresh perspective on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This is a new look at Caliban and Ariel with an eye towards gender, race and racism. Hopkinson’s Caribbean influence is especially evident here and the mix of classic and the revisionist are fittingly representative of her canon.
An enjoyable book, this makes for a fine introduction to her work for a new reader.
Hopkinson introduces the work with a nod to her influence by Cordwainer Smith and then begins each short story with a brief description of what the story is about and how it came to her. Her smooth fantasy and magical realism places her in the category of, and her work is reminiscent of, such writers as China Mieville, Neil Gaiman, Catherynne M. Valente, and Lucius Shepard. Eighteen short stories, novelettes and sketches form this pleasing and thoughtful collection.
“Easthound” is a post apocalyptic story about zombies with a twist. “Message in a Bottle” describes a Theodore Sturgeon like setting blending elements of time travel and weird science fiction. Both “Left Foot, Right” and “Old Habits” add a paranormal ingredient to this heady mix of surrealist fantasy.
“Emily Breakfast” and “Herbal” both show off her ability to weave a tale of magical realism while “A Young Candy Daughter” and “Delicious Monster” demonstrate her skill at mysticism and Caribbean / African inspired myth.
“Ours is the Prettiest” has one of the best lines from the book - “Blackness comes in every possible skin shade” and this was inspired by the Bordertown series created by Terri Windling and could be expanded into a fun longer work.
My personal favorite was “Shift” – a wonderful re-telling and a fresh perspective on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. This is a new look at Caliban and Ariel with an eye towards gender, race and racism. Hopkinson’s Caribbean influence is especially evident here and the mix of classic and the revisionist are fittingly representative of her canon.
An enjoyable book, this makes for a fine introduction to her work for a new reader.
July 9, 2015
In the foreword to Falling in Love with Hominids, Nalo Hopkinson writes that as a teen she despaired of the human race. I remember that feeling; perhaps as recently as last week. Then again, I also empathize with her closing line, “so part of the work of these past few decades of my life has been the process of falling in love with hominids.“
Me too, Ms. Hopkinson. Me too.
This is an imaginative, provocative collection of stories that reflect the complexities of human existence, the moments of good and the impulses of bad. The collection contains eighteen pieces that were written over the course of years, some written to specific themes, and published in variety of venues. Each piece has a short introduction that generally provides background to the story, usually in regards to the story influences. “Shift,” for instance, mentions Peter Straub, “Ours Is the Prettiest” gives some background to Bordertown, while “Delicious Monster” mentions the plant that inspired it. I appreciate the information and the variety of insights; anthologies that are presented without context often feel disjointed, while authors that provide long explanations for the story origins distract from the actual pieces.
And what a collection this is. Explaining the subject and emotion of her works is challenging–I don’t read much in the literary fiction genre, and there aren’t many like her in sci-fi and fantasy. It’s rather like Octavia Butler sat down to brainstorm with Angela Carter in a beach cottage rented from Jeff Vandermeer. Though the stories draw on fantastical elements, they are usually written in contemporary setting with folk-tale structure. A few have a pronounced horror feel, such as “Blushing,” which clearly originates with the Bluebeard tale. “The Easthound” opens with a look at a post-apocalypse life of a group of children starving themselves, hoping that by preventing puberty they prevent the dreaded “sprout.” Others are more balanced, but still flirt with the awful. In “Soul Case,” a group of indigenous people protecting themselves against invasion at great cost. The ghosts in “Old Habits” are forced to relive the moments of their death every day–in a shopping mall. Beauty, horror, sacrifice, sexuality, miracles and greed are all wrapped up together.
Hopkinson’s stories frequently reflect her upbringing in the Caribbean, drawing upon a diversity of mythology, language and cultures not often seen in sci-fi and fantasy. The inclusion gives a chance to integrate issues from the various backgrounds without feeling didactic. “Ours is the Prettiest” has a glancing look at domestic abuse in lesbian relationships. In”The Smile on the Face,” a self-conscious teenage Gilla asks her mother for micro-braids, indirectly raising the volatile topic of ‘nappy hair:’
“Her mum came over, put her warm palms gently on either side of Gilla’s face and looked seriously into her eyes… “you want to tame your hair,’ her mother said… ‘You want hair that lies down and plays dead, and you want to pay a lot of money for it.”
There were a few missteps for me. Possibly it is me and the short story form; I’m impatient with stories that clearly feel like an exercise in cleverness, such as “Snow Day” which was a challenge to reference certain works. “Message in a Bottle” has the feel of a budding novella, and the truncated ending did a disservice both to the fascinating sci-fi concepts and the desperate emotion of one of the characters.
The writing is lovely, vivid; sometimes challenging when it integrates the patois of the multi-lingual. Sometimes its playful, particularly in “Emily Breakfast,” which centers on a talented cat and a missing chicken. Sometimes the language is clear but its the ideas that cause mind-stretch, as when a time-traveler tries to explain a particular shell:
“Every shell is a life journal, made out of the very substance of its creator, and left as a record of what it thought, even if we can’t understand exactly what it thought. Sometimes interpretation is a trap. Sometimes we need to simply observe.“
Well said.
Me too, Ms. Hopkinson. Me too.
This is an imaginative, provocative collection of stories that reflect the complexities of human existence, the moments of good and the impulses of bad. The collection contains eighteen pieces that were written over the course of years, some written to specific themes, and published in variety of venues. Each piece has a short introduction that generally provides background to the story, usually in regards to the story influences. “Shift,” for instance, mentions Peter Straub, “Ours Is the Prettiest” gives some background to Bordertown, while “Delicious Monster” mentions the plant that inspired it. I appreciate the information and the variety of insights; anthologies that are presented without context often feel disjointed, while authors that provide long explanations for the story origins distract from the actual pieces.
And what a collection this is. Explaining the subject and emotion of her works is challenging–I don’t read much in the literary fiction genre, and there aren’t many like her in sci-fi and fantasy. It’s rather like Octavia Butler sat down to brainstorm with Angela Carter in a beach cottage rented from Jeff Vandermeer. Though the stories draw on fantastical elements, they are usually written in contemporary setting with folk-tale structure. A few have a pronounced horror feel, such as “Blushing,” which clearly originates with the Bluebeard tale. “The Easthound” opens with a look at a post-apocalypse life of a group of children starving themselves, hoping that by preventing puberty they prevent the dreaded “sprout.” Others are more balanced, but still flirt with the awful. In “Soul Case,” a group of indigenous people protecting themselves against invasion at great cost. The ghosts in “Old Habits” are forced to relive the moments of their death every day–in a shopping mall. Beauty, horror, sacrifice, sexuality, miracles and greed are all wrapped up together.
Hopkinson’s stories frequently reflect her upbringing in the Caribbean, drawing upon a diversity of mythology, language and cultures not often seen in sci-fi and fantasy. The inclusion gives a chance to integrate issues from the various backgrounds without feeling didactic. “Ours is the Prettiest” has a glancing look at domestic abuse in lesbian relationships. In”The Smile on the Face,” a self-conscious teenage Gilla asks her mother for micro-braids, indirectly raising the volatile topic of ‘nappy hair:’
“Her mum came over, put her warm palms gently on either side of Gilla’s face and looked seriously into her eyes… “you want to tame your hair,’ her mother said… ‘You want hair that lies down and plays dead, and you want to pay a lot of money for it.”
There were a few missteps for me. Possibly it is me and the short story form; I’m impatient with stories that clearly feel like an exercise in cleverness, such as “Snow Day” which was a challenge to reference certain works. “Message in a Bottle” has the feel of a budding novella, and the truncated ending did a disservice both to the fascinating sci-fi concepts and the desperate emotion of one of the characters.
The writing is lovely, vivid; sometimes challenging when it integrates the patois of the multi-lingual. Sometimes its playful, particularly in “Emily Breakfast,” which centers on a talented cat and a missing chicken. Sometimes the language is clear but its the ideas that cause mind-stretch, as when a time-traveler tries to explain a particular shell:
“Every shell is a life journal, made out of the very substance of its creator, and left as a record of what it thought, even if we can’t understand exactly what it thought. Sometimes interpretation is a trap. Sometimes we need to simply observe.“
Well said.
August 27, 2015
*****"The Easthound" – Nalo Hopkinson
Previously read in Strahan's 'Best Science Fiction...' anthology. Was happy to re-read!
'OK, I previously said the Hopkinson selection in the previous volume of this anthology was my favorite. But this story is now my favorite Hopkinson. I wholeheartedly loved it. It is quite similar to the Star Trek episode, ‘Miri’ (also one of my favorites). However, it’s a lot bleaker – and there are werewolves.'
**** “Soul Case”
Victory comes with grief - and with a price. But freedom for the next generation is a thing of great value. Set in a defiant community of Caribbean 'maroons', this brief story packs a lot into a small amount of space.
***** “Message in a Bottle”
A wry commentary on art and how we invest it with meaning.
A young man, an artist, sometimes babysits his neighbor's child. He's a bit uncomfortable with the girl, but is it simply because he's unused to children - or does it have something to do with the child's rare disorder?
Time goes on, and he's the one she turns to when there's something that needs to be said.
Unexpected twists keep on coming, in this great sci-fi story.
** “The Smile on the Face”
Previously read in Neil Gaiman's 'Unnatural Creatures.' Then, I said: "Teenage girls should be happy with their bodies and stick up for themselves against attempted date rape. Yes, fine, I agree. But I didn’t love the story."
This time, I felt slightly more charitable toward it (I did re-read). It's very well-written, and you do feel for the main character. But the Message For Teenage Girls definitely overwhelms anything else about the story.
*** “Left Foot, Right”
Previously read in Kelly Link's 'Monstrous Affections.'
A young woman enters a store to buy a very specific pair of cheap shoes... Clearly, something dire has occurred, but we are not yet sure what... The gradual reveal is well-done, but this would have been rated higher, except for The Caribbean setting and the elements of folklore are vivid and nicely-done.
*** “Old Habits”
Previously read in Strahan's 'Best Science Fiction..." anthology.
"Ghosts haunt the mall where they died. (Knowing someone who worked in a mall for a while, you might be surprised how many people DO die in malls.) Not bad; probably my favorite thing I’ve read by Hopkinson." (I've since read even better stories by her, but this one is still quite good!)
*** “Emily Breakfast”
What a weird piece. Not weird fiction, just odd. OK... it's like... one of those food-obsessed cozy mysteries meets m/m romance, with a bunch of stuff thrown in for the pet lovers, and a dash of the fantastic. Strangely charming.
*** “Herbal”
I suppose it's uncharitable to say this reminded me of Dumbo. Especially since I've never seen that movie, and this story is not at all cartoonish. But it does feature a magical flying elephant.
*** “A Young Candy Daughter”
Overly sentimental, but emotionally appealing. This story of the Second Coming is a reminder to Christians of the core values of their religion.
**** “A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog”
The author says this was inspired by the difficulties of 'dating while geeky' - but it takes it a step beyond. OK, a whole staircase beyond.
Our narrator is a very peculiar woman with detailed - one might even say obsessive - knowledge of botany. This is what happens when she encounters one very unusual vermin.
*** “Shift”
A jazz riff on 'The Tempest,' mixed with elements of 'The Frog Prince,' which flips from one perspective to another, touching on the subjects of race and relationships.
**** “Delicious Monster”
It's always hard to come to terms with your divorced dad's new relationship, even when you're an adult. But this story introduces a whole pantheon of unexpected issues, from 'monster' plants to the divine.
*** “Snow Day”
While out shoveling snow, a woman encounters a talking raccoon. That's only the first odd occurrence in what turns out to be a truly singular day. I found this a bit reminiscent of Sheri Tepper, in a good way. it's a topic I find intrinsically appealing: Oh Hell, yeah, I'd be an 'Adventurer!'
** “Flying Lessons”
Short, metaphorical piece about child abuse. I can't honestly say I liked it, but I wasn't really supposed to.
*** “Whose Upward Flight I Love”
In the midst of a storm, it can seem not as if the wind is striving to knock down the tossing trees, but as if the trees are flapping themselves, eager to take flight.
**** “Blushing”
A contemporary, not-even-one-tiny-bit-politically-correct re-telling of the story of Bluebeard, and his secret room.
**** “Ours Is the Prettiest”
Previously read in 'Welcome to Bordertown.' At that time, I said:
"Just because you make it to the Border, doesn’t mean your life isn’t a mess. In the midst of Carnival celebrations, a group of lesbians negotiate a complex web of love, jealousy, violence and resentments. And get blindsided by some unexpected magic. Probably the best thing I’ve read from Hopkinson."
*** “Men Sell Not Such in Any Town”
Inspired by Christina Rosetti's 'Goblin Market,' this short piece gives 'forbidden fruit' a science-fiction edge.
Many thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this excellent collection. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
March 7, 2016
Find this and other Reviews at InToriLex
I really enjoyed my introduction to Ms. Hopkinson's work. From the very beginning it was clear that these stories would reflect all the contrasting emotions that make us human. She explains in the foreward "We are, all of us, capable simultaneously of such great good and such horrifying evil." The vivid imagery, plain language and memorable diverse characters made almost all of the short stories very enjoyable. I noticed how many times she mentioned hair, characters doing each other's hair reminded me so much of my own life. Hearing about twisting dreadlocks and taming afros immediately made my heart glad, because it reminded me of my many friends and family members. It was refreshing to see some of my identity and culture reflected back at me.
None of the stories are connected and the different themes and settings kept me intrigued along the way. Between elephants in rooms, limitless food for the hungry, time travel and fragrant tattoos, I was righteously entertained. There were nice introductions to the stories to help orient the reader, and gain more understanding about her writing process.
The were reasons that this wasn't quite a five star collection, were few. There were some very short stories that I thought ended too soon, and some stories that required familiarity with other literary works. As a reader I think stories are stronger when they have a definite arc and don't require the use of Wikipedia. But these issues were in no way something that brought down the collection significantly, and may not even be a issue for some . I'm looking forward to reading more of Hopkinson's work in the near future. I would recommend this to fans of sci-fi, who enjoy diverse characters and unique imagery.
Some of my favorites in this collection are described below.
Easthound- A story of two twins coping with the loss of all the adults in the world, while trying to survive growing up.
Message in a Bottle- A small girls tells her deepest secret, before she has to face the consequences of revealing the truth.
"Every shell is a life journal, made out of the very substance of its creator, and left as a record of what it thought, even if we can't understand exactly what it thought. Sometimes interpretation is a trap sometimes we need to simply observe."
The Smile of the Face- A young girl coming of age, gaining courage from a tree that helps her find her voice.
"You want hair that lies down and plays dead, and you want to pay alot of money for it, and you want to do it every six weeks."
Left Foot, Right- A young girl learning to let go and forgive herself, after her grief leads her to walk with one shoe for weeks.
"Not Polite to Stare. Anyway in a world gone strange, why make a fuss about a missing pair of eyes and a nose with no holes?"
Ours is the Prettiest- A cross over story with characters from the Border town series (which I'm not familiar with at all). This describes a woman trying to help everyone around her, in a town full of fantasy magic and wonder.
"As you aged, your body altered and became a stranger to you, and one day you woke up and realized you were in a different country. It was just life."
This e-book was provided from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I really enjoyed my introduction to Ms. Hopkinson's work. From the very beginning it was clear that these stories would reflect all the contrasting emotions that make us human. She explains in the foreward "We are, all of us, capable simultaneously of such great good and such horrifying evil." The vivid imagery, plain language and memorable diverse characters made almost all of the short stories very enjoyable. I noticed how many times she mentioned hair, characters doing each other's hair reminded me so much of my own life. Hearing about twisting dreadlocks and taming afros immediately made my heart glad, because it reminded me of my many friends and family members. It was refreshing to see some of my identity and culture reflected back at me.
None of the stories are connected and the different themes and settings kept me intrigued along the way. Between elephants in rooms, limitless food for the hungry, time travel and fragrant tattoos, I was righteously entertained. There were nice introductions to the stories to help orient the reader, and gain more understanding about her writing process.
The were reasons that this wasn't quite a five star collection, were few. There were some very short stories that I thought ended too soon, and some stories that required familiarity with other literary works. As a reader I think stories are stronger when they have a definite arc and don't require the use of Wikipedia. But these issues were in no way something that brought down the collection significantly, and may not even be a issue for some . I'm looking forward to reading more of Hopkinson's work in the near future. I would recommend this to fans of sci-fi, who enjoy diverse characters and unique imagery.
Some of my favorites in this collection are described below.
Easthound- A story of two twins coping with the loss of all the adults in the world, while trying to survive growing up.
Message in a Bottle- A small girls tells her deepest secret, before she has to face the consequences of revealing the truth.
"Every shell is a life journal, made out of the very substance of its creator, and left as a record of what it thought, even if we can't understand exactly what it thought. Sometimes interpretation is a trap sometimes we need to simply observe."
The Smile of the Face- A young girl coming of age, gaining courage from a tree that helps her find her voice.
"You want hair that lies down and plays dead, and you want to pay alot of money for it, and you want to do it every six weeks."
Left Foot, Right- A young girl learning to let go and forgive herself, after her grief leads her to walk with one shoe for weeks.
"Not Polite to Stare. Anyway in a world gone strange, why make a fuss about a missing pair of eyes and a nose with no holes?"
Ours is the Prettiest- A cross over story with characters from the Border town series (which I'm not familiar with at all). This describes a woman trying to help everyone around her, in a town full of fantasy magic and wonder.
"As you aged, your body altered and became a stranger to you, and one day you woke up and realized you were in a different country. It was just life."
This e-book was provided from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
June 16, 2024
Average rating: 4.35/5
A good if slightly uneven collection of short stories. The title was at least partly inspired by Hopkinson’s reflection on how she’d gone from a rather misanthropic 16-year-old to a multi-decades-old adult with a bit more hope for humanity…which is something I can definitely relate to! The stories were written separately rather than to fit this theme, but are roughly arranged from darker and more depressing toward more fluffy or optimistic – though this is not a hard and fast rule.
- The Easthound. Millie and her twin sister are living as part of a “warren” of young people in a mysterious post-apocalypse. They fear growing up and, as the story progresses, you learn why. A perfect self-contained tragic tale. (5 stars)
- Soul Case. Evocative, but without the intro explaining that this was about a maroon community defending itself and that it is linked to Hopkinson’s novel ‘Blackheart Man’, I would have been kinda lost! (3 stars)
- Message in a Bottle. Not gonna lie, my neurodivergent self was relating hard to the bobble-headed kid who speaks in too-complete sentences and is obsessed with shells! That’s not what’s actually going on with her, though… (4 stars)
- The Smile on the Face. I like the themes about growing up and accepting your body and your power, and of course I like the tree and dragon imagery! But the way some of those things hung together (or didn’t) was a tad confusing in places. (4 stars)
- Left Foot, Right. An interesting use of the fairytale obsession with shoes to explore siblinghood and the grief of losing half of your “pair”. (5 stars)
- Old Habits. Follows a bunch of ghosts who are tied to a mall – but, for them, they’re the only ones there. Finding out why the MC doesn’t want to talk about his husband or family to the other ghosts will break your heart. (5 stars)
- Emily Breakfast. Adorable fluffy story about a gay couple and their “cat” looking for their missing “chicken”. Animal names in quotes, because the critters in this story are not exactly as they seem at first! (5 stars)
- Herbal. What would you do if an elephant suddenly busted into your 15th floor apartment? (4 stars)
- A Young Candy Daughter. A Salvation Army guy witnesses a young deity in the process of learning what to give people. (4 stars)
- A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog. Hopkinson calls this “my fantastical paen to the trials of geek dating, and to imaginatively overcoming them.” Follows a queer plant nerd who is VERY committed to her orchids… (5 stars)
- Shift. Ariel, Caliban, and Sycorax – still magical entities, but dealing with their family conflicts in the modern day! (4.5 stars)
- Delicious Monster. I gotta wonder what age Jerry is supposed to be, that he’s having such internal conflict about his dad looking so much more cheerful and attractive with his new boyfriend than he used to, given that Jerry is also gay. Dude, just relax and be happy for him! But I enjoyed the take on Indian mythology. (4 stars)
- Snow Day. A story beginning with a woman shoveling snow off her steps and encountering a telepathic raccoon that came out of a challenge to use the names of 5 novels in the text. Considering that one was “Oryx and Crake”, the result is impressively coherent as well as charming! (5 stars)
- Flying Lessons. Took a disturbing turn! Although maybe I should have expected that, as ‘The Little Prince’ always kinda creeped me out as a kid… (4 stars)
- Whose Upward Flight I Love. A very short story about “escaping” trees, which was also in Skin Folk. (4.5 stars)
- Blushing. Especially considering Hopkinson’s other Bluebeard retelling (‘The Glass Bottle Trick’) I was NOT expecting the twist in this one! Nicely done. (5 stars)
- Ours is the Prettiest. This is the longest story in the book, and an addition to the Borderland shared-world anthology. Fun if you’re into stories about carnivals, messy queer relationships, and some non-white elves! Might have to check out the other stories in the anthology, because I could do with some more of Stick and his pet ferret, or Screaming Lord Neville and his fabulous fashion sense. (4.5 stars)
- Men Sell Not Such in Any Town. This feels like it ought to be part of a longer story. Not sure it does much for me on its own. (3 stars)
A good if slightly uneven collection of short stories. The title was at least partly inspired by Hopkinson’s reflection on how she’d gone from a rather misanthropic 16-year-old to a multi-decades-old adult with a bit more hope for humanity…which is something I can definitely relate to! The stories were written separately rather than to fit this theme, but are roughly arranged from darker and more depressing toward more fluffy or optimistic – though this is not a hard and fast rule.
- The Easthound. Millie and her twin sister are living as part of a “warren” of young people in a mysterious post-apocalypse. They fear growing up and, as the story progresses, you learn why. A perfect self-contained tragic tale. (5 stars)
- Soul Case. Evocative, but without the intro explaining that this was about a maroon community defending itself and that it is linked to Hopkinson’s novel ‘Blackheart Man’, I would have been kinda lost! (3 stars)
- Message in a Bottle. Not gonna lie, my neurodivergent self was relating hard to the bobble-headed kid who speaks in too-complete sentences and is obsessed with shells! That’s not what’s actually going on with her, though… (4 stars)
- The Smile on the Face. I like the themes about growing up and accepting your body and your power, and of course I like the tree and dragon imagery! But the way some of those things hung together (or didn’t) was a tad confusing in places. (4 stars)
- Left Foot, Right. An interesting use of the fairytale obsession with shoes to explore siblinghood and the grief of losing half of your “pair”. (5 stars)
- Old Habits. Follows a bunch of ghosts who are tied to a mall – but, for them, they’re the only ones there. Finding out why the MC doesn’t want to talk about his husband or family to the other ghosts will break your heart. (5 stars)
- Emily Breakfast. Adorable fluffy story about a gay couple and their “cat” looking for their missing “chicken”. Animal names in quotes, because the critters in this story are not exactly as they seem at first! (5 stars)
- Herbal. What would you do if an elephant suddenly busted into your 15th floor apartment? (4 stars)
- A Young Candy Daughter. A Salvation Army guy witnesses a young deity in the process of learning what to give people. (4 stars)
- A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog. Hopkinson calls this “my fantastical paen to the trials of geek dating, and to imaginatively overcoming them.” Follows a queer plant nerd who is VERY committed to her orchids… (5 stars)
- Shift. Ariel, Caliban, and Sycorax – still magical entities, but dealing with their family conflicts in the modern day! (4.5 stars)
- Delicious Monster. I gotta wonder what age Jerry is supposed to be, that he’s having such internal conflict about his dad looking so much more cheerful and attractive with his new boyfriend than he used to, given that Jerry is also gay. Dude, just relax and be happy for him! But I enjoyed the take on Indian mythology. (4 stars)
- Snow Day. A story beginning with a woman shoveling snow off her steps and encountering a telepathic raccoon that came out of a challenge to use the names of 5 novels in the text. Considering that one was “Oryx and Crake”, the result is impressively coherent as well as charming! (5 stars)
- Flying Lessons. Took a disturbing turn! Although maybe I should have expected that, as ‘The Little Prince’ always kinda creeped me out as a kid… (4 stars)
- Whose Upward Flight I Love. A very short story about “escaping” trees, which was also in Skin Folk. (4.5 stars)
- Blushing. Especially considering Hopkinson’s other Bluebeard retelling (‘The Glass Bottle Trick’) I was NOT expecting the twist in this one! Nicely done. (5 stars)
- Ours is the Prettiest. This is the longest story in the book, and an addition to the Borderland shared-world anthology. Fun if you’re into stories about carnivals, messy queer relationships, and some non-white elves! Might have to check out the other stories in the anthology, because I could do with some more of Stick and his pet ferret, or Screaming Lord Neville and his fabulous fashion sense. (4.5 stars)
- Men Sell Not Such in Any Town. This feels like it ought to be part of a longer story. Not sure it does much for me on its own. (3 stars)
March 30, 2016
When I finish a book as daring, creative, and fantastically unique as Nalo Hopkinson's Falling in Love With Hominids, the book lover in me can't help but smile in wonder at the power of words. Their ability to transport us into a myriad different worlds and allow us to see through as many perspectives is truly magical. In these 18 short stories, Hopkinson proves herself to be a consummate master of creating magical worlds and unique perspectives.
Many of these stories are quite short, some as short as 3 pages long, but in their evanescence they leave a lasting impression.
Before the story, "Herbal," Hopkison explains that she was driven to write this story in particular by the desire to effectively suspend the reader's disbelief in the fantastical elements of a story. She goes on to say:
Indeed, many of these shorter stories are striking. "Soul Case" depicts an explosive and magical battle between an invading European army and a previously uncontacted tribe. "A Young Candy Daughter" briefly allows us a glimpse into the life of La'shawna, a young girl with divine powers of creation.
These short-and-sweet stories are fun and delightful to read, but they're not enough to satisfy an inquisitive reader for long. All we can do is bask in their striking brilliance and move on to the next story. Thankfully, there are some meatier tales that range from 20-30 pages.
The collection opens with "The Eastbound," an excellent post-apocalyptic story in which children live in fear of puberty. Despite the young protagonists, the story definitely doesn't read like YA fiction. It's dark and the concept is thrilling -- puberty and adulthood is the enemy!
"Message in a Bottle" is perhaps my personal favorite. It is more subtle science-fiction than fantasy. It reads like a strange episode of The Twilight Zone that includes time travel and experimental medicine/technology.
"Delicious Monster" demonstrates Hopkinson's versatility as writer. She is able to effortlessly assume the mind and perspective of children and adults, men and women, as well as gay and straight people. I found this story to be astonishing and bold. Rarely do I see gay men of color depicted as divine and powerful beings. And it isn't the only story to include LGBT characters, which I personally appreciated as they are a scarcity in the genre.
Falling in Love With Hominids shines not because its stories are cohesive and coalesce to create a grand work of literature-- it shines because the stories are remarkably diverse, disparate and undeniably original. I won't give it a 5 star rating because not every story was great and I wanted a few more of the longer stories. Nevertheless, this World Fantasy Award winner is certainly worth your time and should be added to any Fantasy lover's collection.
Many of these stories are quite short, some as short as 3 pages long, but in their evanescence they leave a lasting impression.
Before the story, "Herbal," Hopkison explains that she was driven to write this story in particular by the desire to effectively suspend the reader's disbelief in the fantastical elements of a story. She goes on to say:
I found myself typing something to the effect that one possible strategy was to never give the reader the time to disbelieve. Start the story with a bang, I wrote. Have an elephant..."
Indeed, many of these shorter stories are striking. "Soul Case" depicts an explosive and magical battle between an invading European army and a previously uncontacted tribe. "A Young Candy Daughter" briefly allows us a glimpse into the life of La'shawna, a young girl with divine powers of creation.
These short-and-sweet stories are fun and delightful to read, but they're not enough to satisfy an inquisitive reader for long. All we can do is bask in their striking brilliance and move on to the next story. Thankfully, there are some meatier tales that range from 20-30 pages.
The collection opens with "The Eastbound," an excellent post-apocalyptic story in which children live in fear of puberty. Despite the young protagonists, the story definitely doesn't read like YA fiction. It's dark and the concept is thrilling -- puberty and adulthood is the enemy!
"Message in a Bottle" is perhaps my personal favorite. It is more subtle science-fiction than fantasy. It reads like a strange episode of The Twilight Zone that includes time travel and experimental medicine/technology.
"Delicious Monster" demonstrates Hopkinson's versatility as writer. She is able to effortlessly assume the mind and perspective of children and adults, men and women, as well as gay and straight people. I found this story to be astonishing and bold. Rarely do I see gay men of color depicted as divine and powerful beings. And it isn't the only story to include LGBT characters, which I personally appreciated as they are a scarcity in the genre.
Falling in Love With Hominids shines not because its stories are cohesive and coalesce to create a grand work of literature-- it shines because the stories are remarkably diverse, disparate and undeniably original. I won't give it a 5 star rating because not every story was great and I wanted a few more of the longer stories. Nevertheless, this World Fantasy Award winner is certainly worth your time and should be added to any Fantasy lover's collection.
August 13, 2015
Review copy
Nalo Hopkinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and also spent her childhood in Trinidad and Guyana before her family moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was sixteen.
You may be wondering, "What is a Hominid?" Dictionary.com defines Hominid as "any primate of the family Hominidae, which includes modern man ( Homo sapiens) and the extinct precursors of man."
In the forward to Falling In Love With Hominids, Nalo Hopkinson says, "I love and am fascinated by human beings. We are, all of us, capable simultaneously of such great good and such horrifying evil."
There are eighteen stories in this collection covering a variety of genres and writing styles. Occasionally I was left in the dark by the author's writing and at other times I found myself totally enamored. I hope this makes sense, but to me it seems as if some of the stories were written for the reader, while others were more for the writer herself and those seemed to be rather self-indulgent.
There were a number of really good reads in Falling In Love With Hominids.
I enjoyed "The Easthound" - A story of death and survival in an apocalyptic world.
"Message In a Bottle" was fanciful, wonderfully told, and very imaginative.
I also liked, "The Smile On the Face" - Teenage angst mixed with an ancient legend and Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello on the TV. I really like the use of the limerick to move this story along.
There were only a handful of stories that didn't hit the mark for me, but it was enough to just give this collection four stars.
Falling In Love With Hominids is now available in both paperback and ebook formats from Tachyon Publications.
Somewhat recommended.
Nalo Hopkinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and also spent her childhood in Trinidad and Guyana before her family moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was sixteen.
You may be wondering, "What is a Hominid?" Dictionary.com defines Hominid as "any primate of the family Hominidae, which includes modern man ( Homo sapiens) and the extinct precursors of man."
In the forward to Falling In Love With Hominids, Nalo Hopkinson says, "I love and am fascinated by human beings. We are, all of us, capable simultaneously of such great good and such horrifying evil."
There are eighteen stories in this collection covering a variety of genres and writing styles. Occasionally I was left in the dark by the author's writing and at other times I found myself totally enamored. I hope this makes sense, but to me it seems as if some of the stories were written for the reader, while others were more for the writer herself and those seemed to be rather self-indulgent.
There were a number of really good reads in Falling In Love With Hominids.
I enjoyed "The Easthound" - A story of death and survival in an apocalyptic world.
"Message In a Bottle" was fanciful, wonderfully told, and very imaginative.
I also liked, "The Smile On the Face" - Teenage angst mixed with an ancient legend and Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello on the TV. I really like the use of the limerick to move this story along.
There were only a handful of stories that didn't hit the mark for me, but it was enough to just give this collection four stars.
Falling In Love With Hominids is now available in both paperback and ebook formats from Tachyon Publications.
Somewhat recommended.
December 11, 2022
Rec. by: MCL; title
Rec. for: Hominids and the fools who fall in love with them
I grew up reading sf—speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, the surreal—happily diving into any part of the vast sea of fiction that surrounds and washes over the sometimes lush but all-too-often barren island of mimetic fiction, those rocks stuck so rigidly in the here-and-now, or there-and-then. I fell in love with humanoids and hominids myself, with the salty tang of those alien waves and the vessels that ride through them. And while much sf is novel-length (if not, these days, often even longer!), a lot of my early loves were short stories, in anthologies and collections that brought concentrated doses of the strange right before my eager eyes.
Nalo Hopkinson's 2015 collection Falling in Love with Hominids is that kind of concentrated dose. Or series of doses...
In her Foreword, Hopkinson (who's only a little older than I am, by the way) says
Those stories, along with my brief observations (very brief, but then some of these stories are too!), are:
"The Easthound"
Apocalypse kids in a derelict city—a grim beginning, to be sure, and a scene we've seen before... but don't let that discourage you.
"Soul Case"
"Message in a Bottle"
Another well-worn trope: the uncannily wise child—think Wilmar H. Shiras' Children of the Atom, for example. But Kamla and her obsessions really are something else.
"The Smile on the Face"
Gilla reminded me a lot of Cinnamon Jones, from Andrea Hairston's novel Will Do Magic for Small Change (which I read just prior to this collection)—Cinnamon and Gilla have similar self-image issues, as adolescent Black girls in America. And magic.
"Left Foot, Right"
It's all about closure, nah?
"Old Habits"
Even shopping malls must accumulate ghosts... and what might they hunger for?
"Emily Breakfast"
Sometimes a cat is just a cat... but sometimes they have wings. And don't even ask about the chickens!
"Herbal"
Start your story with a bang, indeed—that's good advice. But you cannot ignore the elephant in the room.
"A Young Candy Daughter"
The miracle of the Salvation Army Santa's pot, and just in time for Christmas, too.
"A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog"
Tammy Griggs is a flower girl—no, not the way you think. She might even get married herself, one day...
"Shift"
Reinterpretations of Shakespeare have rarely been this intensely magical, or this good—and you must know that Caliban is only a monster in the eyes of his beholder.
"Delicious Monster"
There's nothing like a father's love.
"Snow Day"
A lovely story, with a gimmick made explicit by the end—and by pure coincidence, I'm sure, I read this just before my own first snow day of the winter.
"Flying Lessons"
Practice makes perfect.
"Whose Upward Flight I Love"
Hopkinson's intro to this one says,
"Blushing"
In sickness, and in health.
"Ours Is the Prettiest"
The penultimate story in this collection is set in the Borderlands universe... and it fits right in.
"Men Sell Not Such in Any Town"
Evanescent—this one evokes a decadent future.
Nalo Hopkinson is just the kind of fool who would fall in love with hominids, you see—and, as it turns out, that's no fool at all.
*
(Table of Contents info adapted with thanks from the Schlow Centre Region Library in State College, Pennsylvania, this time.)
Rec. for: Hominids and the fools who fall in love with them
I grew up reading sf—speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, the surreal—happily diving into any part of the vast sea of fiction that surrounds and washes over the sometimes lush but all-too-often barren island of mimetic fiction, those rocks stuck so rigidly in the here-and-now, or there-and-then. I fell in love with humanoids and hominids myself, with the salty tang of those alien waves and the vessels that ride through them. And while much sf is novel-length (if not, these days, often even longer!), a lot of my early loves were short stories, in anthologies and collections that brought concentrated doses of the strange right before my eager eyes.
Nalo Hopkinson's 2015 collection Falling in Love with Hominids is that kind of concentrated dose. Or series of doses...
In her Foreword, Hopkinson (who's only a little older than I am, by the way) says
But one of the progressions I've made is from being a depressed teenager who saw how powerless she was to change all the ills around her to being a mostly cheerful fifty-something who realizes there are all kinds of ways of working towards positive change. I am not as active in doing so as my conscience would have me be, but I am not at all passive, or powerless. And that's because I am not alone. I've learned I can trust that humans in general will strive to make things better for themselves and their communities. Not all of us. Not always in principled, loving, or respectful ways. Often the direct opposite, in fact. But we're all on the same spinning ball of dirt, trying to live as best we can.I found these words both wise and inspiring—and the stories in Falling in Love with Hominids, while very different in length, subject, tone and impact, all seem to embody this compassionate ideal.
—p.2
Those stories, along with my brief observations (very brief, but then some of these stories are too!), are:
"The Easthound"
Apocalypse kids in a derelict city—a grim beginning, to be sure, and a scene we've seen before... but don't let that discourage you.
"Soul Case"
In Jamaican parlance, "soul case" refers to the human body.A brief but effective vignette.
—p.21
"Message in a Bottle"
Another well-worn trope: the uncannily wise child—think Wilmar H. Shiras' Children of the Atom, for example. But Kamla and her obsessions really are something else.
"The Smile on the Face"
Gilla reminded me a lot of Cinnamon Jones, from Andrea Hairston's novel Will Do Magic for Small Change (which I read just prior to this collection)—Cinnamon and Gilla have similar self-image issues, as adolescent Black girls in America. And magic.
"Left Foot, Right"
It's all about closure, nah?
"Old Habits"
Even shopping malls must accumulate ghosts... and what might they hunger for?
"Emily Breakfast"
Sometimes a cat is just a cat... but sometimes they have wings. And don't even ask about the chickens!
"Herbal"
Start your story with a bang, indeed—that's good advice. But you cannot ignore the elephant in the room.
"A Young Candy Daughter"
The miracle of the Salvation Army Santa's pot, and just in time for Christmas, too.
"A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog"
Tammy Griggs is a flower girl—no, not the way you think. She might even get married herself, one day...
"Shift"
Reinterpretations of Shakespeare have rarely been this intensely magical, or this good—and you must know that Caliban is only a monster in the eyes of his beholder.
"Delicious Monster"
There's nothing like a father's love.
"Snow Day"
A lovely story, with a gimmick made explicit by the end—and by pure coincidence, I'm sure, I read this just before my own first snow day of the winter.
"Flying Lessons"
Practice makes perfect.
"Whose Upward Flight I Love"
Hopkinson's intro to this one says,
When I moved to Toronto from the Caribbean as a teenager, the winters were among the hardest things to get used to. More than three decades later, I still haven't quite managed it.A short one, about the possibility of escape.
—p.178
"Blushing"
In sickness, and in health.
"Ours Is the Prettiest"
The penultimate story in this collection is set in the Borderlands universe... and it fits right in.
"Men Sell Not Such in Any Town"
Evanescent—this one evokes a decadent future.
Nalo Hopkinson is just the kind of fool who would fall in love with hominids, you see—and, as it turns out, that's no fool at all.
*
(Table of Contents info adapted with thanks from the Schlow Centre Region Library in State College, Pennsylvania, this time.)
March 6, 2017
FUCKING AMAZING.
Well, Nalo Hopkinson’s latest book, a short story collection called Falling in Love with Hominids, has managed to surpass even my insanely high expectations. It is simply an amazing, mind-blowing, I-can’t-think-of-enough-superlative-adjectives-to-describe-it kind of book. As the blurb by Junot Diaz on the cover says, Hopkinson is a “writer with an imagination that most of us would kill for.” Time and again, the twists and turns in these stories will leave you in shock, awe, and with a trippy, WTF kind of feeling that will probably remind you of being stoned.
The collection opens with a stunning, scary story: “The Easthound.” It’s a post-apocalyptic, zombie story with this twist: you only change when you hit puberty. Imagine a destroyed Toronto urban wasteland populated only with kids under twelve. The story opens with a bunch of these kids sitting around a fire playing a story telling game. You’ll never guess where it ends. It scared the crap out of me.
The most memorable story for me was “Message in a Bottle.” ...
See the rest of my review here
Well, Nalo Hopkinson’s latest book, a short story collection called Falling in Love with Hominids, has managed to surpass even my insanely high expectations. It is simply an amazing, mind-blowing, I-can’t-think-of-enough-superlative-adjectives-to-describe-it kind of book. As the blurb by Junot Diaz on the cover says, Hopkinson is a “writer with an imagination that most of us would kill for.” Time and again, the twists and turns in these stories will leave you in shock, awe, and with a trippy, WTF kind of feeling that will probably remind you of being stoned.
The collection opens with a stunning, scary story: “The Easthound.” It’s a post-apocalyptic, zombie story with this twist: you only change when you hit puberty. Imagine a destroyed Toronto urban wasteland populated only with kids under twelve. The story opens with a bunch of these kids sitting around a fire playing a story telling game. You’ll never guess where it ends. It scared the crap out of me.
The most memorable story for me was “Message in a Bottle.” ...
See the rest of my review here
October 10, 2020
Most of these stories didn't interest me, but there was a handful that really stood out as great. I think the book started off with it's strongest works, and then fizzled out at the end. I'm willing to pick up this author again.
August 23, 2015
I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I previously read two novels by Nalo Hopkinson, but had not read any of her short stories. Overall they are idea stories, as long as they need to be (or as short, since one was only two pages), and range from urban fantasy to dystopia to the weird to magic to myth. I loved the author's note at the beginning explaining the title, which is not from any of the stories, but a summary of her own experience.
"The Easthound"
This one starts with a mishearing of the eastbound train and goes from there to a world where puberty brings beastly things.
“Soul Case”
This story is a great example of how Nalo Hopkinson weaves Caribbean themes into her stories, from an island of "maroons" defending their lives from slave owners.
“Message in a Bottle”
Oh this is probably my absolute favorite story because I just didn't expect where it was going. Beware of children.
“The Smile on the Face”
Gilla... monster? Another triumph of everyday life mixed with some surprises.
“Left Foot, Right”
This reminded me of her more recent book with the sisters and the death.
“Old Habits”
I lied, this one is my favorite, the mythology of mall ghosts.
“Emily Breakfast”
Emily Breakfast is a chicken.
“Herbal”
How many floors up can your elephant reach?
“A Young Candy Daughter”
A lovely holiday tale.
“A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog”
Okay this one is more of the weird variety, an orchid grower with orchid tattoos, who uses the fire alarm to keep the plants hydrated.
“Shift”
Oh bizarre. I'm not sure I quite grasped it particularly the Shakespeare references....
“Delicious Monster”
Wow, more mythology intertwined with everyday life.
“Snow Day”
Written for a challenge, maybe my least favorite.
“Flying Lessons”
Shortie
“Whose Upward Flight I Love”
Super shortie, but perhaps the most personal, the triumph of nature in a too-cold place written by someone who is from warmer places...
“Blushing”
Oh my god. Blackbeard with a twist.
“Ours Is the Prettiest”
Part of the Bordertown shared worlds idea.
“Men Sell Not Such in Any Town”
Are you Enlightened? Soon enough?
I previously read two novels by Nalo Hopkinson, but had not read any of her short stories. Overall they are idea stories, as long as they need to be (or as short, since one was only two pages), and range from urban fantasy to dystopia to the weird to magic to myth. I loved the author's note at the beginning explaining the title, which is not from any of the stories, but a summary of her own experience.
"The Easthound"
This one starts with a mishearing of the eastbound train and goes from there to a world where puberty brings beastly things.
“Soul Case”
This story is a great example of how Nalo Hopkinson weaves Caribbean themes into her stories, from an island of "maroons" defending their lives from slave owners.
“Message in a Bottle”
Oh this is probably my absolute favorite story because I just didn't expect where it was going. Beware of children.
“The Smile on the Face”
Gilla... monster? Another triumph of everyday life mixed with some surprises.
“Left Foot, Right”
This reminded me of her more recent book with the sisters and the death.
“Old Habits”
I lied, this one is my favorite, the mythology of mall ghosts.
“Emily Breakfast”
Emily Breakfast is a chicken.
“Herbal”
How many floors up can your elephant reach?
“A Young Candy Daughter”
A lovely holiday tale.
“A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog”
Okay this one is more of the weird variety, an orchid grower with orchid tattoos, who uses the fire alarm to keep the plants hydrated.
“Shift”
Oh bizarre. I'm not sure I quite grasped it particularly the Shakespeare references....
“Delicious Monster”
Wow, more mythology intertwined with everyday life.
“Snow Day”
Written for a challenge, maybe my least favorite.
“Flying Lessons”
Shortie
“Whose Upward Flight I Love”
Super shortie, but perhaps the most personal, the triumph of nature in a too-cold place written by someone who is from warmer places...
“Blushing”
Oh my god. Blackbeard with a twist.
“Ours Is the Prettiest”
Part of the Bordertown shared worlds idea.
“Men Sell Not Such in Any Town”
Are you Enlightened? Soon enough?
May 29, 2015
This was a very entertaining collection of short stories. I was most impressed with the variety of voices that Hopkinson conjured upon the pages. There is a wonderful breadth of subjects, and I never found myself bored with any of them. For example just take a look at my faves.
The Easthound ... Post apocalyptic twin teens
Message in a Bottle...... Time Travel
Left Foot, Right.....Ghosts and Guilt
Old Habits.... Mall ghosts
Raggy, Shaggy Dog..... Freakish Botany
Flying Lessons..... Psychological escape
Blushing..... Newlyweds with secrets
Out of the 18 stories, I would give 7 of them a 4 or 5. This is a fantastic collection that I wholeheartedly recommend!
-------------------------
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. No other consideration was offered, expected or received.
The Easthound ... Post apocalyptic twin teens
Message in a Bottle...... Time Travel
Left Foot, Right.....Ghosts and Guilt
Old Habits.... Mall ghosts
Raggy, Shaggy Dog..... Freakish Botany
Flying Lessons..... Psychological escape
Blushing..... Newlyweds with secrets
Out of the 18 stories, I would give 7 of them a 4 or 5. This is a fantastic collection that I wholeheartedly recommend!
-------------------------
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. No other consideration was offered, expected or received.
September 8, 2015
Hopkinson's stories always make for an interesting read. I love the way her fiction tends to blend Jamaican folklore, urban life, and a critical look at social justice issues. As Hopkinson herself puts it in her foreword,
My favourite story in the collection was easily the first in the collection. "The Easthound" is a post-apocalyptic tale told from the perspective of a child that carries the reader into a breathlessly creepy unreality and carries an emotional punch far out of its weight class. My other favourites included "Blushing," a creepy retelling of a familiar folkstory, "Emily Breakfast," one of the most purely playful stories in the collection, and "The Smile on Her Face," an interesting melding of Middle Eastern myth and modern school-life and a sweet story of self-acceptance and embracing one's culture.
The stories tend to be very short, almost more like kernels of ideas than fully-developed realizations. Several are so very succinct that any summary will give away the whole thing. "Soul Case," a glimpse of a maroon nation's confrontation with an invading force, gained vividness from the story's abrupt ending. "Herbal" is equally brief; according to Hopkinson, it was begun as an example for students on how to
The longer stories tended to invoke myths and folktales to explore themes of loss and acceptance. "Ours is the Prettiest" is one of the longest stories in the collection, and a contribution to the shared fictional world of Bordertown, so I think it is intended to appeal to people already familiar with the world and characters. I don't think I've really read many Bordertown stories, and certainly not enough to fully enjoy the story. For me, the most interesting part was Hopkinson's foreword, where she pointed out that while Bordertown was intended to be diverse and open to all races and cultures, the Fairie side is
Hopkinson's stories are always unique and make for an enjoyable change of pace from the spaceships-and-steel-cities side of speculative fiction. The stories of Falling in Love with Hominids are unified by their themes of acceptance, both of oneself and of diverse cultural heritages, and by the ways she melds cultural myths and traditions with modern life.
~~I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Tachyon Publications, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and although they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they reflect the spirit of the book as a whole.~~
"I see the ways in which science fiction is too often used to confirm people's complacency, to reassure them that it's okay for them not to act, because they are not the lone superhero who will fix the world's ills. And yet, humanity as a whole is not satisfied with complacency."Many of Hopkinson's short stories are about ordinary people with ordinary lives that just go a little bit strange. They aren't imagination-stretchers like Rajaniemi or Egan; instead, they focus on the social issues that pervade our lives and will continue to do so.
My favourite story in the collection was easily the first in the collection. "The Easthound" is a post-apocalyptic tale told from the perspective of a child that carries the reader into a breathlessly creepy unreality and carries an emotional punch far out of its weight class. My other favourites included "Blushing," a creepy retelling of a familiar folkstory, "Emily Breakfast," one of the most purely playful stories in the collection, and "The Smile on Her Face," an interesting melding of Middle Eastern myth and modern school-life and a sweet story of self-acceptance and embracing one's culture.
The stories tend to be very short, almost more like kernels of ideas than fully-developed realizations. Several are so very succinct that any summary will give away the whole thing. "Soul Case," a glimpse of a maroon nation's confrontation with an invading force, gained vividness from the story's abrupt ending. "Herbal" is equally brief; according to Hopkinson, it was begun as an example for students on how to
"Never give the reader the time to disbelieve."In some cases, I think the brevity left the stories a little wanting. "A Young Candy Daughter" is a short "what if God walked amongst us" story, and without the time to fully develop the characters, even Hopkinson's version felt familiar. "Snow Day" was part of a CBC promotion, and while it does what it set out to do, it feels a bit forced and underdeveloped to me. However, stories like "A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog" benefited from the limited space, leaving the impression of a story so creepily, gloriously odd that I have no words to describe it.
The longer stories tended to invoke myths and folktales to explore themes of loss and acceptance. "Ours is the Prettiest" is one of the longest stories in the collection, and a contribution to the shared fictional world of Bordertown, so I think it is intended to appeal to people already familiar with the world and characters. I don't think I've really read many Bordertown stories, and certainly not enough to fully enjoy the story. For me, the most interesting part was Hopkinson's foreword, where she pointed out that while Bordertown was intended to be diverse and open to all races and cultures, the Fairie side is
"As British as bangers and mash and white as a snowstorm.""Left Foot, Right" is a story of loss and forgiveness, and harnesses Jamaican folk myths in a way reminiscent of The Salt Roads. "Shift" is a retelling of The Tempest that invokes cultural traditions and themes of intolerance and racism, and will likely be more appreciated by people who actually remember the original play. "Message in a Bottle" is in some ways about the narrator's resistance and acceptance of change, both in terms of his own life, and the strange child he befriends. As he puts it,
"The one thing that really scares me about kids. This brave new world that Cecilia and I are trying to make for our son? For the generations to follow us? We won't know how to live in it."
Hopkinson's stories are always unique and make for an enjoyable change of pace from the spaceships-and-steel-cities side of speculative fiction. The stories of Falling in Love with Hominids are unified by their themes of acceptance, both of oneself and of diverse cultural heritages, and by the ways she melds cultural myths and traditions with modern life.
~~I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Tachyon Publications, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and although they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they reflect the spirit of the book as a whole.~~
August 16, 2015
...A collection of such diversity as Hopkinson delivers here, will always contain a few stories that don't connect with the reader. There were a few that did little for me but overall I very much enjoyed Hopkinson's imaginative and varied approach to storytelling. In just over 200 pages she travels the length and breadth of speculative fiction. Falling in Love with Hominids is as good an invitation to delve deeper into an author's oeuvre as you are likely to get. I think I am going to take her up on that. It would appear that once again the to read stack has grown.
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
January 23, 2021
What a delight !
I loved the stories and I specially appreciated the explanations the author provides at the beginning of each story.
The first story and the Blue beard inspired one are begging to be full lenght novels AND movies, someone please do something about it !
I loved the stories and I specially appreciated the explanations the author provides at the beginning of each story.
The first story and the Blue beard inspired one are begging to be full lenght novels AND movies, someone please do something about it !
July 14, 2015
Seeing as how I’ve had difficulties with short story collections in the past, I decided to read this particular collection in bits and pieces. The experience was quite unique but satisfying in the end. It seems short stories really do work best in short time periods.
I’ve been wanting to try Nalo Hopkinson was a really long time now and somehow have never been able to locate her works in bookshops. So obviously when I saw this one up for review on NetGalley, I pounced on it immediately. It took a while to get through as I’ve mentioned but I was quite impressed by some of the stories in this collection.
Like any short story/anthology collection, this one was quite varied in its themes, narrations, and the reactions it wangled from me. There were some stories in here which were awe-inspiring but then there were some I could barely get through, despite each of them just being short stories. It’s a very strange blend — I had so much appreciation for some, but then so much dislike for some others.
What I actually thought was the most impressive part of this collection are the little introductions Hopkinson provides in the beginning of each story. Because short stories are such microscopic, abstract narratives, having insight into the thought process of the writer penning them brought about a whole new dimension to the product. Not always, but often her introductions would set the stories perfectly into the “big picture” she was trying to emulate via her storytelling. Absolutely adored the creativity.
Other wonderful elements Hopkinson plays around with are allusions, literary references, and at times, what seemed to me, an attempt to retell a popular story or myth. This was both entertaining and frustrating. Frustrating because there was a story introduced with a connection to The Tempest and another which is inspired by Goblin Market and while I loved that she drew inspirations from these, as someone who’s read Goblin Market but not The Tempest, I was unsure how much I really like this technique. Obviously I’m missing out on some layer of symbolism by not having read The Tempest, especially since I understood her story relating to Goblin Market more because I was already familiar with the poem.
In the end, I had some mixed reactions throughout my reading experience. Some incredibly thought-proving titles often lead to an undermining of the story and sometimes the simplistic ones caught my attention the most. Some predictable; some not. I also wasn’t a fan of the second person point-of-view perspective. While at times it can be exceptionally affective, I just have the hardest time with it.
I would recommend this to someone simply wanting to try a SFF short story collection for the first time, but am not sure how much this would appeal to more experienced readers as clearly this is a very diverse bag of narratives.
Disclaimer - A copy of this ebook was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by any exterior motives.
I’ve been wanting to try Nalo Hopkinson was a really long time now and somehow have never been able to locate her works in bookshops. So obviously when I saw this one up for review on NetGalley, I pounced on it immediately. It took a while to get through as I’ve mentioned but I was quite impressed by some of the stories in this collection.
Like any short story/anthology collection, this one was quite varied in its themes, narrations, and the reactions it wangled from me. There were some stories in here which were awe-inspiring but then there were some I could barely get through, despite each of them just being short stories. It’s a very strange blend — I had so much appreciation for some, but then so much dislike for some others.
What I actually thought was the most impressive part of this collection are the little introductions Hopkinson provides in the beginning of each story. Because short stories are such microscopic, abstract narratives, having insight into the thought process of the writer penning them brought about a whole new dimension to the product. Not always, but often her introductions would set the stories perfectly into the “big picture” she was trying to emulate via her storytelling. Absolutely adored the creativity.
Other wonderful elements Hopkinson plays around with are allusions, literary references, and at times, what seemed to me, an attempt to retell a popular story or myth. This was both entertaining and frustrating. Frustrating because there was a story introduced with a connection to The Tempest and another which is inspired by Goblin Market and while I loved that she drew inspirations from these, as someone who’s read Goblin Market but not The Tempest, I was unsure how much I really like this technique. Obviously I’m missing out on some layer of symbolism by not having read The Tempest, especially since I understood her story relating to Goblin Market more because I was already familiar with the poem.
In the end, I had some mixed reactions throughout my reading experience. Some incredibly thought-proving titles often lead to an undermining of the story and sometimes the simplistic ones caught my attention the most. Some predictable; some not. I also wasn’t a fan of the second person point-of-view perspective. While at times it can be exceptionally affective, I just have the hardest time with it.
I would recommend this to someone simply wanting to try a SFF short story collection for the first time, but am not sure how much this would appeal to more experienced readers as clearly this is a very diverse bag of narratives.
Disclaimer - A copy of this ebook was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by any exterior motives.
January 2, 2021
Kind of a weird combination of stories that I really liked (“Old Habits,” about ghosts trapped in the mall where they died, or “Emily Breakfast,” about a pet chicken in a world where birds evolved from dragons and cats can fly) and some where I was just meh about. But overall it’s an interesting, wide-ranging collection that runs the gamut. Doesn’t hurt that the last story features 117 prominently, for my first read of the year.
“Emily Breakfast” is the best chicken-related story I’ve read since Howard Waldrop’s “The Ugly Chickens” back in the ‘80s.
“Emily Breakfast” is the best chicken-related story I’ve read since Howard Waldrop’s “The Ugly Chickens” back in the ‘80s.
November 12, 2023
Uff me llevé tremenda decepción. Ha sido un libro muy complicado porque lo leí en inglés y hay muchas cosas que no entendía, definitivamente no vuelvo a leer a la autora en inglés, me espero a una traducción. De por sí el primer libro que leí de ella era complejo, usaba un vocabulario plagado de significados y simbolismos de la cultura jamaiquina.
En fin, pese a ello hubo tres relatos que disfruté y no tuve tantas dificultades para entender: The eastbound, una historia muy peculiar sobre licántropos, con un estilo muy particular y muy original. The smile on the face, otro de los pocos relatos de terror de esta antología, un tanto siniestro y muy efectista porque toca el asunto del abuso a las mujeres.
En cambio Emily breakfast es un relato que acerca más a la ciencia ficción y resultó muy peculiar, incluso gracioso, me encantó el protagonismo del gato y la gallina, así como sus nombres. Y por último A raggy dog, a shaggy dog, un relato de terror botánico que probablemente junto The eastbound sean de mis favoritos, muy bien logrado y sí da algo de yuyu.
En fin, pese a ello hubo tres relatos que disfruté y no tuve tantas dificultades para entender: The eastbound, una historia muy peculiar sobre licántropos, con un estilo muy particular y muy original. The smile on the face, otro de los pocos relatos de terror de esta antología, un tanto siniestro y muy efectista porque toca el asunto del abuso a las mujeres.
En cambio Emily breakfast es un relato que acerca más a la ciencia ficción y resultó muy peculiar, incluso gracioso, me encantó el protagonismo del gato y la gallina, así como sus nombres. Y por último A raggy dog, a shaggy dog, un relato de terror botánico que probablemente junto The eastbound sean de mis favoritos, muy bien logrado y sí da algo de yuyu.
February 7, 2020
A solid collection of inventive, fantastic short stories that come across as more modern-fairy-tale-like than actual retellings.
I generally liked these, although there were a couple of stories that seemed to assume I already knew what was going on--those got skimmed or skipped. I feel like I've read several of these before elsewhere, too, although now I can't remember from where. Maybe it's just that the stories seem so classic.
My favorites were "The Easthound," "Left Foot, Right," and "Old Habits."
Recommended for fairy-tale retelling fans, and fantasy fans in general.
I generally liked these, although there were a couple of stories that seemed to assume I already knew what was going on--those got skimmed or skipped. I feel like I've read several of these before elsewhere, too, although now I can't remember from where. Maybe it's just that the stories seem so classic.
My favorites were "The Easthound," "Left Foot, Right," and "Old Habits."
Recommended for fairy-tale retelling fans, and fantasy fans in general.
September 10, 2015
Ok, standard disclaimer that I seem to have to write every time I review a collection of short stories – I don’t particularly like them. I am not a fan of short stories, I’m not fan of stand alone stories that aren’t part of a larger series and I’m not a fan of collections of stories that aren’t related to each other
Now, this is a collection of short stories, none of them are from series, and none of them are related to each other. There’s also 19 short stories in this book. I tend to lose interest in any collections of stories that go over 10. I don’t think there’s even really a uniting theme – they’re all by the same author and they’re all speculative fiction, but that’s about it
In other words, I started this book trying very much to like it because I’d heard good things – but fearing that I was going to hate it simply because of my own dislike of short stories.
Thankfully, I loved it. Most of it anyway
It started really well with The Easthound. I loved how this really creepy story of a dystopia led by children really managed to pack a lot of world building in through without any real infodumping – the lack of adults, the fear of growing up, literally starving themselves so they wouldn’t age, the horror of being children with no adults to look after them and how that permeates how they react to the world. They’re children trying to survive – and the way they look at the world is childlike, almost a terrifying game of survival.
I think this sense of the creepy works really well in many of the stories – Old Habits. It’s take on ghosts and what they hunger for is chilling and a truly terrifying view of a horrific afterlife without being s dramatic and gory as so many others
The Smile on My Face was amazing fun and an awesome look at body issues and self-worth with a dash of mythology and a whole lot of getting behind someone and cheering her – and a great scene of battling against rape and sexual assault without graphic depiction of victimisation – it’ strong and awesome all through. I especially like how, despite their being a Mean Girl, Gilla still reaches out to her in clear solidarity (even if it is also an excellent snide put down) because even a Mean Girl would need someone to believe her if she were a victim. On the other end of the scale, Emily Breakfast was also a fun little story (with a large number of LGBT characters and my only brief issue is the only real characterisation was distinctly sexual in nature) that wasn’t as creepy or intimidating as some, but who can be against dragon chickens? More thoughtful was Shift which not only completely took a Shakespearean story and brought out a whole new idea from it – but then had several shifts and complexities that made this story (and it’s apparent antagonists) much much more fun than I imagined and, again, very thoughtful.
I don’t even begin to understand Herbal. I really don’t – but I still found it immensely cute but still have to express my bemusement. Similarly I found Snow Day bemusing and fun – but I have to add extra praise for presenting adventurousness and wish to remain at home as EQUALLY VALID and powerful choices.
Flying Lessons I understand all too well – it’s sad and enraging and awful – and so carefully not filled in with detail which, in some way, actually makes it more stark and awful: seeing this through the incomplete and hurt understanding of a child.
I shouldn’t, but I just love the concept of Blushing Bride and I can say absolutely nothing about it without spoiling it, but it made me very very very gleeful in all the wrong ways
Some stories, to me, just begged for more development, not because what was there wasn’t good enough, but because it begged for more to come because the concepts were so excellent.
Soul Case is one I kind of feel that way yet not. The world setting – building on the concept of Marronnage, in the Carribean with escaped slaves managing to build their own community had such a lot of potential to be developed especially with the excellent mythology based on POC culture. But I think the power of it, the idea that even when committing an atrocity for the sake of good still has dire consequences: it’s done an especially subtle and implied way that really doesn’t WANT developing further. Similarly there’s A Young Candy Daughter which just begs for more development of a child god and their mother – but at the same time not developing it leaves us free to think it through on our own and consider the implications of it.
Read More
Now, this is a collection of short stories, none of them are from series, and none of them are related to each other. There’s also 19 short stories in this book. I tend to lose interest in any collections of stories that go over 10. I don’t think there’s even really a uniting theme – they’re all by the same author and they’re all speculative fiction, but that’s about it
In other words, I started this book trying very much to like it because I’d heard good things – but fearing that I was going to hate it simply because of my own dislike of short stories.
Thankfully, I loved it. Most of it anyway
It started really well with The Easthound. I loved how this really creepy story of a dystopia led by children really managed to pack a lot of world building in through without any real infodumping – the lack of adults, the fear of growing up, literally starving themselves so they wouldn’t age, the horror of being children with no adults to look after them and how that permeates how they react to the world. They’re children trying to survive – and the way they look at the world is childlike, almost a terrifying game of survival.
I think this sense of the creepy works really well in many of the stories – Old Habits. It’s take on ghosts and what they hunger for is chilling and a truly terrifying view of a horrific afterlife without being s dramatic and gory as so many others
The Smile on My Face was amazing fun and an awesome look at body issues and self-worth with a dash of mythology and a whole lot of getting behind someone and cheering her – and a great scene of battling against rape and sexual assault without graphic depiction of victimisation – it’ strong and awesome all through. I especially like how, despite their being a Mean Girl, Gilla still reaches out to her in clear solidarity (even if it is also an excellent snide put down) because even a Mean Girl would need someone to believe her if she were a victim. On the other end of the scale, Emily Breakfast was also a fun little story (with a large number of LGBT characters and my only brief issue is the only real characterisation was distinctly sexual in nature) that wasn’t as creepy or intimidating as some, but who can be against dragon chickens? More thoughtful was Shift which not only completely took a Shakespearean story and brought out a whole new idea from it – but then had several shifts and complexities that made this story (and it’s apparent antagonists) much much more fun than I imagined and, again, very thoughtful.
I don’t even begin to understand Herbal. I really don’t – but I still found it immensely cute but still have to express my bemusement. Similarly I found Snow Day bemusing and fun – but I have to add extra praise for presenting adventurousness and wish to remain at home as EQUALLY VALID and powerful choices.
Flying Lessons I understand all too well – it’s sad and enraging and awful – and so carefully not filled in with detail which, in some way, actually makes it more stark and awful: seeing this through the incomplete and hurt understanding of a child.
I shouldn’t, but I just love the concept of Blushing Bride and I can say absolutely nothing about it without spoiling it, but it made me very very very gleeful in all the wrong ways
Some stories, to me, just begged for more development, not because what was there wasn’t good enough, but because it begged for more to come because the concepts were so excellent.
Soul Case is one I kind of feel that way yet not. The world setting – building on the concept of Marronnage, in the Carribean with escaped slaves managing to build their own community had such a lot of potential to be developed especially with the excellent mythology based on POC culture. But I think the power of it, the idea that even when committing an atrocity for the sake of good still has dire consequences: it’s done an especially subtle and implied way that really doesn’t WANT developing further. Similarly there’s A Young Candy Daughter which just begs for more development of a child god and their mother – but at the same time not developing it leaves us free to think it through on our own and consider the implications of it.
Read More
December 6, 2016
Nalo Hopkinson’s stories are hybrids, blending science fiction and fantasy, Western and Afro-Caribbean influences, pain and joy, the real and the unreal. She has a particular talent for blending the magical and the mundane in surprising ways.
As a writer of short stories that are specifically fantasy and science fiction, Hopkinson demonstrates her understanding of how a story needs to follow it’s own internal logic to be successful; any outside, novelistic standard of structure or expectation is thrown out the window in favor of internal integrity. Any collection of short stories will have tales that are stronger than others, and that is especially true in a case like Hominids, where the stories have been written over a long span of years and not designed to be thematically linked. Of course, they are thematically linked in many ways, as the work of a single author tends to be, intentional or no. Many of them share common ground in terms of character types (young girls, middle aged gay men) or repeated imagery and phrases (the question “salt or sweet?” recurs in at least three stories, likely more).
Most of the stories are set in a Western 21st century milieu, but are infused with folk tale spirit and speculative flair. A great example of this is the penultimate story in the collection, “Ours is the Prettiest,” which riffs off of the Borderland series of speculative story anthologies first introduced by Terri Windling in the 1980s and revived by Holly Black and Ellen Kushner in the last few years. Bordertown is the aptly named liminal zone between the “real” world and a realm known as Elfland, populated by magical types of the faerie variety. Hopkinson infuses the typically Euro-Western approach of the past collections with new vibrancy by establishing other countries and races in Elfland, and brings a mish-mash of diverse cultures and backgrounds to the characters that inhabit Bordertown itself.
While I tend to be partial to short stories that fall somewhere in the ten-to-fifteen page range, I also enjoyed her shorter stories that were more like brief vignettes. “A Young Candy Daughter” is a re-imagining of the childhood of Jesus- if he were a she and the child of a single black mother. The story is so sweet and immediately got to the heart of what it would mean to have the power of a god in the mindset of a child, as well as how we look differently at a single mother as religious symbol vs. the real world single mother. Other stories tackled things like self-image and ancient female power (“The Smile on the Face”), or the banality of death in the modern world (“Old Habits”), or the implications of art and the possibilities of time travel (“Message in a Bottle”). Each has an emotional core dressed up in speculative trappings and sprinkled with history. Hopkinson is also highly skilled in using dialect in ways that make characters and environments feel richer and more realistic, never devolving into caricature.
Though there weren’t many of them, the weakest tales are those whose endings don’t feel earned- where the story is either too short or the motivations of the characters too assiduously hidden from the reader. I would say “Blushing” is one of the few that fell flat for me. It is a modern retelling of Bluebeard, and while the twist in the end is fascinating, it comes so suddenly out of left field that I found it ultimately unsatisfying. And I don’t know if it is my reading or the story itself, but the final title in the collection, “Men Sell Not Such in Any Town,” had a similar effect, and ultimately felt somehow unfinished. These were really the only two I didn’t thoroughly enjoy, and in a collection of 18 stories, that isn’t a bad outcome.
I could draw a lot of comparisons between Hopkinson and other current short story artists-- like Kelly Link or Elizabeth Bear-- as far as the ideas of internal vs. external logic and the strength of so many different voices, but Hopkinson also has a non-Eurocentric approach that sets her apart and further distances readers from well-worn tropes and techniques. This is my first experience with Nalo Hopkinson, but it certainly won’t be my last.
(Review originally published on my blog 1/20/2016 http://atroskity.booklikes.com/post/1...)
May 14, 2016
[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
To be honest, I had no idea who Nalo Hopkinson was until I requested this book. But I was definitely interested to read stories by an author who seemed to have an approach stemming from a different culture than mine. I didn't know what to expect; I wasn't disappointed.
This collection features stories inspired from various sources, situations and ideas—the author mentiones some of those before each story. Ghosts haunting a mall keep reliving their deaths. Plants that find an unusual soil to grow. Retellings of “The Tempest” and “Bluebeard”. A story set in Bordertown. Another one in a world ravaged by a strange epidemic, forcing children to band together until they all fall sick as well.
Urban fantasy, fairy tales, science fiction, magical realism: Hopkinson weaves a lot of ideas in various settings, while never losing sight of human beings: their complexity, the depth of their feelings, all their doubts and ambiguities. A mother tries to make her teenage girl realise that “taming her hair” may amount to rejecting where she came from. Fairy beings, humans and “half-breeds” mingle in Bordertown, but do they all really accept each other? Beings preying at each other, feeding on each other, going through phases of desire and guilt, of doubt and acceptance. Beings with both monstrous and loving sides, displaying alien features yet also deeply human ones, like the girl turning into a dragon, but whose deep desire remains, all in all, to be accepted by others... her own self included.
Here are the stories I liked best in this anthology:
“The Easthound”: a children-oriented vision of a post-apocalyptic future, where everybody turns into a monster when they reach puberty. A band of kids doing their best to survive, knowing all too well, though, that sooner or later they'll have to kill one of their own, lest it kills them first.
“Shift”: a retelling of “The Tempest”, with themes revolving around identity, underlying racism, unfulfillable desires, and relationships that may be doomed to fail as soon as they are born.
“Old Habits”: ghosts trapped in the mall where they died, forced to go through their own deaths again and again, pining at the smells they can't perceive anymore.
“A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog”: pretty creepy, in a fascinating way. A woman very well-versed in orchids has developed... interesting ways to find a partner.
“Blushing”: another retelling, this time of “Bluebeard”. We all know what the new bride is going to find in that room; how she will react, though, is always another matter.
“Ours Is The Prettiest”: I've never read any Bordertown stories, but I don't think the lack of background here would prevent someone from enjoying this stories. On a backdrop of enchantments, celebrations and impending danger, a woman is trying to help those around her... but is she right in doing so, or only making things worse?
“Message in a Bottle” was good, too, though I felt it lacked something—probably that something is “being turned into a novel”.
To be honest, I had no idea who Nalo Hopkinson was until I requested this book. But I was definitely interested to read stories by an author who seemed to have an approach stemming from a different culture than mine. I didn't know what to expect; I wasn't disappointed.
This collection features stories inspired from various sources, situations and ideas—the author mentiones some of those before each story. Ghosts haunting a mall keep reliving their deaths. Plants that find an unusual soil to grow. Retellings of “The Tempest” and “Bluebeard”. A story set in Bordertown. Another one in a world ravaged by a strange epidemic, forcing children to band together until they all fall sick as well.
Urban fantasy, fairy tales, science fiction, magical realism: Hopkinson weaves a lot of ideas in various settings, while never losing sight of human beings: their complexity, the depth of their feelings, all their doubts and ambiguities. A mother tries to make her teenage girl realise that “taming her hair” may amount to rejecting where she came from. Fairy beings, humans and “half-breeds” mingle in Bordertown, but do they all really accept each other? Beings preying at each other, feeding on each other, going through phases of desire and guilt, of doubt and acceptance. Beings with both monstrous and loving sides, displaying alien features yet also deeply human ones, like the girl turning into a dragon, but whose deep desire remains, all in all, to be accepted by others... her own self included.
Here are the stories I liked best in this anthology:
“The Easthound”: a children-oriented vision of a post-apocalyptic future, where everybody turns into a monster when they reach puberty. A band of kids doing their best to survive, knowing all too well, though, that sooner or later they'll have to kill one of their own, lest it kills them first.
“Shift”: a retelling of “The Tempest”, with themes revolving around identity, underlying racism, unfulfillable desires, and relationships that may be doomed to fail as soon as they are born.
“Old Habits”: ghosts trapped in the mall where they died, forced to go through their own deaths again and again, pining at the smells they can't perceive anymore.
“A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog”: pretty creepy, in a fascinating way. A woman very well-versed in orchids has developed... interesting ways to find a partner.
“Blushing”: another retelling, this time of “Bluebeard”. We all know what the new bride is going to find in that room; how she will react, though, is always another matter.
“Ours Is The Prettiest”: I've never read any Bordertown stories, but I don't think the lack of background here would prevent someone from enjoying this stories. On a backdrop of enchantments, celebrations and impending danger, a woman is trying to help those around her... but is she right in doing so, or only making things worse?
“Message in a Bottle” was good, too, though I felt it lacked something—probably that something is “being turned into a novel”.
May 27, 2015
This is the first of Hopkinson's stories I have ever read, and it was an interesting experience. Reading was somewhat like being in a dream state, bizzarre and heavy with emotions. Some are creepy, others sad and yet uplifting too. The collection is one of unique tales told with a gifted tongue. I am certainly going to hunt down her other books. This is an uncorrected proof and yet I have to share her words. Here are several gorgeously written quotes, to tickle the senses.
"This is the other reason children creep me out. They don't yet grok that delicate, all-important boundary between the animate and inanimate. It's all one to them. Takes them a while to figure out that traveling from the land of the living to the land of the dead is a one-way trip."
"Ghost malls are sadder than living people malls, even though malls of the living are already pretty damn sad places." Couldn't have said it better!
"My heart suicides, the brief hallucinatory hope dashed."
Her writing had me laughing or aching. When she writes about the little boy scooping ants into his mouth, I thought it was the perfect image of the strange things children do, a little gross and creepy and yet sweetly childish. This book of stories is for anyone who enjoys strange, surreal writing that is also beautiful. Sometimes authors try too hard with their 'strange tales' adding any ridiculous thing where it begins to seem they've lost sense of storytelling and are just trying to throw too much at the reader in an attempt to be different. These odd tales flirt with reality and it flows. I prefer this type of writing when on the edge of the everyday. It blends and flows so while it's strange, it isn't outlandish and silly. Really liked this.
"This is the other reason children creep me out. They don't yet grok that delicate, all-important boundary between the animate and inanimate. It's all one to them. Takes them a while to figure out that traveling from the land of the living to the land of the dead is a one-way trip."
"Ghost malls are sadder than living people malls, even though malls of the living are already pretty damn sad places." Couldn't have said it better!
"My heart suicides, the brief hallucinatory hope dashed."
Her writing had me laughing or aching. When she writes about the little boy scooping ants into his mouth, I thought it was the perfect image of the strange things children do, a little gross and creepy and yet sweetly childish. This book of stories is for anyone who enjoys strange, surreal writing that is also beautiful. Sometimes authors try too hard with their 'strange tales' adding any ridiculous thing where it begins to seem they've lost sense of storytelling and are just trying to throw too much at the reader in an attempt to be different. These odd tales flirt with reality and it flows. I prefer this type of writing when on the edge of the everyday. It blends and flows so while it's strange, it isn't outlandish and silly. Really liked this.
November 13, 2015
My reactions to the stories in Falling in Love with Hominids were all over the map. Hopkinson is a Caribbean-Canadian speculative fiction writer with quite possibly the biggest imagination I’ve ever come across. Whether her stories work for you or not will depend on your ability to hang with the weirdness.
My favorite story, entitled “Emily Breakfast,” was an outwardly silly tale of a couple whose chicken goes missing one morning. Their three chickens are named Lunch, Dinner, and Emily Breakfast. (Because Emily the chicken already had a name when they got her, so they just tacked the “breakfast” part on the end. Obviously.) The distressed chicken owners are aided in the hunt for the missing chicken by their winged cat. Also, the chickens can breathe fire, and a neighbor owns what she calls a “scuttle” of messenger lizards. It’s an absolute delight from start to finish.
Other stories weren’t as big a hit with me. A couple were clearly for insiders, like the story taking place in a fictional world from a book series I haven’t read. Those I skimmed or skipped entirely, knowing I wasn’t the intended audience. Still, the good stories here are REALLY good. Hopkinson’s characters are refreshingly diverse—black, brown, straight, gay, male, female, teenaged, elderly—and they’re immediately knowable, despite whatever craziness might be happening around them. I don’t often get the feeling that an author had fun writing a book, but I just can’t imagine Hopkinson putting this stuff down on paper with anything but a playful smile on her face.
If you’ve ever seen an elephant’s skin up close and wanted to apply lotion to it, you and this book will probably get along famously.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
My favorite story, entitled “Emily Breakfast,” was an outwardly silly tale of a couple whose chicken goes missing one morning. Their three chickens are named Lunch, Dinner, and Emily Breakfast. (Because Emily the chicken already had a name when they got her, so they just tacked the “breakfast” part on the end. Obviously.) The distressed chicken owners are aided in the hunt for the missing chicken by their winged cat. Also, the chickens can breathe fire, and a neighbor owns what she calls a “scuttle” of messenger lizards. It’s an absolute delight from start to finish.
Other stories weren’t as big a hit with me. A couple were clearly for insiders, like the story taking place in a fictional world from a book series I haven’t read. Those I skimmed or skipped entirely, knowing I wasn’t the intended audience. Still, the good stories here are REALLY good. Hopkinson’s characters are refreshingly diverse—black, brown, straight, gay, male, female, teenaged, elderly—and they’re immediately knowable, despite whatever craziness might be happening around them. I don’t often get the feeling that an author had fun writing a book, but I just can’t imagine Hopkinson putting this stuff down on paper with anything but a playful smile on her face.
If you’ve ever seen an elephant’s skin up close and wanted to apply lotion to it, you and this book will probably get along famously.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
February 21, 2025
3 stars.
There were a few stories in this collection that I throughly enjoyed (Left Foot, Right, Herbal, and Men Sell Not Such in Any Town being the 3 that come to mind), but most of them were slightly off -the-mark for me.
Hopkinson’s writing has a stunning quality to it that at times had me re-reading passages, but I found that the overall arc of the stories left me feeling unmoored. I would be confused for over half of the page count at times and in a short story collection, that had a profound effect on my reading experience.
I do, however, love the unfamiliar (to me) folktales used as the basis for many of these stories so I would love to try a longer work by Hopkinson. Give myself more time to sink into her premise and see where that takes me.
There were a few stories in this collection that I throughly enjoyed (Left Foot, Right, Herbal, and Men Sell Not Such in Any Town being the 3 that come to mind), but most of them were slightly off -the-mark for me.
Hopkinson’s writing has a stunning quality to it that at times had me re-reading passages, but I found that the overall arc of the stories left me feeling unmoored. I would be confused for over half of the page count at times and in a short story collection, that had a profound effect on my reading experience.
I do, however, love the unfamiliar (to me) folktales used as the basis for many of these stories so I would love to try a longer work by Hopkinson. Give myself more time to sink into her premise and see where that takes me.
April 13, 2023
3.5 — for some reason, this is where almost all of Hopkinson’s works that I’ve read tend to sit. I really enjoyed her intros/contextualizations and little craft notes for each of these stories, though.
November 16, 2015
Nalo Hopkinson covers so much ground in this short story collection that perhaps it's easier to list what she doesn't accomplish in these tales:
1) Reinforce stereotypes of how the protagonist of a fantasy story should look/act/dress.
2) Sugar-coat the fact that painful and unjust things can happen.
3) Make anyone feel powerless over point #2.
In the preface of the book, Hopkinson talks about how these stories grew out of a change in perspective that she'd experienced, from a teen pessimistic about the seemingly incurable injustices that she'd witnessed, to a woman doing her part to help solve these problems. The efforts of herself and others helped her to feel more positive about humanity's prospects, in spite of all the pain that she remained aware of. The business of doing good can be a complicated, difficult thing. Nobody is expected to carry it out perfectly, but nor is anyone exempt from having to try - and this is an idea that the characters here grapple with, each in a unique way.
Hopkinson is a master of dropping clues that at first seem innocuous, but which unmistakably reach a critical mass, at which point the reader just knows that something's up - and it's only a question of how dangerous that something is going to become. And you never know the answer ahead of time, because Hopkinson's imagination is boundless and unencumbered by distinctions between sub-genres. Ghosts? Nature spirits? Time-traveling museum curators? Or post-apocalyptic horrors? Whatever your preference, this book has a story for you. If you enjoy the likes of Neil Gaiman's work - fantasy percolating through reality in mysterious ways, often dark but never fully devoid of light - this book might be up your alley.
To list just a few favorites:
Message in a Bottle. The never-ending question of what each generation will cherish about the past - or alternatively, the question of how far a child will go in trying to manipulate an adult. This story may be criticized for the sci-fi premise being unconvincing. But for me, that's the beauty of it.
The Smile on the Face. A teenage girl, struggling to accept herself, goes to a party where not everyone wishes her well. The consequences are stunning. And can I say how refreshing it is to read about two women of different shapes who learn to appreciate each other as well as themselves? Additionally, I love Hopkinson's ability to create non-human characters.
Emily Breakfast. It gets off to a sweet start, but given the grisly nature of several of the other stories here, I raced through it in a panic, knowing that something horrible might rear its head at any moment.
A Young Candy Daughter. Hopkinson sums it up best: I'm not the only person who's ever asked the question, "What if God was one of us?" But maybe "us" looks a little different from my side of the sandbox.
As with most collections, there are some stories that struck me as rough spots that aren't at the same level as the ones above. But even in these cases, I still admire the ideas behind them.
I loved the little introductions that Hopkinson gives before each piece, which hint at the origins of the story. She seems like the kind of person whose imagination can latch on to any image or word or sound, growing it from a seemingly mundane seed into a spectacularly blossoming vision of what a different reality could be like.
[ARC received in exchange for an honest review.]
[Read Harder Challenge: a book about a character from an indigenous culture. For "Message in a Bottle".]
1) Reinforce stereotypes of how the protagonist of a fantasy story should look/act/dress.
2) Sugar-coat the fact that painful and unjust things can happen.
3) Make anyone feel powerless over point #2.
In the preface of the book, Hopkinson talks about how these stories grew out of a change in perspective that she'd experienced, from a teen pessimistic about the seemingly incurable injustices that she'd witnessed, to a woman doing her part to help solve these problems. The efforts of herself and others helped her to feel more positive about humanity's prospects, in spite of all the pain that she remained aware of. The business of doing good can be a complicated, difficult thing. Nobody is expected to carry it out perfectly, but nor is anyone exempt from having to try - and this is an idea that the characters here grapple with, each in a unique way.
Hopkinson is a master of dropping clues that at first seem innocuous, but which unmistakably reach a critical mass, at which point the reader just knows that something's up - and it's only a question of how dangerous that something is going to become. And you never know the answer ahead of time, because Hopkinson's imagination is boundless and unencumbered by distinctions between sub-genres. Ghosts? Nature spirits? Time-traveling museum curators? Or post-apocalyptic horrors? Whatever your preference, this book has a story for you. If you enjoy the likes of Neil Gaiman's work - fantasy percolating through reality in mysterious ways, often dark but never fully devoid of light - this book might be up your alley.
To list just a few favorites:
Message in a Bottle. The never-ending question of what each generation will cherish about the past - or alternatively, the question of how far a child will go in trying to manipulate an adult. This story may be criticized for the sci-fi premise being unconvincing. But for me, that's the beauty of it.
The Smile on the Face. A teenage girl, struggling to accept herself, goes to a party where not everyone wishes her well. The consequences are stunning. And can I say how refreshing it is to read about two women of different shapes who learn to appreciate each other as well as themselves? Additionally, I love Hopkinson's ability to create non-human characters.
Emily Breakfast. It gets off to a sweet start, but given the grisly nature of several of the other stories here, I raced through it in a panic, knowing that something horrible might rear its head at any moment.
A Young Candy Daughter. Hopkinson sums it up best: I'm not the only person who's ever asked the question, "What if God was one of us?" But maybe "us" looks a little different from my side of the sandbox.
As with most collections, there are some stories that struck me as rough spots that aren't at the same level as the ones above. But even in these cases, I still admire the ideas behind them.
I loved the little introductions that Hopkinson gives before each piece, which hint at the origins of the story. She seems like the kind of person whose imagination can latch on to any image or word or sound, growing it from a seemingly mundane seed into a spectacularly blossoming vision of what a different reality could be like.
[ARC received in exchange for an honest review.]
[Read Harder Challenge: a book about a character from an indigenous culture. For "Message in a Bottle".]
August 16, 2015
This collection of stories has been my introduction to Nalo Hopkinson. I have read a few other stories in anthologies, but I’ve never settled down with one of her novels., although I have the best intentions of doing so.
Especially after having read Falling in Love with Hominids, which is a pleasure from beginning to end. All of what I have thought of as Hopkinson’s major themes are here: race, gender, feminism and the folklore of her Caribbean heritage. (Unless you are really up on your Caribbean folklore, expect to do some serious googling with a few of these stories. I learned the Jamaican slang term for off-brand sneakers among other things.)
Hopkinson writes a short introduction for each story. In one of these she remembers her response to a student worried about tactics for suspending the reader’s disbelief. Hopkinson’s advice was, “…never give them time to disbelieve.”
I think that must work, because looking over the notes I jotted down in an attempt to remember these eighteen stories, I find descriptions that sound much weirder than the stories as I experienced them
Delicious Monster – son visits father now living with gay lover. Why is Vishnu to leave with Garuda during solar eclipse?
The Smile on the Face – St. Margaret of Antioch. Google her. Do kids still play post office?
Raggy Dog Shaggy Dog – ruthless orchid pollination
Message in a Bottle – kids with big heads travelers from our future. All species make art.
Emily Breakfast – lazy Saturday morning for gay couple. A stolen chicken. Cats can fly. Chickens breathe fire. Lizard messenger service.
Old Habits – why would one shopping mall have such a high mortality rate?
So she doesn’t give the reader time to think about all the strangeness because it surrounds you from the first sentence. Or it could also sneak up on you.
Hopkinson has contributed to the Bordertown Project, a shared world anthology begun by Terry Windling. Bordertown exists on the edge where the mundane world meets the a world of magic. That actually sounds terrible to me, but “Ours is the Prettiest,” Hopkins contribution included here, navigates the terrain with grace and humor. And her description of how her protagonist made the transition to Bordertown could describe the process she puts her readers through in her own ficition.
Hopkinson brings the border to us.
(This review is based on an advanced ebook from Net Galley)
Especially after having read Falling in Love with Hominids, which is a pleasure from beginning to end. All of what I have thought of as Hopkinson’s major themes are here: race, gender, feminism and the folklore of her Caribbean heritage. (Unless you are really up on your Caribbean folklore, expect to do some serious googling with a few of these stories. I learned the Jamaican slang term for off-brand sneakers among other things.)
Hopkinson writes a short introduction for each story. In one of these she remembers her response to a student worried about tactics for suspending the reader’s disbelief. Hopkinson’s advice was, “…never give them time to disbelieve.”
I think that must work, because looking over the notes I jotted down in an attempt to remember these eighteen stories, I find descriptions that sound much weirder than the stories as I experienced them
Delicious Monster – son visits father now living with gay lover. Why is Vishnu to leave with Garuda during solar eclipse?
The Smile on the Face – St. Margaret of Antioch. Google her. Do kids still play post office?
Raggy Dog Shaggy Dog – ruthless orchid pollination
Message in a Bottle – kids with big heads travelers from our future. All species make art.
Emily Breakfast – lazy Saturday morning for gay couple. A stolen chicken. Cats can fly. Chickens breathe fire. Lizard messenger service.
Old Habits – why would one shopping mall have such a high mortality rate?
So she doesn’t give the reader time to think about all the strangeness because it surrounds you from the first sentence. Or it could also sneak up on you.
Hopkinson has contributed to the Bordertown Project, a shared world anthology begun by Terry Windling. Bordertown exists on the edge where the mundane world meets the a world of magic. That actually sounds terrible to me, but “Ours is the Prettiest,” Hopkins contribution included here, navigates the terrain with grace and humor. And her description of how her protagonist made the transition to Bordertown could describe the process she puts her readers through in her own ficition.
The Change happened slowly…At some point it crossed my mind that the flashily overlit Honest Ed’s Discount Emporium seemed to have seamlessly metamorphosed into a store called Snappin’ Wizard’s Surplus and Salvage…but they were always bulldozing the old to replace it with something else…By the time I had to accept that I was no longer in Toronto and those weren’t just tall, skinny white people with dye jobs and contact lenses, it didn’t seem so remarkable. People changed and grew apart. As you aged, your body altered and became a stranger to you, and one day you woke up and realized that you were in a different country. It was just life. I hadn’t needed to travel to the Border; it’d come to me.
Hopkinson brings the border to us.
(This review is based on an advanced ebook from Net Galley)
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February 18, 2016
Read more reviews @ The BiblioSanctum
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this comic was provided to me by Tachyon Publications via Netgalley. I would like to thank the publisher for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
This is my second trip with Nalo Hopkinson. Last year, I read her novel Brown Girl in the Ring. I thought it was a magical book, but it took me a while to warm up to the main character. I enjoyed the book enough to know that I'd eventually get around to reading more of her work. Falling in Love with Hominids seemed to be the perfect book for that since it features short stories written by her, and I knew that meant I'd get a range of what she's capable of as a writer. It houses speculative stories from serious to comedic, featuring such things as dryads and fire-breathing chickens (because they're part dragon, duh!).
This review is going to be short and to the point, which is highly unusual for me, because I don't want to spoil too many of the stories for potential readers.
There were a few stories in this book that left me thinking about them long after I'd read them, such as The Easthound, which reminded me of The Country of Ice Cream Star, but with a more sinister twist on what's happening to the adults. Many of the stories, though, built up an anticipation in me that left me feeling slightly deflated once I got to the end and they didn't deliver the punch I was expecting. With some of these stories, I enjoyed the idea of them more than I did the execution of them. I can really only thing of one story that I disliked out of the whole bunch (Blushing). I think Hopkinson has some great ideas, and I enjoy how she plays around with culture, myths, humor, and legends in her stories. However, I just seem to have a hard time connecting completely to her writing.
Despite that, I would recommend this for someone who wants to get a taste of Hopkinson's work. She has a little bit of everything here for fans of speculative fiction. She's a terrific writer, and my lack of connection to her work doesn't reflect on her as writer. There are some authors who you just can't make yourself love no matter how much you try. I won't let this stop me from reading her other books, though. I like her books. I'm right on the line with her where one book could make all the difference between love and like.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this comic was provided to me by Tachyon Publications via Netgalley. I would like to thank the publisher for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
This is my second trip with Nalo Hopkinson. Last year, I read her novel Brown Girl in the Ring. I thought it was a magical book, but it took me a while to warm up to the main character. I enjoyed the book enough to know that I'd eventually get around to reading more of her work. Falling in Love with Hominids seemed to be the perfect book for that since it features short stories written by her, and I knew that meant I'd get a range of what she's capable of as a writer. It houses speculative stories from serious to comedic, featuring such things as dryads and fire-breathing chickens (because they're part dragon, duh!).
This review is going to be short and to the point, which is highly unusual for me, because I don't want to spoil too many of the stories for potential readers.
There were a few stories in this book that left me thinking about them long after I'd read them, such as The Easthound, which reminded me of The Country of Ice Cream Star, but with a more sinister twist on what's happening to the adults. Many of the stories, though, built up an anticipation in me that left me feeling slightly deflated once I got to the end and they didn't deliver the punch I was expecting. With some of these stories, I enjoyed the idea of them more than I did the execution of them. I can really only thing of one story that I disliked out of the whole bunch (Blushing). I think Hopkinson has some great ideas, and I enjoy how she plays around with culture, myths, humor, and legends in her stories. However, I just seem to have a hard time connecting completely to her writing.
Despite that, I would recommend this for someone who wants to get a taste of Hopkinson's work. She has a little bit of everything here for fans of speculative fiction. She's a terrific writer, and my lack of connection to her work doesn't reflect on her as writer. There are some authors who you just can't make yourself love no matter how much you try. I won't let this stop me from reading her other books, though. I like her books. I'm right on the line with her where one book could make all the difference between love and like.
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