Falling In Love With Hominids, Nalo Hopkinson
This is another collection of short stories by an author of color, like Spirits Abroad, and it is also awesome, but that is where the similarities end, because Nalo Hopkinson is a very different kind of author. Zen Cho is exploring the spirit world and how that interacts with the human world; Hopkinson is exploring what it means to be human in the first place.
Part of what I like about Falling In Love with Hominids is that it's so very diverse. I don't think there's a single white protagonist (which is fine with me, not that Nalo Hopkinson needs my permission; there's more than enough white protagonists to go around), and several of the protagonists are casually queer. There's even a casual BDSM relationship in Emily Breakfast (well, the mention of it is casual, the relationship itself is quite serious and long-term). It's really nice and it's really beautiful and it's really, really human.
Hmm, specific stories. The aforementioned Emily Breakfast is fabulous, about cats and chickens and the talents of both. Shift is a take on The Tempest that is just absolutely wonderful, particularly I think for POC (though, again, I'm white, I wouldn't necessarily know, do NOT take my word for it). Ours Is The Prettiest is a Borderlands story, though you don't need any Borderlands knowledge, that meditates on humanity, liminal spaces, and liminal people/species. Soul Case is short and heartbreaking, about what you have to trade for safety. Left Foot, Right is a take on Cinderella that prioritizes the sisters and their relationship. Men Sell Not Such In Any Town, which made me pick up Hopkinson's novel Sister Mine. And Blushing, which you should read if you're my girlfriend, is a fabulous take on Bluebeard that you just... just read it. I can't say why it's so amazing unless you read it.
Having named half the stories in the book, I think I'd better stop before I go on about all of them, but the entire book is wonderful. Definitely give it a shot. A+
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/382843.html. Please comment over there if possible.
Part of what I like about Falling In Love with Hominids is that it's so very diverse. I don't think there's a single white protagonist (which is fine with me, not that Nalo Hopkinson needs my permission; there's more than enough white protagonists to go around), and several of the protagonists are casually queer. There's even a casual BDSM relationship in Emily Breakfast (well, the mention of it is casual, the relationship itself is quite serious and long-term). It's really nice and it's really beautiful and it's really, really human.
Hmm, specific stories. The aforementioned Emily Breakfast is fabulous, about cats and chickens and the talents of both. Shift is a take on The Tempest that is just absolutely wonderful, particularly I think for POC (though, again, I'm white, I wouldn't necessarily know, do NOT take my word for it). Ours Is The Prettiest is a Borderlands story, though you don't need any Borderlands knowledge, that meditates on humanity, liminal spaces, and liminal people/species. Soul Case is short and heartbreaking, about what you have to trade for safety. Left Foot, Right is a take on Cinderella that prioritizes the sisters and their relationship. Men Sell Not Such In Any Town, which made me pick up Hopkinson's novel Sister Mine. And Blushing, which you should read if you're my girlfriend, is a fabulous take on Bluebeard that you just... just read it. I can't say why it's so amazing unless you read it.
Having named half the stories in the book, I think I'd better stop before I go on about all of them, but the entire book is wonderful. Definitely give it a shot. A+
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/382843.html. Please comment over there if possible.