FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS delivers a treasure trove of short gems
A quartet of reviews for Nalo Hopkinson’s diverse collection FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS.
From RT BOOK REVIEWS:
There is something especially exhilarating about Hopkinson’s short stories. Her voice is fluid and always adds to the type of story she is telling, bringing to mind writers like Ray Bradbury (“The Easthound”) or Toni Morrison (“A Young Candy Daughter”). Her Caribbean heritage is reflected beautifully in the prose, and each story is entirely distinctive. She prefaces each one with a dedication or tidbit about how or why that story was written, adding extra depth. If you haven’t read any of her other works, you will be scrambling to after you read FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS. It’s a treasure trove of short gems by an immensely popular and talented writer.
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.
This is my first opportunity to read Hopkinson’s fiction, and I have to say that I’m a fan. It seems to occupy a space that’s part SF, part fantasy. I’d recommend this to fans of Jeff Vandermeer, for example. Extremely well written pieces that seem to slide around and hit the sweet spot.
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.
For more information on FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Chuma Hill
Design by Elizabeth Story