Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley ( ) or is it?Ī fantastic collection that any speculative fiction fan should read. 'Blushing' is the familiar tale of Bluebeard. 'Flying Lessons' broke my heart once I understood it. 'A Raggy Dog, a Shaggy Dog' is about how hard it is to find love. 'Old Habits' takes a peek at the lives of ghosts. 'Left Foot, Right' is about loss, redemption, and survival. 'The Smile on the Face' is the story of the power of mythology and the power of womanhood. 'Message in a Bottle' explores what exactly is art. The collection starts off with a bang with 'The Easthound,' a story of a group of children just trying to survive in a world where growing up means becoming a monster. In short, she writes what speculative fiction should be at its best. She makes the reader check his or her assumptions on humanity, on sexuality, on race, and on reality. Hopkinson tells stories where the magical is ordinary stories that show the best and the worst of human nature stories that are uplifting, horrifying, or sad in turn. So I was very pleased that I fell into this collection and if not out-right loved every story, at least liked them all.Īs with any short story collection, there are some gems that shine brighter than others. I'm not normally a giant fan of short stories, preferring longer works as a way to really get into a story. Nalo Hopkinson has been on my radar as an author I need to read for awhile but I hadn't, so as soon as I saw this title, I knew I had to request it.

Falling in love with hominids