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Skin Folk
A new collection of short stories from Hopkinson, including "Greedy Choke Puppy," which Africana.com called "a cleverly crafted West Indian story featuring the appearance of both the soucouyant (vampire) & lagahoo (werewolf)," "Ganger (Ball Lightning)," praised by the Washington Post Book World as written in "prose [that] is vivid & immediate," this collection reveals Hopkinson's breadth & accomplishments as a storyteller.
255 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
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7,400 people want to read
About the author
Nalo Hopkinson
142books1,989followersNalo 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
January 24, 2023
Perhaps the only thing worse than fear is apathy. Fear makes us do horrible things to people. Apathy makes us allow horrible things to happen to them. When we act in fear, or when we don't act out of empathy, that is when we become the monster.
Oh my god this was brilliant. This short story collection is sci-fi fantasy and has so much to say about gender, and the Gaze, and Nalo Hopkinson's writing is honest to god so good.
I think Hopkinson sums up this collection quite well :
As a young reader, mimetic fiction (fiction that mimics reality) left me feeling unsatisfied. The general message that I got from it was "life sucks, sometimes it's not too bad, but mostly people are mean to each other, then they die." But, rightly or wrongly, I felt as though I'd already figured that out. I felt that I didn't need to read fiction in order to experience it.
It's a use of fantasy elements as something often horrifying, scary, yes, but something that leads to truth, catharsis, release.
Some quotes in this book that made me go absolutely wild:
Do you like people making you be not real?
The only time we seem to reach each other now is through our skins. So I bought something to make our skins feel more, and it’s still not enough.
I also want to mention before starting these reviews, that I essentially enjoyed every story here: a lot of my four-stars probably could’ve been five stars in any other collection; I just felt weird rating almost every story a five, so I was pickier than I usually would’ve been. My ratings came down to personal taste - I think every single story in this book is worth reading.
➽Riding the Red ★★★★�
About a grandmother, a wolf, the question of which is which, and a repeated story, revolving around each year. A haunting introduction.
➽The Money Tree ★★★★�
About a sister, a brother, a golden table, a river, and the valuation of human life. This was a cool class discussion.
➽Something to Hitch Meat To ★★★★�
A story about reality and the colonial gaze. This was one of my favorites.
➽Snake ★★★★�
A story about justice. This was a lot. The ending is so good. TW for
➽Under Glass ★★★☆�
A story about a glass wind. One of the most gorgeously written pieces. I don’t think I really got the message of this.
➽The Glass Bottle Trick ★★★★�
A story about womanhood and the power of ghosts and yes, reminded me a lot of Snake. I know what this was inspired by but I don’t want to say because it’s such a cool takeoff you should experience it. TW,
➽Slow Cold Chick ★★★★�
A story about a giant bird, queerness, and the voicing of desire. This is so good, one of my absolute favorites.
➽Fisherman ★★★★�
A story about gender. This is honestly like, 70% porn. The only one with no fantasy elements, but still feels suited to being here?
➽Tan-Tan and Dry Bone ★★★☆�
A fairy tale-style story set in the world of Midnight Robber. Love Tan-Tan. I don’t think I got this.
➽Greedy Choke Puppy ★★★★�
A story about greed, vampirism, and the reality of folklore. Very creepy. Relies about 75% on a twist that I saw coming.
➽A Habit of Waste ★★★★�
A story about skin liminality, the rejection of the body due to racism and the gaze, and realizing your body can still be correct. I liked this one a lot.
➽And the Lillies-Them A-Blow ★★★★�
A very haunting story about hearing the song of bones, and about different kinds of death.
➽Whose Upward Flight I Love
One page long story about trees. I'm not rating this until a time when I read more flash fiction and attempt to understand it, as a genre.
➽Ganger (Ball Lightning) ★★★★�
A story about a futuristic sex toy and submitting to the mortifying ordeal of being known. The gender of it all. This is also like, 70% porn. However, the ending slaps so hard.
➽Precious ★★★★�
A story about being loved vs. being owned. This was one of my favorites in the book and an absolutely perfect ending.
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June 30, 2017
I think a short story collection can sometimes be a great introduction to an intriguing author. This was my first Hopkinson book. She is fascinating and a bit "freaky" (freaky as in weird and as in Rick James "Super Freak"). This was a book of short stories ranging from Caribbean folklore, to horror to science fiction. Her stories are sensuous, seductive and yeah a bit salacious as well. She is a gifted storyteller with a command of language many people would appreciate.
The selection did contain a few stories that I did not like or worse, but on the whole this was an enjoyable read. One theme in several stories was that no good deed goes unpunished until the characters acknowledge their inherent value. A bit of subversive empowerment if you ask me. There is definitely more Hopkinson in my future.
4 Stars
Edited to add: Read the dead tree version from my personal library
The selection did contain a few stories that I did not like or worse, but on the whole this was an enjoyable read. One theme in several stories was that no good deed goes unpunished until the characters acknowledge their inherent value. A bit of subversive empowerment if you ask me. There is definitely more Hopkinson in my future.
4 Stars
Edited to add: Read the dead tree version from my personal library
July 11, 2019
Nalo Hopkinson writes with an invigorating imagination, and an impressive breadth of subject matter and approach. These stories alternate between whimsy, horror, eroticism, and modern interpretations of Caribbean folklore. Not every story lands as well as the best of them, but the best of them are wonderful.
March 7, 2015
What an amazing collection of speculative short stories!
I almost loved this as much as Octavia Butler's collection Bloodchild, which is the best sf/fantasy short story collection ever, in my opinion.
Full review to come on Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.
Here's the review!
I’ve really been spoilt by fantastic short story collections this summer, and Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson is no exception. When I say fantastic, I mean it in more than one sense: these stories are remarkable, especially wrapped as they are in Hopkinson’s slim but lively prose, but they’re also fantastical: some fairy tales, some fantasy, and some science fiction. If you enjoy language that’s beautiful but gets to the point and surreal but sounds like real people (“crinkling her face like running a fork through molasses�)—you need to pick up Skin Folk. In particular, this book’s diverse settings and characters allow Hopkinson to show off her remarkable command of different dialects. Skin Folk is certainly one of the best collections of fantastic short fiction I’ve ever read, on par with Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild and Other Stories (but happily, with more sex); in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s one of the best collections of short fiction period that I’ve ever read....
See the whole review here:
I almost loved this as much as Octavia Butler's collection Bloodchild, which is the best sf/fantasy short story collection ever, in my opinion.
Full review to come on Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.
Here's the review!
I’ve really been spoilt by fantastic short story collections this summer, and Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson is no exception. When I say fantastic, I mean it in more than one sense: these stories are remarkable, especially wrapped as they are in Hopkinson’s slim but lively prose, but they’re also fantastical: some fairy tales, some fantasy, and some science fiction. If you enjoy language that’s beautiful but gets to the point and surreal but sounds like real people (“crinkling her face like running a fork through molasses�)—you need to pick up Skin Folk. In particular, this book’s diverse settings and characters allow Hopkinson to show off her remarkable command of different dialects. Skin Folk is certainly one of the best collections of fantastic short fiction I’ve ever read, on par with Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild and Other Stories (but happily, with more sex); in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s one of the best collections of short fiction period that I’ve ever read....
See the whole review here:
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August 14, 2018My review is now online on Tor.com:
Source of the book: Bought with my own money (Library book sale)
Source of the book: Bought with my own money (Library book sale)
August 27, 2018
"Skin Folk",is an anthology of fifteen short stories based on Caribbean myth,culture ,tradition and folklore .Some of the stories are fabulist ,some have magical realism blended in ,some are based on folklore and some are pure science fiction.I will say that this is the best short story collection I have read this year and I am very happy to have discovered Nalo Hopkinson 😀.
The writing is vivid,intense ,rich and creative . The reader can literally breath these stories.There were actually one or two moments when I caught my breath and found it difficult to continue reading .Sample this -"Beatrice watched the red lumps of flesh part under the knife .Crimson liquid leaked into the cutting board ".After reading ,"Under the glass",I swear I can never look at glass the same way again and I actually felt glass spiking me all over.Her writing is that good.❤️❤️
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
What I love most about her writing is that she discusses topics like race,bisexuality,queerness ,cruelty and love courageously with no holds barred in all her stories .All the stories are truly feminist and talks about women in particular. Our fear of growing old,our fear of never being loved properly,our fear of always being taken for granted,the unhealthy relationship most of us have with food (a little extra will make us put in weight😅),our quality of always finding faults with how we look and the repressed sexuality and the danger it holds.All the women in her stories are set free at the end by their individual spirits and the desire to find their own happiness ..
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
However,the tricky part is this. I will not recommend Nalo Hopkinson for everyone.If you are a feminist and you are really comfortable with open discussions on female sexuality and LGBTQ literature ,please do not MISS this wonderful writer.I ,for one have already included her "Salt Roads " ,on my TBR this year.
The writing is vivid,intense ,rich and creative . The reader can literally breath these stories.There were actually one or two moments when I caught my breath and found it difficult to continue reading .Sample this -"Beatrice watched the red lumps of flesh part under the knife .Crimson liquid leaked into the cutting board ".After reading ,"Under the glass",I swear I can never look at glass the same way again and I actually felt glass spiking me all over.Her writing is that good.❤️❤️
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
What I love most about her writing is that she discusses topics like race,bisexuality,queerness ,cruelty and love courageously with no holds barred in all her stories .All the stories are truly feminist and talks about women in particular. Our fear of growing old,our fear of never being loved properly,our fear of always being taken for granted,the unhealthy relationship most of us have with food (a little extra will make us put in weight😅),our quality of always finding faults with how we look and the repressed sexuality and the danger it holds.All the women in her stories are set free at the end by their individual spirits and the desire to find their own happiness ..
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
However,the tricky part is this. I will not recommend Nalo Hopkinson for everyone.If you are a feminist and you are really comfortable with open discussions on female sexuality and LGBTQ literature ,please do not MISS this wonderful writer.I ,for one have already included her "Salt Roads " ,on my TBR this year.
May 28, 2018
While I didn't like all of the stories here, this collection gave me a good sense of Nalo Hopkinson's earlier writing style, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to read her work! Her work ranges from speculative fiction to almost regular fiction, with generous doses of Caribbean folklore, some Canadian flavour, and some somewhat explicit sex. A few of the stories made me uncomfortable, but these left me thinking:
-Snake
-The Glass Bottle Trick
-Slow Cold Chick
-A Habit of Waste
-Fisherman
-Tan-Tan and Dry Bone
-Greedy Choke Puppy
-Precious
-Snake
-The Glass Bottle Trick
-Slow Cold Chick
-A Habit of Waste
-Fisherman
-Tan-Tan and Dry Bone
-Greedy Choke Puppy
-Precious
December 12, 2015
Part of fantasy's appeal is that it takes you some place unfamiliar. Yet Ursula Le Guin has rightly criticized the bias of much fantasy literature to assume that characters ought to be white and the world ought to look like medieval Europe. Even contemporary fantasy reverts to the European fairy tale model so often that, while Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimms are awesome, I find myself craving something different. So browsing through my library's eBook collection, when the words "Caribbean folklore" caught my eye, I checked out Skin Folk and discovered a skilled & intelligent writer in Nalo Hopkinson.
Like most collections, there are high points and low points, but Hopkinson's writing and imagination are unique and do something I rarely expect from folk tales, with their tried-and-true tropes and near-universal patterns: these stories surprised me. Like, if the Snow Queen took place inside an Etch-a-Sketch. Or orgasm-heightening sex suits became sentient. Or a cockatrice grew out of a fertilized chicken egg and ate the sleazy guy next door. That's the kind of story Hopkinson thinks of and works out.
In some cases, yes, the stories are reworkings of European stories or concepts: Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, the aforementioned Snow Queen and cockatrice. Awesome reworkings and thoroughly unique, though. I'd never, for one, thought about what Red Riding Hood was like for Grandma. In other stories, Caribbean and African figures dominate (fan favorite Anansi makes two appearances), and there are still other stories that are straight-up, near-future sci-fi, like those sentient sex suits. Themes of gender, race, and colonialism loom large here. Female characters are struggling to get along and assert themselves in a patriarchal world; dark-skinned characters deal both with the stereotypes others put on them and with internalized racism--not always successfully. A few of the tales are told in Caribbean dialect, which I know will annoy some readers, but they should probably get over themselves and deal.
The author has lived in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Canada (and a slew of other places I can't recall), which may account for her ability to evoke very different settings and characters who more or less fit into them. Most of the protagonists are misfits and outsiders in some way. There is a lot of the bizarre, the violent, and some explicit sex here. Hopkinson also plays with story structure, switching POV, jumping forward and backward in time, and never quite ending the story where I'd expect the resolution. I'm sure I'll be picking up one of her novels in the future, to see how she handles a sustained narrative. I'll also check out the sci-fi anthology, So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future, which she co-edited.
Like most collections, there are high points and low points, but Hopkinson's writing and imagination are unique and do something I rarely expect from folk tales, with their tried-and-true tropes and near-universal patterns: these stories surprised me. Like, if the Snow Queen took place inside an Etch-a-Sketch. Or orgasm-heightening sex suits became sentient. Or a cockatrice grew out of a fertilized chicken egg and ate the sleazy guy next door. That's the kind of story Hopkinson thinks of and works out.
In some cases, yes, the stories are reworkings of European stories or concepts: Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, the aforementioned Snow Queen and cockatrice. Awesome reworkings and thoroughly unique, though. I'd never, for one, thought about what Red Riding Hood was like for Grandma. In other stories, Caribbean and African figures dominate (fan favorite Anansi makes two appearances), and there are still other stories that are straight-up, near-future sci-fi, like those sentient sex suits. Themes of gender, race, and colonialism loom large here. Female characters are struggling to get along and assert themselves in a patriarchal world; dark-skinned characters deal both with the stereotypes others put on them and with internalized racism--not always successfully. A few of the tales are told in Caribbean dialect, which I know will annoy some readers, but they should probably get over themselves and deal.
The author has lived in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Canada (and a slew of other places I can't recall), which may account for her ability to evoke very different settings and characters who more or less fit into them. Most of the protagonists are misfits and outsiders in some way. There is a lot of the bizarre, the violent, and some explicit sex here. Hopkinson also plays with story structure, switching POV, jumping forward and backward in time, and never quite ending the story where I'd expect the resolution. I'm sure I'll be picking up one of her novels in the future, to see how she handles a sustained narrative. I'll also check out the sci-fi anthology, So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future, which she co-edited.
January 3, 2019
This is an amazing collection. Nalo Hopkinson writes in gorgeous, vivid prose that manages to bring all of her characters and settings to life in only a few pages. My favorite story was "Fisherman," which non-coincidentally was also the queerest story of the collection.
Themes of skin, identity, and appearance play a major role in many of these stories, although the book spans a wide range of ideas and moods - creepy, erotic, hopeful, tragic. There are a number of beautifully ambiguous endings and stories that manage to capture multiple moods at once. Another significant uniting thread is around storytelling and legends (interestingly, this thread also runs through another Canadian book I finished today).
Themes of skin, identity, and appearance play a major role in many of these stories, although the book spans a wide range of ideas and moods - creepy, erotic, hopeful, tragic. There are a number of beautifully ambiguous endings and stories that manage to capture multiple moods at once. Another significant uniting thread is around storytelling and legends (interestingly, this thread also runs through another Canadian book I finished today).
August 29, 2019
It's hard for me to say whether the stories in this collection improved as I went along, or whether it just took me a while to grow used to the rhythms of Hopkinson's prose. The first five stories didn't do much for me; I found "Riding the Red" difficult to follow, "Money Tree" too obvious, "Something to Hitch Meat To" rambling, "Snake" cliched, and "Under Glass" too high-concept. But then, suddenly, things started to click. "Slow Cold Chick" and "Chase" both tell a story I've heard before, but with unusual imagination and verve; "Greedy Choke Puppy" satisfyingly mixes sweet and brutal, "Whose Upward Flight I Love" was charming. If I hadn't looked at the copyright page, I'd conclude this was a case of Hopkinson growing as a writer, but all of these stories were written in a fairly narrow span of time. Regardless, I'm glad I powered through the openers and made it to the meat.
January 10, 2020
This is a collection of fairy tale and folklore re-tellings in a modern form. True to the title the stories deal with characters who try to shed their skins or have to get accustomed to their skins in a metaphorical sense. The contributions range from subtle to explicitly sexual, from horror to SF (in small amounts). Each story is told in a daringly blunt voice, each character is down-to-earth and authentic (even the mystical ones). Nalo Hopkinson's writing style is one I dearly love, freed from prudery or embarrassingly flowery euphemisms when it comes to erotic passages.
Not all stories hit the mark with me, some were quite uncomfortable to read (but not the worse for that � I was just glad that I didn't eat while I was reading them), but most of them had a satisfying take on the respective topic.
My two favourites were "Under Glass", with its beautiful prose and a refreshingly new take on one of H.C. Andersen's famous fairy tales, and "A Habit of Waste", which excelled with its melancholic and thoughtful topic.
A wonderful collection.
Not all stories hit the mark with me, some were quite uncomfortable to read (but not the worse for that � I was just glad that I didn't eat while I was reading them), but most of them had a satisfying take on the respective topic.
My two favourites were "Under Glass", with its beautiful prose and a refreshingly new take on one of H.C. Andersen's famous fairy tales, and "A Habit of Waste", which excelled with its melancholic and thoughtful topic.
A wonderful collection.
January 19, 2022
Збірка розповідей, присмачених карибським фольклором, мовою і персонаж_ками.
Розповіді досить різні за жанром - тут є перекази казок, манія, вписана у сучасний світ, трохи фантастичних елементів.
Загалом це був досить незвичайний читацький досвід (у хорошому сенсі), і я спробую систематизувати те,що мені сподобалося:
По-перше, незнайома культура і міфологія (власне, припускаю, що через незнайомість я не прочитала ці тексти так глибоко, як могла б, і тепер хочеться більш системно познайомитися з цим світом)
По-друге, карибська англійська - деякі розповіді написані нею, і це дуже цікаво і гхм автентично? читається. По-третє, кілька розповідей (насамперед Fisherman) дуже квірні, мені прямо сподобалося.
По-четверте, тут дуже незахідна тілесність, колір шкіри та форми, що відрізняються від пропонованих маскульутрою білих худих манекенів, нормалізація цих неманекенних тіл - такого треба більше.
По-п'яте, теми сексизму і расизму, жіночого досвіду, проблематизовані дуже не в лоб, а граційно і тонко.
Інколи читання було повільним, воно не затягує і не тримає тебе в полоні до ранку, поки не закінчиш, але попри це я точно можу порадити цю книжку.
Розповіді досить різні за жанром - тут є перекази казок, манія, вписана у сучасний світ, трохи фантастичних елементів.
Загалом це був досить незвичайний читацький досвід (у хорошому сенсі), і я спробую систематизувати те,що мені сподобалося:
По-перше, незнайома культура і міфологія (власне, припускаю, що через незнайомість я не прочитала ці тексти так глибоко, як могла б, і тепер хочеться більш системно познайомитися з цим світом)
По-друге, карибська англійська - деякі розповіді написані нею, і це дуже цікаво і гхм автентично? читається. По-третє, кілька розповідей (насамперед Fisherman) дуже квірні, мені прямо сподобалося.
По-четверте, тут дуже незахідна тілесність, колір шкіри та форми, що відрізняються від пропонованих маскульутрою білих худих манекенів, нормалізація цих неманекенних тіл - такого треба більше.
По-п'яте, теми сексизму і расизму, жіночого досвіду, проблематизовані дуже не в лоб, а граційно і тонко.
Інколи читання було повільним, воно не затягує і не тримає тебе в полоні до ранку, поки не закінчиш, але попри це я точно можу порадити цю книжку.
January 23, 2021
Hopkinson's stories are always informed by her experiences of a certain time, place, people, and she uses her vivid imagination to craft stories that call forth the familiar, strange, and exhilarating.
It is absolutely impossible to not find oneself drawing parallels from our reality to the scapes and characters within her stories, whether they are joyous, frightening, or otherworldly. These stories incorporate folklore, tales, and songs, superstitions and practices, the mundane and the extraordinary; all wrapped in Hopkinson's imaginative prowess.
Nalo always leaves a piece of herself, her history, culture, her experiences in everything she writes, which makes picking up her works that much easier. I know that I will become immersed in familiarity, that what she writes will reflect what I know and even if it doesn't, she makes it feel a little bit like home.
It is absolutely impossible to not find oneself drawing parallels from our reality to the scapes and characters within her stories, whether they are joyous, frightening, or otherworldly. These stories incorporate folklore, tales, and songs, superstitions and practices, the mundane and the extraordinary; all wrapped in Hopkinson's imaginative prowess.
Nalo always leaves a piece of herself, her history, culture, her experiences in everything she writes, which makes picking up her works that much easier. I know that I will become immersed in familiarity, that what she writes will reflect what I know and even if it doesn't, she makes it feel a little bit like home.
July 17, 2020
42 SHORT STORIES IN 42 DAYS*
DAY 8: Riding The Red
The rewriting of "fairy tales" in general and Little Red Riding Hood in particular is a well-worn trope in feminist fiction, but this was really well done � sexy, and darkly mysterious.
*The rules:
� Read one short story a day, every day for six weeks
� Read no more than one story by the same author within any 14-day period
� Deliberately include authors I wouldn't usually read
� Review each story in one sentence or less
Any fresh reading suggestions/recommendations will be gratefully received 📚
DAY 8: Riding The Red
The rewriting of "fairy tales" in general and Little Red Riding Hood in particular is a well-worn trope in feminist fiction, but this was really well done � sexy, and darkly mysterious.
*The rules:
� Read one short story a day, every day for six weeks
� Read no more than one story by the same author within any 14-day period
� Deliberately include authors I wouldn't usually read
� Review each story in one sentence or less
Any fresh reading suggestions/recommendations will be gratefully received 📚
April 5, 2017
I don't usually like short stories but I absolutely adored this collection by one of my favorite authors, Nalo Hopkinson. In the vein of Octavia Butler, Hopkinson is a able to create wholly original science fiction/fantasy narratives that are rooted deeply in the lives of women of color. The tales in this book range from futuristic stories where racism persists in new forms, modern takes on fairy tales and disturbing narratives that are impossible to forget.
December 7, 2023
"Skin Folk" by Nalo Hopkinson is a mesmerizing collection of stories that weave together Caribbean folklore, speculative fiction, and raw human experiences. 🌿🔮📚
In this collection, Hopkinson demonstrates a remarkable ability to blend the fantastical with the everyday. The stories are set against the backdrop of rich Caribbean culture and are infused with a sense of the supernatural that is both unique and intriguing. The narratives explore themes like identity, sexuality, and power, often through the lens of magical realism.
Pros:
Cultural Depth: The stories are deeply rooted in Caribbean culture, giving a fresh perspective to the speculative fiction genre.
Engaging Storytelling: Hopkinson's writing is vivid and immersive, drawing readers into her world with ease.
Variety of Themes: The collection covers a wide range of topics, ensuring that there's something for everyone.
Strong Character Development: Characters are well fleshed out, adding depth to the stories.
Cons:
👎 Uneven Pacing: Some stories may feel rushed or underdeveloped compared to others.
👎 Complex Language: The use of dialect and non-linear storytelling can be challenging for some readers.
👎 Dark Themes: Some stories deal with heavy and potentially distressing themes.
👎 Niche Appeal: The specific cultural context may not resonate with all readers.
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐�
I rate "Skin Folk" 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a powerful testament to Hopkinson’s talent as a storyteller and her ability to infuse the speculative genre with rich cultural heritage.
Reading Suggestions Similar to This Book:
1. "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A collection of short stories that explore various themes through a culturally rich lens.
2. "Kabu Kabu" by Nnedi Okorafor: A similar blend of African culture and speculative fiction.
3. : Ideal for readers who enjoy exploring complex themes through a speculative and culturally rich narrative.
In this collection, Hopkinson demonstrates a remarkable ability to blend the fantastical with the everyday. The stories are set against the backdrop of rich Caribbean culture and are infused with a sense of the supernatural that is both unique and intriguing. The narratives explore themes like identity, sexuality, and power, often through the lens of magical realism.
Pros:
Cultural Depth: The stories are deeply rooted in Caribbean culture, giving a fresh perspective to the speculative fiction genre.
Engaging Storytelling: Hopkinson's writing is vivid and immersive, drawing readers into her world with ease.
Variety of Themes: The collection covers a wide range of topics, ensuring that there's something for everyone.
Strong Character Development: Characters are well fleshed out, adding depth to the stories.
Cons:
👎 Uneven Pacing: Some stories may feel rushed or underdeveloped compared to others.
👎 Complex Language: The use of dialect and non-linear storytelling can be challenging for some readers.
👎 Dark Themes: Some stories deal with heavy and potentially distressing themes.
👎 Niche Appeal: The specific cultural context may not resonate with all readers.
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐�
I rate "Skin Folk" 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a powerful testament to Hopkinson’s talent as a storyteller and her ability to infuse the speculative genre with rich cultural heritage.
Reading Suggestions Similar to This Book:
1. "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A collection of short stories that explore various themes through a culturally rich lens.
2. "Kabu Kabu" by Nnedi Okorafor: A similar blend of African culture and speculative fiction.
3. : Ideal for readers who enjoy exploring complex themes through a speculative and culturally rich narrative.
December 8, 2020
wonderful folklorish vibes ! Lots of compelling stories
August 31, 2007
Although this collection is a little uneven, its best stories are powerful and sexy and indelible. Nalo Hopkinson is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful; her stories and novels mix postcoloniality, fabulism and queer studies in consistently entertaining and thought-provoking ways. I hesistate to make comparisons, but if you miss Octavia Butler dearly, and always sort of wish she was a little younger and Canadian/Jamaican and touchy-feely, Nalo Hopkinson's your woman. You should also read her most recent book, The 's Arms (still in hardback) and The Salt Roads (out in pb).
October 22, 2018
I LOVED this short story collection!
Hopkinson centers this collection around Caribbean folklore, with some stories set in Canada following the lives of immigrants. Her writing is weird, but I like weird! She blends horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and literary fiction--and she does it well.
In particular I liked "Riding the Red" and "Greedy Choke Puppy." Hopkinson just gets what fairy tales and folk tales are all about, which I would generalize as fear and sex. Most of her stories look at those two themes, and often she combines them to craft some incredibly compelling stories.
This was my first Hopkinson book, and I can't wait to dig into more of her backlist.
Hopkinson centers this collection around Caribbean folklore, with some stories set in Canada following the lives of immigrants. Her writing is weird, but I like weird! She blends horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and literary fiction--and she does it well.
In particular I liked "Riding the Red" and "Greedy Choke Puppy." Hopkinson just gets what fairy tales and folk tales are all about, which I would generalize as fear and sex. Most of her stories look at those two themes, and often she combines them to craft some incredibly compelling stories.
This was my first Hopkinson book, and I can't wait to dig into more of her backlist.
November 6, 2021
This short story collection is great. In the tone and the way it riffs on fairytales and folklore it reminds me of Neil Gaiman's work - but from a different gender and cultural perspective.
Full review:
Full review:
October 26, 2022
I absolutely love Nalo Hopkinson. She infuses so much culture and imagination in every story. Each chapter was so unique.
January 20, 2024
This is an anthology of short stories that mix fantasy, sci-fi, horror and Caribbean folklore, and deal with issues of colonialism, race, class, gender, body image, womanhood and sexuality. I had this on my tbr for some years (I think it must have been a pick in Emma Watson’s book club?) and finally decided to read it for Short Story September last year. But at 15 stories, and having read other short stories that month, I was feeling like they were all beginning to blur into one another, so I took a break and finished it in December.
My overall impression was that it was a lot. Some stories were hard to follow and lost my attention, while others attempted realspeak in ways that came off as annoying and infantilizing imo.
That said, my favourite stories were:
❇️ Snake: This follows a pedophile’s POV so it was tough to read, but it has a satisfying ending.
❇️ The Glass Bottle Trick: Really good retelling of Blue Beard exploring womanhood, gender roles and domestic abuse.
❇️ Fisherman: Smutty exploration of sexuality and gender.
❇️ Greedy Choke Puppy: Creepy folkloric story about the vampiric soucouyant and the consequences of greed.
❇️ A Habit of Waste: Features body-hopping to explore issues of body image and racism, and how sometimes changing your appearance will never be enough.
❇️ Precious: A retelling of the fairytale story of the girl who was blessed to pour out gold and gems whenever she opened her mouth.
My overall impression was that it was a lot. Some stories were hard to follow and lost my attention, while others attempted realspeak in ways that came off as annoying and infantilizing imo.
That said, my favourite stories were:
❇️ Snake: This follows a pedophile’s POV so it was tough to read, but it has a satisfying ending.
❇️ The Glass Bottle Trick: Really good retelling of Blue Beard exploring womanhood, gender roles and domestic abuse.
❇️ Fisherman: Smutty exploration of sexuality and gender.
❇️ Greedy Choke Puppy: Creepy folkloric story about the vampiric soucouyant and the consequences of greed.
❇️ A Habit of Waste: Features body-hopping to explore issues of body image and racism, and how sometimes changing your appearance will never be enough.
❇️ Precious: A retelling of the fairytale story of the girl who was blessed to pour out gold and gems whenever she opened her mouth.
June 4, 2012
Hopkinson's eerie and haunting collection of short stories influenced by her life and roots, both her Caribbean cultural heritage and her experiences living in Canada. With powerful, vivid prose, Hopkinson unveils strange, unsettling worlds in which an ordinary eggs give birth to strange, deformed monsters, glass storms cut up everything in their path, and trees take flight. Many of these stories explore darkness. "Snake" is an absolutely terrifying tale from the point of view of a child molester and killer, "Tan Tan and Dry Bone" tells the story of a girl weighed down and burdened by not only her own guilt, but by a horrible creature bent on sucking out the last of her happiness, while my favorite, "The Glass Bottle Trick" is a Caribbean spin on the bloody folktale. But no matter how unsettling or terrifying, the stories are bolstered by beautiful imagery and prose that slips between the surreal and the realistic. A fabulous collection.
May 22, 2015
What a wonderful short story collection. I loved the seamless jumps from realism to sci-fi to folklore. "Fisherman" came as a surprise, because it was very much erotica. Very well written, compelling erotica though.
I've been trying to branch out with the type of authors I read, and this was a wonderful change of pace. I picked it up because so many people compared Ms. Hopkinson to the late Octavia Butler, and I was not disappointed. I'll be reading more of Nalo Hopkinson in the future for sure.
I've been trying to branch out with the type of authors I read, and this was a wonderful change of pace. I picked it up because so many people compared Ms. Hopkinson to the late Octavia Butler, and I was not disappointed. I'll be reading more of Nalo Hopkinson in the future for sure.
May 30, 2019
I listened to only one of the stories in this anthology- "Money Tree" on LeVar Burton Reads. In this particular story a brother and sister listen to Caribbean folklore about their family's connection to the water with a mamadjo/mermaid mother and a tale of lost pirated gold. This allegorical tale makes connections between greed and familial relations, and incorporates the transformative value of water with the sister in healing from her grief.
January 8, 2020
A mixed bag for me. Most of the stories I couldn’t really get into, and there was way too much gratuitous sex. I don’t care to read about sex between characters I don’t know or aren’t invested in, where there’s no build-up and release of tension, it’s as interesting as describing their wardrobe. I do love her writing, though, but perhaps she works better for me in novels where she gets to unfold fully.
June 9, 2018
While there's a couple of stories that aren't re-tellings, the rest of the volume is nearly evenly split between Caribbean and European folklore. And even the European based tales had a heavy Caribbean flavor.
March 15, 2019
Absolutely adored this inventive collection of short stories. Hopkinson’s writing is very exciting to me and I look forward to reading more. In this collection she draws inspiration from Caribbean folklore, explores amusing turns of phrase, and turns tropes on their heads. A couple of these stories were surprisingly sexy, but those stories were no less hard hitting than the rest. Some of the stories made me work for them as the reader, but I found the rewards rich each time. Hopkinson crafts wonderful characters, I have all these people in my heart from less than 20 pages each, quite the feat.
October 12, 2020
I loved the mix of Jamaican culture and folklore in these! At its heart, this is a collection about what we all are underneath the skin, and while I didn’t love all of these stories, all of them brought something unique to the table. Definitely a fun but not too creepy read for this time of year too.
October 22, 2019
Short story collection influenced by Canadian-Carribean myths.
One of those cursed books of short stories that is entirely too short. I just liked this.
Recommended for fairy tale fans, and mythology fans.
One of those cursed books of short stories that is entirely too short. I just liked this.
Recommended for fairy tale fans, and mythology fans.
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