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sausome's review against another edition
2.0
The firstborn half of this collection was pretty good - the strangeness of the worlds and observations the author makes in such short stories was intriguing. But the second half felt pretty disconnected and disjointed from the rest of the collection. A strong voice for diversity and generally repressed people and views.
"We humans have spread over the face of this planet like a fungus, altering and destroying whole ecosystems and species, abusing and waging war on each other. If teenaged me thought about it too much, I was engulfed with despair."
"“Really?” she said. “Don’t you care about passing on your legacy?” “You mean my surname?” She laughed uncomfortably. “You know what I mean.” “I really don’t. I’m not a king and I’m never going to be rich. I’m not going to leave behind much wealth for someone to inherit. It’s not like I’m building an empire.” She made a face as though someone had dropped a mouse in her butter churn. “What are you going to do with your life, then?” “Well,” I chuckled, trying to make a joke of it, “I guess I’m going to go home and put a gun to my head, since I’m clearly no use to myself or anyone else.” Now she looked like she was smelling something rotten. “Oh, don’t be morbid,” she snapped. “Huh? It’s morbid to not want kids?” “No, it’s morbid to think your life has so little value that you might as well kill yourself.” “Oh, come on, Sula!” I’d raised my voice above the low-level chatter in the restaurant. The couple at the table closest to us glanced our way. I sighed and continued: “My life has tons of value. I just happen to think it consists of more than my genetic material. Don’t you?”"
"We humans have spread over the face of this planet like a fungus, altering and destroying whole ecosystems and species, abusing and waging war on each other. If teenaged me thought about it too much, I was engulfed with despair."
"“Really?” she said. “Don’t you care about passing on your legacy?” “You mean my surname?” She laughed uncomfortably. “You know what I mean.” “I really don’t. I’m not a king and I’m never going to be rich. I’m not going to leave behind much wealth for someone to inherit. It’s not like I’m building an empire.” She made a face as though someone had dropped a mouse in her butter churn. “What are you going to do with your life, then?” “Well,” I chuckled, trying to make a joke of it, “I guess I’m going to go home and put a gun to my head, since I’m clearly no use to myself or anyone else.” Now she looked like she was smelling something rotten. “Oh, don’t be morbid,” she snapped. “Huh? It’s morbid to not want kids?” “No, it’s morbid to think your life has so little value that you might as well kill yourself.” “Oh, come on, Sula!” I’d raised my voice above the low-level chatter in the restaurant. The couple at the table closest to us glanced our way. I sighed and continued: “My life has tons of value. I just happen to think it consists of more than my genetic material. Don’t you?”"
readerette's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Engaging stories with twists of magical realism and fantasy among commentary on belonging, love, identity, and grief. A little overwrought in some cases, but largely interesting and unexpected tales. I particularly liked the one with flying cats and firebreathing birds. 😉
luanndie's review against another edition
2.0
Casi me siento culpable de que esta colección no me gustara. Puedo ver el talento de Hopkinson para darle la vuelta a historias y tropes que hemos visto hasta la saciedad y sus mundos son diversos sin esfuerzo, pero en muchas de las historias me quedé con la sensación de no haber llegado a ningún sitio. Hopkinson nos pasea por universos maravillosos, capaz de darle vida a un personaje en un par de líneas, pero a veces, parece que deambulamos con ella sin rumbo. Su estilo narrativo tampoco terminó de encajar conmigo y hacía todo el proceso de lectura más pesado de lo que debería.
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a five star collection for the first half, but I'll still keep it at 4.5!
tilikon's review against another edition
dark
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
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
laviskrg's review against another edition
1.0
This falls in the category of "barely managed to read the first half, donating the second half". Nope, just because it is random, does not mean it is good. The stories with the dragon chicken and the fat orchid girl completely ended this book for me. Stories need to be interesting, not just tropes and anti-tropes and ridiculous ramblings.
palomapepper's review against another edition
4.0
If you're looking for a series of fantastical stories with a diverse cast of characters, Falling in Love with Hominids might be right up your alley! Most characters were ethnically diverse and/or LGBT, and the stories delve into mythological fare ranging from Shakespeare to Caribbean lore.
Like any short story collection, there were some hits and misses among these 18 stories. A few felt half-finished, like character studies that still needed expansion. Still others were so strange that they seemed beyond my comprehension. But Hopkinson's hits are REALLY hits!
Stories I liked:
The Easthound: In a vaguely post-apocalyptic future, children survive in fear of a transformation called “sprouting.”
Soul Case: A colony of former Afro-Caribbean slaves uses magic to defend against their ex-“owners”.
The Smile on the Face: In a twist on the old urban legend about swallowing fruit seeds and growing plants in your stomach, a teenage girl goes to a house party and faces an unexpected transformation.
Old Habits: Ghosts trapped in a mall long for life.
Stories I LOVED:
Message in a Bottle: An artist has a bizarre encounter with his friend’s unsettling child. This one has a dash of science fiction; there’s talk about speciesism, art, legacy, and the incomprehensible world of the future.
Left Foot, Right: A teenage girl, wearing a single high-heeled shoe, visits a river. I remember feeling viscerally stunned when I figured out what this story was actually about. (Sorry to be cryptic! It’s tough to summarize these stories without spoilers.)
Stories that were so bizarre, I didn’t know how to feel about ’em:
Herbal: An elephant bursts into a woman’s house.
A Raggy Dog, A Shaggy Dog: An eccentric collector of parasitic orchids tries an unusual impromptu dating service.
Stories that didn’t work for me:
Emily Breakfast: A pair of kinky husbands lose one of their chickens.
A Young Candy Daughter: A woman and her daughter seem to be at the center of magical, altruistic happenings.
Like any short story collection, there were some hits and misses among these 18 stories. A few felt half-finished, like character studies that still needed expansion. Still others were so strange that they seemed beyond my comprehension. But Hopkinson's hits are REALLY hits!
Stories I liked:
The Easthound: In a vaguely post-apocalyptic future, children survive in fear of a transformation called “sprouting.”
Soul Case: A colony of former Afro-Caribbean slaves uses magic to defend against their ex-“owners”.
The Smile on the Face: In a twist on the old urban legend about swallowing fruit seeds and growing plants in your stomach, a teenage girl goes to a house party and faces an unexpected transformation.
Old Habits: Ghosts trapped in a mall long for life.
Stories I LOVED:
Message in a Bottle: An artist has a bizarre encounter with his friend’s unsettling child. This one has a dash of science fiction; there’s talk about speciesism, art, legacy, and the incomprehensible world of the future.
Left Foot, Right: A teenage girl, wearing a single high-heeled shoe, visits a river. I remember feeling viscerally stunned when I figured out what this story was actually about. (Sorry to be cryptic! It’s tough to summarize these stories without spoilers.)
Stories that were so bizarre, I didn’t know how to feel about ’em:
Herbal: An elephant bursts into a woman’s house.
A Raggy Dog, A Shaggy Dog: An eccentric collector of parasitic orchids tries an unusual impromptu dating service.
Stories that didn’t work for me:
Emily Breakfast: A pair of kinky husbands lose one of their chickens.
A Young Candy Daughter: A woman and her daughter seem to be at the center of magical, altruistic happenings.