Review: Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

Paperback, 222 pages
Published August 11th 2015 by Tachyon Publications
Source: Publisher

I have been meaning to read Nalo Hopkinson for a while now and I thought this collection of her short stories seemed like a good place to start. Falling in Love with Hominids is rich in flavour and tone. It brings together several different kinds of worlds to present a diverse collection of stories that peeks into the psyches of its characters with a subtle and concise hand. Obviously there are some stories that I love more than the others.

My favourite one is”Soul Case” which is only a couple of pages long but manages to encompass an entire world and its people. The story concerns a group of people under attack and shows how effectively they defend themselves from the much stronger opponents. But instead of taking victory alone, the winning side is able to empathize and sympathize with the losing side. It’s so masterfully done that nothing I say will do its justice so just read it.

I also adored “Message in a Bottle” which is about a girl who physically young has the brain of a twenty-something year old. There’s a lot of sci-fi involved but the precision of language and the skill with which Hopkinson wields it makes the story easy to read and a pleasure besides. “The Smile on the Face” is a brilliant reiteration of feminine power and gives a glimpse of what a YA novel by Hopkinson would like (I’d be SO happy if she wrote one). “Easthound” looks at a group of kids in a post-apocalyptic world; the story is intense, fierce, and unapologetic. I loved it. All the stories display the various and eclectic writing skill Hopkinson contains in such ample amounts. The writing, too, is terrific. This paragraph, in particular, enchanted me:

That fall, a storm hailed down unseasonable screaming winds and fists of pounding rain. The temperature plummeted through a wet ululating night that blew in early winter. Morning saw all edges laced with frost.

This title is suitable for older teens and SFF lovers. Recommended.