Brown Girl in the Ring (Oeb) [Import] [Hardcover]

Nalo Hopkinson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Oxmoor House (March 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0759520445
• ISBN-13: 978-0759520448
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I'm a novelist, editor, short story writer. I also teach, and I freelance sometimes as an arts consultant. Most of my books have been published by Warner Books, now known as Grand Central Books. If you like knowing about awards and such, my work has received the Warner Aspect First Novel award, the Sunburst Award for Canadian literature of the fantastic, the World Fantasy Award, the Gaylactic Spectrum Award, and Honourable Mention in Cuba's Casa de las Americas Prize for literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Octavia Butler's True Literary Offspring, March 9, 2003

By 

Nichole Long "Nichole" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brown Girl in the Ring (Paperback)

In Charles Saunders' essay titled "Why Blacks Should Read (And Write) Science Fiction," Nalo Hopkinson was pointed out by Saunders as being "Octavia Butler's true literary child." While Hopkinson "doesn't imitate Butler," he reminded us, she did "imitate the older writer's strenghts in plotting and characterization (Dark Matter, ed. by Sheree R. Thomas, 2000)." Saunders was right. What a debut. This first novel was enthralling. It was so good that up-and-coming fantasy novelist Nalo Hopkinson had managed to win both heady praise from Butler herself and a Warner Aspect First Novel Award.

Brown Girl in the Ring had everything. Smooth, yet urgent prose. Heart-stopping action. A thriving Caribbean-Vodoun culture in Canada. Soul-deadening urban decay. Vibrant Caribbean speech. Evil that makes your skin crawl. Using the power of the old ways of her ancestors, hero Ti-Jeanne must come of age in near-future Toronto by confronting the forces that threaten to overcome her neighborhood, her family, and her life. Even though I had read this book nearly 4 years ago, it is still in my head. It was and still is that good.

More that 3 decades ago, Octavia E. Butler revolutionized the heart of science-fantasy writing, setting tough new standards of excellence. With Brown Girl in the Ring, Nalo Hopkinson has met that challenge admirably. I know Butler must be proud.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's a girl to do? Use magic, of course., February 18, 2002

By 

Kelly (Fantasy Literature) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Brown Girl in the Ring (Paperback)

I have no idea why the publishers are calling this science fiction. It's really more of a horror/fantasy blend; the only sci-fi element I can think of is the near-future setting. Which suits me just fine. ;)

The world of _Brown Girl_ is frighteningly plausible--it is the logical conclusion of our current suburban sprawl and consequent urban decay. Here, even the city government has fled to the suburbs, and no one is left in the inner city but the poor. There is no electricity, no sewer system. You can't get into the hospital unless you are wealthy. And Rudy, the diabolical crime boss of Toronto, is selling organs to these hospitals--and let's just say the donors are less than willing.

And in this city lives Ti-Jeanne (Little Jeanne), a new mother, staying with her wise grandmother, Gros-Jeanne (Big Jeanne). Gros-Jeanne wants to pass on her knowledge to Ti-Jeanne, but Ti-Jeanne only grudgingly learns herbal skills, and wants nothing to do with Gros-Jeanne's other talent--the practice of Afro-Caribbean magic. Then one night they hold a ritual to help Ti-Jeanne's deadbeat ex-boyfriend, and the spirits tell Ti-Jeanne that it is her destiny to stop Rudy's evil.

We are sucked in, as Ti-Jeanne's course becomes more irrevocable, as she comes to accept the orishas, and as her ex-boyfriend's fear and drug addiction drive him into worse and worse trouble. Ti-Jeanne's only hope lies in her wits and in half-remembered bits of magical lore. An engrossing read; however, don't buy this if you object to violence. There is a good bit of that.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hopkinson avoids gimicks, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Brown Girl in the Ring (Paperback)

Perhaps the best aspect of this book, for me at least, was that Hopkinson integrates the loa into her book without making them seem hokey. In other urban fantasy books I have read, it sometimes seems as if the author almost puts the notice "OK, I'm putting in the magic now." before any supernatural elements enter. Hopkinson, on the other hand, describes the supernatural, the spirits that Ti-Jeanne sees and interacts with, as an insider, as if they were as accepted a fact to the readers as microwave ovens or computers. It was very refreshing to see voudoun presented in this light. I'd highly recommend this book to any who are interested in Afro-Carribean culture and mythology. Even if you're not, I'd try to persuade you to read it, it's a bit rough at times, but overall excellent for a first novel.