I received this ARC from NetGalley and Tachyon Publications in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the stories 'Message in a bottle' and 'The smile on the face'. 'Message in a bottle' - about an artist whose adopted niece is not quite right and 'The smile on the face'- is about a young woman attending a party. Overall, an average short story collection with some great stories and others that were average.

Reviewing anthologies and collections is always a bit of a challenge for me. In the past, I've reviewed them story by story, but I feel these days that it breaks it down further than I really intend it to. It also takes something away from the feel of the whole, because it makes the stories and the mood they set sound more clinical than it needs to be. Beyond that, I generally struggle to give short story collections more than 3 stars, because I find them unbalanced and I am left wanting more of the good stuff and a lot less of the stuff that didn't appeal to me.

Falling in Love with Hominids is a collection of works by Nalo Hopkinson, a Jamaican-born author who's famous for blending her Caribbean heritage in with her upbringing in Canada and creating works of speculative fiction (mostly sci-fi and fantasy, with some horror thrown in) that bring a lot of diversity (or race, yes, but also culture and beliefs) to a genre that sometimes sorely needs it. It's a collection on topics ranging from a fresh new take on zombies (no, seriously, Easthound is a great start to the anthology) through to tales of restless spirits (Left Foot, Right and Old Habits) and even works in pre-existing universes (such as Ours Is the Prettiest, set in the world of Bordertown, created by Terri Windling and Holly Black). Hopkinson also shows her ability to do refreshing and interesting retellings of classic works, by tackling both The Tempest (in Shift, which was okay, though not my favourite) and Bluebeard (in Blushing, one of the stand out stories in the collection, for me).

One of the key aspects of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed is the brief intro that she gives before each story - how it came about, why she wrote it or, in the case of Snow Day, one that truly shows her ingenuity and prowess. It sets the tone for each story and it's definitely something that would love to see more authors do in their short story collections, because I feel like it really adds something to the story and the collection as a whole. It didn't spoil anything for me, it didn't really reveal any twists, but it added a lot of flavour and context. Seeing someone actually talk about their inspiration, or process, or where the idea came from really adds a lot to a story and it made some of the choices a lot more understandable and ultimately more fun to read about.

I feel that Falling in Love with Hominids is a great place to start when it comes to Hopkinson's work. It will give you a feel for her world and writing style, as well as her ideas and inspiration. For a short story collection, you could definitely do a lot worse than this!

Tenía esta recopilación de Nalo Hopkinson desde hace tiempo dando vueltas por mi libro electrónico pero nunca acababa de ponerme a leerlo. Mi instinto en este caso tenía razón, pues aunque no se puede negar la imaginación y la variedad de temas sobre los que escribe Hopkinson siempre ha habido algún detalle que me ha impedido conectar con la obra.

Ninguna historia me ha llamado tanto la atención como para destacarla por encima de las demás, aunque son tan distintas entre sí que se hace difícil la comparación. Me gustan las pequeñas notas que la propia autora ha escrito delante de cada relato, para situar en un contexto la siguiente lectura. Se ve, por ejemplo, la capacidad de inspirarse en los más nimios detalles y me ha vuelto a sorprender que en Canadá haya una especia de reality show sobre libros en el que los famosos defienden un libro contra viento y marea, algo impensable aquí.
Nalo Hopkinson toca muchos palos, desde los viajes en el tiempo al terror, pasando por las historias de fantasmas que nos pueden resultar más familiares. El hecho de que algunos de los relatos sean «por encargo» hace que veamos cómo afronta este trabajo una escritora profesional en contraste con los relatos inspirados por otros momentos. De hecho, incluso vemos cómo trabaja en un «universo compartido» una de las cosas que me parecen más complicadas para un autor, ya que tienes que jugar con los personajes y situaciones creadas por otra persona, respetando lo que ya existe pero experimentando para darle tu propio toque.
Es posible que no le haga justicia a una recopilación que ha tenido buena acogida en otros medios, pero tiene cierto toque weird que no me ha acabado de convencer. ¿Lo habéis leído vosotros?

A delightful author that weaves the fantastic with reality so well that the reader is forced to take perspectives on that they never expected. Genius.

This was not my favourite book by Nalo Hopkinson--I loved "Brown Girl in the Ring" and "Salt Road Blues" and this one was written very well but I prefer her older work.

I thought this was a great collection of short stories with a truly unique voice. I am curious to read more by Hopkinson.