Brown Girl in the Ring

by Nalo Hopkinson

250 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 1998

ISBN:: 978-0-446-67433-1

(20 reviews)

The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways-farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother.

She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends.

2 editions

Ex dente leonem reviewed Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Review of 'Brown Girl in the Ring' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A masterpiece of postcolonial literary sf, rightfully belonging alongside those of Octavia Butler, Ursula le Guin, and the dystopias of fellow Canadian Margaret Atwood, and Hopkinson is as powerful a storyteller as her peers. Seeing through the eyes of Brown Girl's Jamaican and Caribbean characters might be challenging at first for certain readers more accustomed to the voices almost always given precedence in conventional literature, but its story is as fully immersive as a ceremonial drum rhythm. With its Afrofuturistic elements and its initially bleak but ultimately hopeful vision of a city after/beyond local collapse of the nation-state, I would even call Brown Girl in the Ring a foundational classic not just of the still-emerging solarpunk movement, but also of its younger sibling lunarpunk, a darker and more mystical imagining of how such futures may unfold.

Erin reviewed Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Review of 'Brown Girl in the Ring' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This was good! The writing was nothing fancy, but I enjoyed the story and was pulled along. I’m somewhat familiar with Haitian Vodou, so I was mixing up my lwa, but I enjoyed how the story pulled those elements in. It’s a nice change from the typical fantasy. Maybe this would be more magical realism? Not sure.

I was genuinely surprised a few times in this story. I wish there were /more/ of the story. One of my complaints would be that it felt like she could have said more about the setting. The little side plot with the Premier feels incomplete.

My other main complaint is that I didn’t really buy the appeal of Tony. I needed to see more sweetness from him or something. I do appreciate that he doesn’t get back with Ti-Jeanne at the end. After he killed her grandma, I was like, please do not tell me she forgives him and opens herself back up to him. That was one of the surprises of this story for me - Tony is not really redeemed at the end, doesn’t come to the rescue. He fails. She saves herself with her power. Love that!

I actually started Midnight Robber before this but found the Creole too difficult, so I tried this book instead. Given that I enjoyed this one, I think I’d give Midnight Robber another try.