Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions
Nalo Hopkinson
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Caribbean-Canadian author Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring) is an internationally beloved storyteller. This long-awaited new collection of her deeply imaginative short fiction offers striking journeys to far-flung futures and fantastical landscapes.
[STARRED REVIEW] “A joyous celebration of Hopkinson’s abiding legacy as a titan of both speculative fiction and Caribbean literature.”
—Publishers Weekly
[STARRED REVIEW] “A commanding short story collection.”
—Foreword
In Nalo Hopkinson’s first collection of stories since 2015, a woman and her cyborg pig eke out a living in a future waterworld; two scientists contemplate the cavernous remains of an alien life-form; a trans woman at a funeral might be haunted by more than just bad memories; and an artist creates nanotechnology that asserts Blackness where it is least welcome and most needed.
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as having “an imagination that most of us would kill for,” Hopkinson and her Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are gorgeously strange, inventively subversive, and vividly beautiful.
[STARRED REVIEW] “A joyous celebration of Hopkinson’s abiding legacy as a titan of both speculative fiction and Caribbean literature.”
—Publishers Weekly
[STARRED REVIEW] “A commanding short story collection.”
—Foreword
In Nalo Hopkinson’s first collection of stories since 2015, a woman and her cyborg pig eke out a living in a future waterworld; two scientists contemplate the cavernous remains of an alien life-form; a trans woman at a funeral might be haunted by more than just bad memories; and an artist creates nanotechnology that asserts Blackness where it is least welcome and most needed.
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as having “an imagination that most of us would kill for,” Hopkinson and her Afro-Caribbean, Canadian, and American influences shine in truly unique stories that are gorgeously strange, inventively subversive, and vividly beautiful.
Product Details
| Publisher | Tachyon Publications |
| Publish Date | October 29, 2024 |
| Pages | 224 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781616964269 |
| Dimensions | 8.5 X 5.5 X 0.7 inches | 0.6 pounds |
About the Author
Internationally renowned Nalo Hopkinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and also spent her childhood in Trinidad and Guyana before her family moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was sixteen. In 1997, Hopkinson won the Warner Aspect contest for Brown Girl in the Ring, and she received the John W. Campbell and Locus Awards for Best First Novel. Her collection Skin Folk received the World Fantasy and Sunburst Awards. The Salt Roads received the Gaylactic Spectrum Award for positive exploration of queer issues in speculative fiction. The New Moon’s Arms also won the Prix Aurora and Sunburst Awards, making Hopkinson the first author to receive the award twice. In 2020, Hopkinson was named the Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, and is the youngest and the first woman of African descent to receive this lifetime honor. As a professor of Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside, she was a member of the Speculative Futures Collective. Hopkinson is currently a professor in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, and she lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Reviews
A Foreword Book of the Day
Parade Best New Book Releases
Locus New and Notable Books
“Each story in Jamaica Ginger surprises and delights. Nalo Hopkinson repeatedly draws on wild magic to examine human experiences so familiar that the tales feel like they’re shaped from collective memories.” —Emily Pohl-Weary, author of Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl
[STARRED REVIEW] “Obliterating the boundary between science and folk knowledge, this collection of 15 speculative shorts from SFWA Grandmaster Hopkinson (Blackheart Man) rewards and challenges readers in equal measure. In the beautifully multilayered ‘Clap Back,’ an artist uses nanotechnology and bacterial reproduction to reclaim racist memorabilia. The cheerfully gruesome ‘Inselberg,’ follows vacationers on an unexpected island tour, narrated in patois by their guide. In the title story, cowritten with Nisi Shawl, a young woman transcends the path laid out for her in an alternate version of post-emancipation New Orleans. Hopkinson’s singular voice shines throughout these thought-provoking flights of imagination. In centering the historically marginal experiences of Black and queer workers, islanders, mothers, the old and the very young, she articulates the prevalent fears and concerns of those communities, including sea level rise, the distribution of power, and degradations of industry. Complete with contextual notes from the author and a loving foreword from Nisi Shawl, this is a joyous celebration of Hopkinson’s abiding legacy as a titan of both speculative fiction and Caribbean literature. —Publishers Weekly
“This carefully curated collection is a tapestry of Nalo’s mastery and truly displays what a master of the form can do.” —John Jennings, New York Times bestselling author and Hugo Award-winning comics creator
[STARRED REVIEW] “A commanding short story collection, Caribbean Canadian Nalo Hopkinson’s Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions blends ecological awareness, cultural heritage, and fantastical happenings.” —Foreword
5/5 Stars. “Nalo Hopkinson is one of the most influential and essential speculative fiction authors currently writing. The stories in this collection prove why.” —San Francisco Book Review
“[A] wildly inventive collection, perfect for fans of Karen Lord, Tobias S. Buckell, and Tananarive Due.” —Booklist
“Hopkinson’s language carries you to revelation and joy. Characters you’ve been lusting after do tricks with your mind. These dazzling stories will reacquaint you with your spirits!” —Andrea Hairston, author of Archangels of Funk
Sitting with Nalo Hopkinson’s Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions is the rapturous experience of a child peering into a kaleidoscope for the first time.” —Kimberly Bain, writer and critic
“Sharing protagonists beset by often-catastrophic odds, these short stories boast a virtuosic range, tackling deadpan humour alongside existential crises with well-timed skill.” —Bocas Book Bulletin
“[Hopkinson] shows a talent for making strange and thought-provoking tales with concerns including Western and Caribbean cultures, gender, climate change and adaptation and resilience.” —Too Many Fantasy Books
“Hopkinson offers us powerful imaginings of the kinds of worlds we are trying to build together: where Black, trans, disabled life is supported and affirmed as inherently valuable.” —Xtra Magazine
“A mélange of stories that spins together roots, dreams, and powerful tales the way only Nalo can. It’s easy to get lost in the verses and images that drip from the page. A must read.” —Tobias Buckell, author of A Stranger in the Citadel
“Hopkinson throws a bowling ball down the middle of the genre. She strikes and strikes and strikes again.” —Green Man Review
5/5 Stars. “A Caribbean/Canadian author, (who also spent time in Trinidad and Guyana), Nalo offers up stories of beauty and wonder, often with an environmental slant.” —Chars Horror Corner
“Hopkinson is incredible.” —MI Book Reviews
“A true grandmaster. This collection of marvelous, delicious concoctions is a joy to read.” —Mondo Ernesto
“Hopkinson throws a bowling ball down the middle of the genre. She strikes and strikes and strikes again.” —Green Man Review
“This collection was a treat.” —Booklover’s Boudoir
“Hopkinson builds alternative and just worlds, where people are free to be themselves; and when she isn’t doing that, she’s creating critical commentary on the unjust one we have built.” —Harare Review
Praise for Nalo Hopkinson
“A major talent.” —Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“One of the best fantasy authors working today.” —io9
“An exciting new voice in our literature.” —Edmonton Journal
“Like Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler, [Hopkinson] forces us to consider how inequities of race, gender, class and power might be played out in a dystopian future.” —The News Magazine of Black America
“Hopkinson’s stories dazzle” —NPR Books
“Caribbean science fiction? Nalo Hopkinson is staking her claim as one of its most notable authors.” —Caribbean Travel and Life
“Hopkinson’s prose is a distinct pleasure to read: richly sensual, with high-voltage erotic content and gorgeous details.” —SCIFI.com
Parade Best New Book Releases
Locus New and Notable Books
“Each story in Jamaica Ginger surprises and delights. Nalo Hopkinson repeatedly draws on wild magic to examine human experiences so familiar that the tales feel like they’re shaped from collective memories.” —Emily Pohl-Weary, author of Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl
[STARRED REVIEW] “Obliterating the boundary between science and folk knowledge, this collection of 15 speculative shorts from SFWA Grandmaster Hopkinson (Blackheart Man) rewards and challenges readers in equal measure. In the beautifully multilayered ‘Clap Back,’ an artist uses nanotechnology and bacterial reproduction to reclaim racist memorabilia. The cheerfully gruesome ‘Inselberg,’ follows vacationers on an unexpected island tour, narrated in patois by their guide. In the title story, cowritten with Nisi Shawl, a young woman transcends the path laid out for her in an alternate version of post-emancipation New Orleans. Hopkinson’s singular voice shines throughout these thought-provoking flights of imagination. In centering the historically marginal experiences of Black and queer workers, islanders, mothers, the old and the very young, she articulates the prevalent fears and concerns of those communities, including sea level rise, the distribution of power, and degradations of industry. Complete with contextual notes from the author and a loving foreword from Nisi Shawl, this is a joyous celebration of Hopkinson’s abiding legacy as a titan of both speculative fiction and Caribbean literature. —Publishers Weekly
“This carefully curated collection is a tapestry of Nalo’s mastery and truly displays what a master of the form can do.” —John Jennings, New York Times bestselling author and Hugo Award-winning comics creator
[STARRED REVIEW] “A commanding short story collection, Caribbean Canadian Nalo Hopkinson’s Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions blends ecological awareness, cultural heritage, and fantastical happenings.” —Foreword
5/5 Stars. “Nalo Hopkinson is one of the most influential and essential speculative fiction authors currently writing. The stories in this collection prove why.” —San Francisco Book Review
“[A] wildly inventive collection, perfect for fans of Karen Lord, Tobias S. Buckell, and Tananarive Due.” —Booklist
“Hopkinson’s language carries you to revelation and joy. Characters you’ve been lusting after do tricks with your mind. These dazzling stories will reacquaint you with your spirits!” —Andrea Hairston, author of Archangels of Funk
Sitting with Nalo Hopkinson’s Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions is the rapturous experience of a child peering into a kaleidoscope for the first time.” —Kimberly Bain, writer and critic
“Sharing protagonists beset by often-catastrophic odds, these short stories boast a virtuosic range, tackling deadpan humour alongside existential crises with well-timed skill.” —Bocas Book Bulletin
“[Hopkinson] shows a talent for making strange and thought-provoking tales with concerns including Western and Caribbean cultures, gender, climate change and adaptation and resilience.” —Too Many Fantasy Books
“Hopkinson offers us powerful imaginings of the kinds of worlds we are trying to build together: where Black, trans, disabled life is supported and affirmed as inherently valuable.” —Xtra Magazine
“A mélange of stories that spins together roots, dreams, and powerful tales the way only Nalo can. It’s easy to get lost in the verses and images that drip from the page. A must read.” —Tobias Buckell, author of A Stranger in the Citadel
“Hopkinson throws a bowling ball down the middle of the genre. She strikes and strikes and strikes again.” —Green Man Review
5/5 Stars. “A Caribbean/Canadian author, (who also spent time in Trinidad and Guyana), Nalo offers up stories of beauty and wonder, often with an environmental slant.” —Chars Horror Corner
“Hopkinson is incredible.” —MI Book Reviews
“A true grandmaster. This collection of marvelous, delicious concoctions is a joy to read.” —Mondo Ernesto
“Hopkinson throws a bowling ball down the middle of the genre. She strikes and strikes and strikes again.” —Green Man Review
“This collection was a treat.” —Booklover’s Boudoir
“Hopkinson builds alternative and just worlds, where people are free to be themselves; and when she isn’t doing that, she’s creating critical commentary on the unjust one we have built.” —Harare Review
Praise for Nalo Hopkinson
“A major talent.” —Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“One of the best fantasy authors working today.” —io9
“An exciting new voice in our literature.” —Edmonton Journal
“Like Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler, [Hopkinson] forces us to consider how inequities of race, gender, class and power might be played out in a dystopian future.” —The News Magazine of Black America
“Hopkinson’s stories dazzle” —NPR Books
“Caribbean science fiction? Nalo Hopkinson is staking her claim as one of its most notable authors.” —Caribbean Travel and Life
“Hopkinson’s prose is a distinct pleasure to read: richly sensual, with high-voltage erotic content and gorgeous details.” —SCIFI.com
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