Brown Girl in the Ring

The strongest parts of this book have to do with the wonderful details about the relationships between women–the central protagonist and her mother and grandmother. There is nothing simple about these relationships, and they ring true. The book is worth reading for this stuff alone.

I didn't enjoy the plot, or the “magical realism” (is it really still magical realism when a spell makes somebody invisible?–seems like just magic); I suspect that so-called “urban fantasy” isn't my favorite flavor of fantasy, which is no fault of the book, but I also think that the plot and setting weren't strong enough to hold the wonderful characters. Two characters talking?–GREAT BOOK. Two characters out in the “magical” world?– YOU LOST ME.

I'll likely try another book by Hopkinson, since this was her first, just because I liked the characters so much...

Brown Girl in the Ring is the story of a dystopian, futuristic Toronto that's falling apart from the neglect of the larger authorities around it - in other words, it's very contemporary, only with added elements of Caribbean supernatural folktales added in.

All that is background, though. The story that really matters here is that of a young woman coming into her own, taking the beliefs and responsibilities of her ancestors' culture and making them work for her in a modern, contemporary way. It's a complex and interesting character-based work, and it's hard to describe what makes it work as well as it does.

This was my third Hopkinson, and I LOVED the two others (Falling in Love with Hominids and Midnight Robber). I really struggled with this one - particularly the first 2/3rds - and in the end it's my least favorite of the three I've read. It's dystopian with magical elements following one main character. The plot and magical elements are strongest in the last third and this is what saved it for me. I think I missed Hopkinson's gift at storytelling that I found at the forefront of her short story collection and novel I read. I'm still in awe of Hopkinson and this one isn't going to stop me from reading her other works.