Fascinating, unique story deftly narrated

Kudos to Recorded Books for creating a line of audio books written and narrated by people of color.

Nalo Hopkinson's first novel shows exceptional powers of imagination and compassion. Her ear for dialect is superb (well, based on my limited knowledge of dialect) and the narration brings it alive. I am a little disappointed that the narrator is male, since the author and main protagonist are female, but it's a minor complaint.

Note that as it is a horror genre book, there's a lot of violence and torture.

If you like Neil Gaiman's works, especially Anansi Boys, you'll like this book.

20 people found this helpful

except for the narrator

I love nalo Hopkinson! the story is really engaging. But why the male narrator for a story written by a woman about a woman?

8 people found this helpful

Heavy Heavy!!

What did you love best about Brown Girl in the Ring?

I appreciate the story on all of its levels. It presented so many issues. Social and Political, modern practice of ancestral practices, connecting with spirits, poverty, crime.... all exist in this story centered around one woman's quest to find herself.

This story was colorful, heartfelt. Warm and cold.

What did you like best about this story?

The story definitely has elements that challenge the western approach to healing and living. It does so in a way that does not demonize those who practice it.

I love the Author's descriptive writing style, I can connect to the story and all my senses are activated.

Have you listened to any of Peter Jay Fernandez’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never listened to Peter Jay Fernandez, and he is amazing! The story is written in a patois and he performs it in a way that is still understandable.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The line in the sand has been drawn.... which side are you on?

Any additional comments?

I actually picked up this book a few years ago at the library and I was distracted by other books; I couldn't get through it. I'm glad I found it in this form because it is truly enjoyable.

7 people found this helpful

fantastic

I underestimated the narrator based off of the sample but he did a great story justice! This is so beautifully written, the patois feels like home. I love falling asleep to Nalo's books, it's like being read stories by my grandparents who have passed. The mysticism and playfulness is ancestral and makes me nostalgic. With that said, it sparked my imagination in so many moments, especially with the Haitian practices that I'm unfamiliar with. The orisha names are different here than in my culture so it was fun to force my mind to reorient.

This story is strikingly similar to Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death, but was written far earlier and in my opinion is stronger in its politic. The protagonist is forced to come into her own power and self-understanding despite an abrupt separation from her teacher. She must fight the ultimate evil, which is a part of her own blood line, with the ultimate strength which is also within her lineage. It's poetic and gripping. "Never a dull moment" as an elder would say.

4 people found this helpful

Great Listen!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. More so than the kindle version I had but couldn’t finish. I didn’t mind that the narrator is a man reading for a female protagonist. I thought Fernandez did a great job, and his Caribbean accents (among others) were sooo good. It added a depth to the story that reading just didn’t provide.

Hopkinson’s story is gripping. It kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was going to happen next but feeling apprehensive at the same time because, well, Obeah (aka sorcery) can be creepy! It was great though, Hopkinson expertly blends traditional magic rituals and religion with a vivid and disturbingly believable dystopian future (set in Toronto). I can’t believe this book was published in the late 90s, it was clearly ahead of its time (since dystopian stories are all the rage now).

Also, this book is refreshingly not YA, with an entire storyline centered around the concerns of that one demographic, instead there was a lot of intergenerational representation which I enjoyed. And best of all, the author presented realistic and multifaceted black characters (amid a multiracial backdrop). Apparently they’ve made a movie based on this series. I can’t wait to check it out as well as the other books of the series.

1 person found this helpful

Almost 5 stars

Any additional comments?

I think this story was really something special, even though throughout the first half of the book I wondered if this was the work of a talented, but then inexperienced author. I wondered this because the first half was marked by a lack of sensory detail. I like stories that put me in the setting and let me feel what is happening. The atmosphere here wasn't incredibly immersive, and also the author kept using the same figure of speech to describe character's emotional reactions again and again (everybody's always sucking their teeth in disgust, or sucking their teeth to show some other negative emotion, it gets weird). I thought the story skimped on detail fairly often, though not in a way that crippled it. Altogether, once it gets going this is a really cool story. It's culturally immersive and graceful and full of cool voodoo stuff. The ending was especially fitting and satisfying too. Worth the cash.

1 person found this helpful

Island In The Donut Hole

Very interesting book full of creepy voodoo, magic and healing. This is a good tale of a girl transitioning to womanhood, going through some tough changes, and stepping into her grandmother's shoes to become the neighborhood healer.
A little political commentary, a little sex, a little abuse and torture - and a lot of peculiar characters, human and otherwise. Something for everyone.

3 people found this helpful

Sensational story. Horrifying and uplifting.

I found this novel to be wildly engaging. It's exhilarating to read a story with magic that isn't from a European tradition. The narration makes the patois come alive in a way that I might have missed if I had simply read the title. There are parts of the story that are down right grizzly, but overall it is a story of fighting against evil for well deserved empowerment.

Well worth my time.

Good until...

Man becomes Healthcare professional. He then becomes the equivalent of a crack head, loses his job and resorts to gang activity. Girl leaves guy because he is a crackhead and she is prego but knows he can't provide. Guy KILLS girls grandmother because of his actions from stealing drugs. Girl lets him see the baby and converses with him at the end because he is "sorry".

Awesome storytelling!

Great story. traditional folklore. Narration was perfectly engaging. Suspenceful throughout and nicely tied off at the end.