Jamaica Ginger & Other Concoctions

 

Jamaica Ginger & Other Concoctions / Nalo Hopkinson
San Francisco: Tachyon, c2024.
224 p.

Another short story collection, but this time it's modern and speculative! I enjoy Nalo Hopkinson's books, and was pleased to see this new collection appear in my library. Hopkinson has a unique magic in her work, her imagination and clarity make something special out of her short stories. (and her novels, which I've also loved). 

This book pulls together stories from across her career, with a couple that have appeared elsewhere, and some that are hard to find, being special occasion publications. And before each one, there is an author's preface, where she talks about the story, maybe how it came to be or why she wrote it, and a little assessment. This is really neat, and I enjoyed these prefaces almost as much as the stories. While you don't need these to understand the stories, they do add an extra level to the reading. 

This is a mix of very short stories (one is only 2 pages) to much longer ones, notably "Broad Dutty Water". I really enjoyed that one! I did find that I enjoyed the whole collection, each story had something new to investigate. Hopkinson uses Caribbean vernacular in many of the stories, and makes it easy to understand, while grounding her fiction in place. Many of them also investigate climate change and the effects of rising ocean levels on island communities, as well as directly addressing racism in a variety of forms. There is anger and pointed commentary alongside humour and some engaging characters. The intriguing title story is co-written with Nisi Shawl, which is an interesting idea, giving something extra to the book - including the intro about the co-writing experience. 

Hopkinson is great with short stories, and this felt a little like a conversation with her about some of her work, thanks to those author intros to each one. A really good collection, and a good introduction to her work if you haven't tried it before.