4.5 really. Clear and compelling and so much that I've never really seen before (in large part due to the limitations of my previous reading--I have read very few books by Afro-Caribbean authors in general). A really fun mixture of folk and fairy tale retellings/reimaginings, tinged with horror and a queer sexual sensibility. ( )

I almost missed out on this extremely interesting and imaginative book because I didn't like the first few stories. "Snake," in particular, seemed surfacey and uninteresting. But then I hit the high spot in the middle, with "Under Glass," "The Glass Bottle Trick," and "Fisherman" - all absolutely incredible.

"Under Glass" and "The Glass Bottle Trick" are adaptations of fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault. Like Angela Carter (but, I would venture, even better), Hopkinson shapes the raw material into something utterly new and wildly imaginative. "The Glass Bottle Trick" turns into a story about internalized racism (to painfully oversimplify) and "Under Glass" is about how pain can make love turn cold.

"Fisherman" is really good erotica about someone who has been hiding who they are. I was genuinely touched by it. ( )

Such incredible, mesmerizing writing! Every story in here left me breathless; I adore her twists on fairytales (the ending to 'Precious' is one of my favourite monologues ever)! Go read this collection! ( )

These short stories are marvelous, sexy, scary, speculative. Ms. Hopkinson explores what it means to be human and what it means to be a woman using folklore, science fiction, and her experiences as an immigrant to Canada from the Caribbean. This woman can write! ( )

I usually prefer novels to short fiction, but these are some of the best short stories I've ever read. ( )