Book review of "Brown Girl in the Ring"
Brown Girl in the Ring, a fantasy novel by Nalo Hopkinson, is a supernatural journey full of heavy suspense, potent spirits and other-worldly imagery. The story follows Ti-Jeanne, a young mother of Haitian descent living in a post-apocalyptic Toronto, who discovers she has a magical connection to powerful ancestral spirits. Unfortunately, that's not all she discovers.
It turns out her baby daddy, Tony, is involved with a nasty gang and needs her help to escape from their clutches once and for all. Ti-Jeanne decides to help him out, but things don't go according to plan when the gang's sinister leader uses his own powers to capture Tony. Under the mentorship of her grandmother, Gros-Jeanne, who is also the town's de facto 'medicine woman'/ healer, Ti-Jeanne learns how to harness her connection with the spirits and sets out to defeat the gang boss once and for all.
What makes Brown Girl in the Ring a true fantasy masterpiece is the way Hopkinson manages to craft a compelling narrative that subverts readers' expectations. All of the twists and turns of the plot leave you wanting more. Those who are brave enough to go on the ride are in for treat.
The way Hopkinson manages to weave storylines together in a way that still leaves room for her reader to question things for themselves is a key factor in the book's success. We're not told what happens. We're shown through the characters' actions and decisions. Some stories have you predicting the final outcome with perfect accuracy before anything even remotely interesting happens. Brown Girl in the Ring doesn't do this. Instead, you're constantly on the edge of your seat trying to figure out how it's all going to end.
The way in which Hopkinson incorporates gore and horror into the narrative also played a role in subverting my expectations and is perhaps the second most compelling aspect of the novel. One moment you're reading about a magical fight sequence and the next you're reading about a character being slaughtered slowly on a dining table.
Hopkinson's use of graphic imagery in these moments helps build tension and suspense and genuinely makes you fear for the characters. After Tony is captured by the gang's boss, Rudy, she writes:
He'd been able to move his upper body for a few minutes now, to turn his head away from the ritual that Rudy was performing in front of him, but with his arms shackled to the chair he was sitting in, he hadn't been able to shield his ears from the sounds of a knife ripping through skin or his nose from the smells of blood and human waste (pg. 135).
It's enough to make you squirm with that queasy feeling of dread.
But I think the most compelling aspect of this novel is the character dialogue. Hopkinson did her research and managed to make the main characters speak in Caribbean English that flows so seamlessly on the page. I've read books in the past that have tried to incorporate different dialects and accents but failed in execution by distracting from the main focus of the story. In this case, Hopkinson's use of this specific vernacular only serves to strengthen the worldbuilding and it helps define who these characters are.
Worldbuilding: 4.5/5
From the detailed descriptions of the various settings to the incorporation of the "African powers", Hopkinson creates a world full of nuance and darkness, but one also full of hope.
Characters: 5/5
Each main character has their own unique voice and story arc. Even the characterization of the ancestral spirits is done in a way that makes them intriguing and understandable. The supporting characters are also quite memorable, some even act as driving forces for the plot.
Plot: 5/5
The story flows seamlessly from beginning to end. No need to worry about 'middle syndrome' with this one. Oh, and the ending is extremely satisfying. I think there's something in here for everyone. Whether you prefer mystical fight sequences or wishy-washy romances, Brown Girl in the Ring has it all.
Overall Rating: 4.8/5
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