Brown Girl in the Ring Audiobook By Nalo Hopkinson cover art

Brown Girl in the Ring

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Brown Girl in the Ring

By: Nalo Hopkinson
Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

In this “impressive debut” from award-winning speculative fiction author Nalo Hopkinson, a young woman must solve the tragic mystery surrounding her family and bargain with the gods to save her city and herself. (The Washington Post)

The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways—farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets.

With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends.

©1998 Nalo Hopkinson (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC African American Alternate History Coming of Age Contemporary Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Magic Magical Realism Paranormal & Urban Science Fiction Urban Women's Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Scary

Critic reviews

"Hopkinson's writing is smooth and assured, and her characters lively and believable. She has created a vivid world of urban decay and startling, dangerous magic, where the human heart is both a physical and metaphorical key." (Publishers Weekly)

"An impressive debut precisely because of Hopkinson's fresh viewpoint."—The Washington Post
Rich Cultural Tapestry • Captivating Plot • Excellent Narration • Strong Female Protagonist • Vivid Worldbuilding
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  

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.

Heavy Heavy!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely fantastic! I was captivated from start to finish. An excellent well told story. Fabulous!

Captivating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So many books in the fantasy genres try to capture the dangerous and wild spirit of fairy tales, but this one actually achieves it.

Delightfully Bold

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
such a beautiful story and a pulling back of the curtain onto a culture

very moving

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Entertaining, engaging, moving. The narrative is still nuanced and relevant so many years after publication.

A must listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a Caribbean person in America, the title immediately captured my attention. I was delighted and excited by the story. Having the familiar represented in the unknown; this is an awesome read.

Tra La La La La

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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".

Good until...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Yes thanks for being a vessel of pure greatness, she capture our stories and infused them with her own original story.

Got a Fan in me

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I got this as part of a sale on Audible in October 2018. The title reminded me of a song by Boney M that I would hear all the time at work, and I think that inspired me to buy it from the sale.

I liked it although I felt the plot was not as advertised: "But also left behind are people like Ti-Jeanne, who hope to use voodoo to help rebuild the city..."

She does nothing of the sort. She is reluctant to learn the ways of magic from her grandmother. However, I really did like the relationship between Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother.

The whole story is a good debut but I'm not sure if I will listen/read more from Nalo.

I was really glad that I listened to it because the accents was easier than reading the vernacular.

3 out of 5 Human Hearts.

Good debut

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews