Brown Girl In The Ring - Softcover

"Splendid....Superbly plotted and redolent of the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean speech."--Kirkus Review "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."--Publisher's Weekly "Hopkinson lives up to her advance billing."--New York Times Book Review "An impressive debut precisely because of Hopkinson's fresh viewpoint."--The Washington Post "A wonderful sense of narrative and a finely tuned ear for dialogue...balances a well-crafted and imaginative story with incisive social critique and a vivid sense of place."--Emerge "Excellent...a bright, original mix of future urban decay and West Indian magic...strongly rooted in character and place."--Sunday Denver Post "Utterly original....the debut of a major talent. Gripping, memorable, and beautiful."--Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club

The rich and the 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, the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends.