©2025 Fable Group Inc.
3.5 

Skin Folk

By Nalo Hopkinson
Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson digital book - Fable

Why read on Fable?

Discover social reading

Chat inside the ebook with emojis, comments and more

Annotate with notes, tabs, and highlights

Share or keep your notes private with our annotation features

Support the World Literacy Foundation

We donate 20% of every book sale to help children learn to read

Publisher Description

The SFWA Grand Master’s award-winning collection “combines a richly textured multicultural background with incisive storytelling” (Library Journal).
 
In Skin Folk, with works ranging from science fiction to Caribbean folklore, passionate love to chilling horror, Nalo Hopkinson is at her award-winning best, spinning tales like “Precious,” in which the narrator spews valuable coins and gems from her mouth whenever she attempts to talk or sing. In “A Habit of Waste,” a self-conscious woman undergoes elective surgery to alter her appearance; days later she’s shocked to see her former body climbing onto a public bus. In “The Glass Bottle Trick,” the young protagonist ignores her intuition regarding her new husband’s superstitions—to horrifying consequences.
 
Hopkinson’s unique pacing and vibrant dialogue sets a steady beat for stories that illustrate why she received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Entertaining, challenging, and alluring, Skin Folk is not to be missed.
 
Praise for Nalo Hopkinson and the World Fantasy Award–winning Skin Folk
 
“Hopkinson’s prose is vivid and immediate.” —The Washington Post Book World
 
“An important new writer.” —The Dallas Morning News
 
“Her descriptions of ordinary people finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances ring true, the result of her strong evocation of place and her ear for dialect.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“A marvelous display of Nalo Hopkinson’s talents, skills and insights into the human conditions of life, especially of the fantastic realities of the Caribbean . . . Everything is possible in her imagination.” —Science Fiction Chronicle

79 Reviews

3.5
“The anthology comprises 15 stories infused with Caribbean folklore and culture. I listened to the book in audiobook format narrated by the renowned Bahni Turpin. The use of the Caribbean accent truly brought these stories to life! Several stories took place in Tdot. I was trying to envision some of the local places mentioned. "A Habit of Waste" stood out as one of the best stories. I found at least one story quite disturbing, but I was relieved by the ending. Another story had my full attention due to its likable queer character, the Fisherman. However, the story contained too much explicit sexual content in a manner that came across as vulgar. Stories such as "Greedy Choke Puppy" and "Tan-Tan and Dry Bone," which are rooted in Caribbean folklore, did not resonate with me. The other stories failed to capture my interest.”

About Nalo Hopkinson

<DIV><B>Nalo Hopkinson</B> was born in Jamaica and has lived in Guyana, Trinidad, and Canada. The daughter of a poet/playwright and a library technician, she has won numerous awards including the John W. Campbell Award, the World Fantasy Award, and Canada's Sunburst Award for literature of the fantastic. Her award-winning short fiction collection <I>Skin Folk</I> was selected for the 2002 <I>New York Times</I> Summer Reading List and was one of the <I>New York Times</I> Best Books of the Year. Hopkinson is also the author of <I>The New Moon's Arms, The Salt Roads, Midnight Robber,</I> and <I>Brown Girl in the Ring</I>. She is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, and splits her time between California, USA, and Toronto, Canada.</DIV>

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!

FAQ

Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Do you sell physical books too?

Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

Error Icon
Save to a list
0
/
30
0
/
100
Private List
Private lists are not visible to other Fable users on your public profile.
Notification Icon
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB