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dsak's review
4.0
Much more of an academic approach to Indigenous Futurism than I was expecting, but I appreciated the commentary once I got used to it. Some very intriguing thought experiments, some of which I would love to be able read as a full length novel. I'm not sure which was my favorite, but all of them are going to stick with me.
lesbrary's review
4.0
One of my favourite things about this collection is that the stories include footnotes and are each followed by an essay explaining Vowell’s thought process behind them: “These explorations expand this work beyond creative writing; I am ‘imagining otherwise’ in order find a way to ‘act otherwise.'” While the stories are fiction, there is a lot of research that went into many of them, and the footnotes explain which parts are based in fact and which were changed.
There are also lots of queer stories. In “Buffalo Bird,” the main character and her mother are rougarou, shapeshifters who transform into powerful black mares, and that shift is usually through anger. Angelique and her mother are both criticized for not being sufficiently feminine, especially because Angelique has no interest in marrying a man. Vowell explains that these gender norms and this heterosexism have been enforced through colonialism and that they have “erased and punished fluid sexual orientations and gender identities that existed pre-Contact.”
In another, a queer Indigenous feminist collective co-parent a kid together. And then there’s one with this line, about falling for a woman who’s also a literal fox: “I swear, I’d have done anything to keep her looking at me like that, even if part of me did feel like she was thinking about eating me up. Maybe especially because of that.”
This was a thought-provoking and engaging collection, and I really enjoyed reading the essays to see Vowell’s inspiration and intentions behind each story. I highly recommend this one, and I’m eagerly anticipating whatever Chelsea Vowel writes next.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
There are also lots of queer stories. In “Buffalo Bird,” the main character and her mother are rougarou, shapeshifters who transform into powerful black mares, and that shift is usually through anger. Angelique and her mother are both criticized for not being sufficiently feminine, especially because Angelique has no interest in marrying a man. Vowell explains that these gender norms and this heterosexism have been enforced through colonialism and that they have “erased and punished fluid sexual orientations and gender identities that existed pre-Contact.”
In another, a queer Indigenous feminist collective co-parent a kid together. And then there’s one with this line, about falling for a woman who’s also a literal fox: “I swear, I’d have done anything to keep her looking at me like that, even if part of me did feel like she was thinking about eating me up. Maybe especially because of that.”
This was a thought-provoking and engaging collection, and I really enjoyed reading the essays to see Vowell’s inspiration and intentions behind each story. I highly recommend this one, and I’m eagerly anticipating whatever Chelsea Vowel writes next.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
kait_unicorn's review
3.0
Rating a book of short stories is challenging. Some of these stories I would give five stars to, others four, and a few three.
The footnotes in the first story were distracting and detracted from the worldbuilding, so I stopped reading them. They would have made a good part of the analysis post-story.
I LOVE how the penultimate story brought all the stories together into the same world. A lot of the worldbuilding was reminiscent of N.K.Jemisin’s work, and as a short story collection, it was nearly as satisfying to me as ‘How Long til Black Future Month”
The footnotes in the first story were distracting and detracted from the worldbuilding, so I stopped reading them. They would have made a good part of the analysis post-story.
I LOVE how the penultimate story brought all the stories together into the same world. A lot of the worldbuilding was reminiscent of N.K.Jemisin’s work, and as a short story collection, it was nearly as satisfying to me as ‘How Long til Black Future Month”
ssydneyadamss's review
4.0
This collection was really great! Every story was so unique yet came together to depict such an interesting story. This is a story meant to shift perspectives and because of that it is so important. I would and have been recommending this to everyone I can.
bookishmillennial's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Indigenous futurisms seek to discover the impact of colonization, remove its psychological baggage, and recover ancestral traditions. These eight short stories of "Metis futurism" explore Indigenous existence and resistance through the specific lens of being Metis. Expansive and eye-opening, Buffalo Is the New Buffalo rewrites our shared history in provocative and exciting ways.
I WAS SO ENAMORED WITH THIS COLLECTION OF STORIES! I received it in a Black Walnuts Books subscription box.
I WAS SO ENAMORED WITH THIS COLLECTION OF STORIES! I received it in a Black Walnuts Books subscription box.
gameoftomes's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Eight short stories, each with an accompanying note of the author talking to the reader, explaining or posing further questions. I’ve read a short story collection from Octavia Butler that was the same style, and I love actually getting a peek into the author’s head.
Buffalo Bird: 3/5 A lot of historical details relating to indigenous and white Canadian 19th century history and how the text explores an alternate history. This really breaks the narrative, and I’m not sure it works as a short story. It looks like a pitch of a great long-form novel. But then I also think about how European-centric history is forced onto First Nations citizens, so should I really be put out by this? I do think that readers can dislike this first story but still love the rest of the collection.
Michif Man: 5/5 At first I thought this was just average good, but the story and the subversion of the superhero origin story has stayed with me, not only living in my head rent free but also buying a few acres there.
Dirty Wings: 4/5 Surreal, purposefully dreamlike. It will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s really interesting alongside the notes afterward.
Maggie Sue: 5/5 It kept subverting my expectations. I felt like I was along for an intriguing, thought-provoking ride. I feel like I’ll take more from it each time I reread it. Great blend of the spiritual, the dream-like, and the mundanity.
A Lodge Within Her Mind: 5/5 So damn interesting! It was written during the pandemic and is set in a pandemic though not explicitly COVID-19. It involves themes around tech and what we could give up when blindly agreeing to terms and conditions. I love how the conflict was resolved by
âniskôhôcikan: 5/5 The highlight of the whole collection for me, but I am a total lot nerd. We get the same story 3 ways: as a few lines, as two pages, and as a short story. It really provokes a lot of thought, in particular about what choices new technology and waves of living could give us, especially when rooted in community values.
I, Bison: 5/5 A story with lots of layers and complicated topics. One of the things I loved was how the text calls out how weird and unnecessary the tech company headquarters is and that it lines up with the sci-fi dreamed up by a lot of white storytellers: no decor, no shelving or storage, monochromatic white, huge empty spaces.
There are things said here that I honestly needed to read as someone with depression. Obviously generational trauma and the effects of past and current colonization leading to depression is completely different. But what Gus said is what I didn’t know I needed to hear. It literally profoundly changed me.
Unsettled: 5/5 Not gonna be for everyone, but it shook me and posed more questions than it had answered. Much of classic sci-fi and specifically short sci-fi stories works like this. I would love to read it with people and see how the text is used to figure out who is our first person narrator and who was the patsy.
There are some connecting elements in this collection, such as a fictional tech company and a certain fantastical event involving bison.
If you don’t like short stories, this isn’t for you. I’ve seen reviews on many different anthologies where people don’t like the genre or haven’t ever found a short story collection they like. You cannot treat short stories as you would a long form sci-fi book or an entire fantasy series. The focus will be more narrow, theme will be important, what’s not said is sometimes as important as what’s said. This is a pet peeve of mine of seeing people keep reviewing short stories and rate them low, not liking the story format. If you haven’t liked the first 5 you’ve read, why keep reading and rating each one low? Obviously there are valid reasons to not enjoy any book, this is just a rant I needed to get off my chest.
Overall I’m obsessed and am game for anything else Chelsea Vowel writes. I love SFF shorts, and this one really revitalized the genre, imo. 9/10
lines__lines's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
4.0
The author's academic background comes through in her careful footnoting and mini-essay explorations after each story! The collection includes near-futures, alternate presents and near-pasts and feels very much of this moment in time as humanity reaches futuristic levels of neurotechnology in real life. Each story centers Indigenous Métis communities from slightly different angles, but always centering authenticity in both storytelling style and outlook. There is hope here and thorny questions. This books envisions dismantling colonial-capitalist society in full or in parts and does not shy away from examining the damages dolled out by colonialism in the form of generational traumas, disconnecting people from their communities, and the "othering" of non-settler ways of living. Yet there is resilience in the face of all this. Alternate past stories show resistance in both powerful and quieter ways. Near-future stories harness technology to reclaim connections.
My favorites are "Maggie Sue", "Dirty Wings", and "âniskôhôikan" as these most reject conventional narrative structures, don't do as much hand-holding for the non-native reader, let the reader do more work of filling in narrative gaps and leaving questions posed without complete answers. I also really liked that "I, Bison" pulled together some plot points from other stories. Michif Man also plays with structure, nesting a story within snippets from an academic lecture; this is a more straightforward one plot-wise, but the heart of the story it rejects the usual individualism of the superhero in favor of portraying a community that integrates their super-powered member without elevating him. I liked the rejection of convention and embracing a vision of culturally-rooted superhero.
I think some stories struggled more than others to integrate their philosophical ponderings into the narrative, but overall I'd say this collection works well both as entertaining stories and thoughtful explorations of Indigenous possibilities. The heavy footnoting on the opening story Buffalo Bird was a difficult one to open with, and while I appreciated the context a lot since I have virtually no knowledge of Métis history and culture, it often felt like they interrupted the story and made it harder to parse at times. The story is certainly readable and comprehensible without them (though the date/age notes were def helpful), and I almost would have preferred some of the historical context in the end exploration so I could read through once at face value before going back in and getting the deeper dives. But that's also kind of clunky; it's not bad to have the context in place where it's relevant. It was just a tough story to start on overall, I think, and made getting into this collection slow for me. However, for the most part, the rest of the stories were much lighter on the footnoting and those that were present were smaller helpful cues for understanding cultural context or simple references rather than long historical asides.
It took me a long time to read this collection because there's so much packed into these stories that my brain had to take time to process and pick apart and re-absorb. I definitely feel like this got into my mind and gently pushed it apart to make room for its ideas in the best way. I really appreciate my library auto-renewing this several times for me!
My favorites are "Maggie Sue", "Dirty Wings", and "âniskôhôikan" as these most reject conventional narrative structures, don't do as much hand-holding for the non-native reader, let the reader do more work of filling in narrative gaps and leaving questions posed without complete answers. I also really liked that "I, Bison" pulled together some plot points from other stories. Michif Man also plays with structure, nesting a story within snippets from an academic lecture; this is a more straightforward one plot-wise, but the heart of the story it rejects the usual individualism of the superhero in favor of portraying a community that integrates their super-powered member without elevating him. I liked the rejection of convention and embracing a vision of culturally-rooted superhero.
I think some stories struggled more than others to integrate their philosophical ponderings into the narrative, but overall I'd say this collection works well both as entertaining stories and thoughtful explorations of Indigenous possibilities. The heavy footnoting on the opening story Buffalo Bird was a difficult one to open with, and while I appreciated the context a lot since I have virtually no knowledge of Métis history and culture, it often felt like they interrupted the story and made it harder to parse at times. The story is certainly readable and comprehensible without them (though the date/age notes were def helpful), and I almost would have preferred some of the historical context in the end exploration so I could read through once at face value before going back in and getting the deeper dives. But that's also kind of clunky; it's not bad to have the context in place where it's relevant. It was just a tough story to start on overall, I think, and made getting into this collection slow for me. However, for the most part, the rest of the stories were much lighter on the footnoting and those that were present were smaller helpful cues for understanding cultural context or simple references rather than long historical asides.
It took me a long time to read this collection because there's so much packed into these stories that my brain had to take time to process and pick apart and re-absorb. I definitely feel like this got into my mind and gently pushed it apart to make room for its ideas in the best way. I really appreciate my library auto-renewing this several times for me!