Amy H. SturgisBesprekingen

This is an interesting, hugo-nominated short story. I found it all a little on-the-nose, and it took reading reviews to get insight into the cultural appropriation association.

So far only read:

~~ If a Bird Can Be a Ghost by Allison Mills, narrated by Amy H. Sturgis - 2*
The title caught my attention but I struggled with knowing what the purpose of the story was, therefore didn't enjoy myself. Our MC is young. She and her grandmother can see ghosts and sometimes helps them move on. Other times they just collect them, chat with them, serve them milk. I don't understand why there are different encounters. The MC's mother dies, she looks for her ghost. She doesn't seem to be one, so this is where the title comes in "IF A BIRD CAN BE A GHOST [why can't my mom?]" The grandmother is a mentor but this ability seems to be a traumatizing ability for a child. She finds a way to stop focusing on this ability until she is older and is ready to be a mentor herself.

Fair warning, I'm writing this review without having read any other reviews. I reading all the Hugo nominees. I'm also not a person big on metaphors/allegories, they get by me. It took me three days to "get" this story and it finally hit me about three o'clock this morning. Day-um.

What damage does appropriation do to identity? What is culture? How do we create identity? Is it a performance art for outside viewers? When is it shaped by the viewer? At what point do the "actors" forget that it's a play?

So this whole story just made me feel very angry and very Indian. And I'm going to say Indian, and you're lucky I even felt like capitalizing it.

https://www.apex-magazine.com/welcome-to-your-authentic-indian-experience/

A little predictable, but the satire was fan-freaking-tastic.

Listened to on Levar Burton reads. (Hello, childhood me, aren't you pleased that everything isn't a trash fire?) An enjoyable story, although by the end it leaves a feeling of dread and loss deep in your gut.

'18 Hugo nom for Short Stories.

This was a surprising stand-out for me. I was at first disgusted by the tourism bit, but as things progressed, I realized it was building up into something quite nasty. When the twist came, I was kicked in the gut.

Delicious.

The best part is the fact that PoV IS giving us an Authentic Indian Experience while never quite seeing it for himself.

Two thumbs way up! :)

I only read Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience by Rebecca Roanhorse.

This was a really good short story. It feels authentic (yes, irony, I get it) and real and entirely believable. It does leave you with questions at the end, some of them obvious and some of them less so. I'm really glad I was able to find this online to read it.

Interestingly, it is also a really great example of how you can write well in second person present POV. I had forgotten that it was second person POV until the end, but it does make the feelings and tension more personal than another POV would have.

This short story is short listed for Hugo Awards. For me, the story has a very interesting idea but its realization is so-so. In near future it is possible to experience a virtual reality adventure with 'real' Indians, and the story takes not the point of view of a tripper, but his Indian handler.