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. ( )

http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2018/07/welcome-to-your-authentic-indian-exp... ( )