The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2: Stories for Men, Women, and the Rest of Us

Too short, want more.

I don't necessarily agree with all the stories, or even with the judgement that all the stories explore and expand gender. Nor, judging from the introduction, was I expected to. The one thing the editors indented the anthology to do is provoke thought and discussion - and that it has done.

As well as make me think, the anthology was an extremely enjoyable read. Most of the stories are touching, some are funny, some left me badly wanting more. As particular highlights, I single out the two novel extracts (from Joe Haldeman's "Camouflage" and Johanna Sinisalo's "Troll: A Love Story"), both of which ended up on my to-read list (in fact, I acquired a copy of "Camouflage" pretty much immediately and inhaled it over the show more next week); my first (yes, I know!) real encounter with Ursula K. LeGuin's work, in the form of "Another Story, or a Fisherman of the Inland Sea", a wonderfully compassionate, character-driven story exploring choices about life, love, family and careers; and the touching and witty "Kissing Frogs" by Jaye Lawrence.

In addition to that, the anthology offers a few non-fiction pieces, most notably Nalo Hopkinson's essay "Looking for Clues", which touches on themes of race, gender, and searching for identity in the world around us. I found some of it confirming and expanding my own views on the subject, while some of it was truly eye-opening. The other non-fiction piece which added to my to-read list was "The Brains of Female Hyena Twins" by Gwyneth Jones, a brief overview of recent scientific literature on gender, both human and animal. I'm really looking forward to finding out about the platypi now. show less

The second Tiptree Awards showcase proves the first volume was not a fluke. An important ongoing series that deserves the widest audience.

Introduction, Debbie Notkin
Letter to Rudolf Arnheim, James Tiptree, Jr
Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation, Raphael Carter - winner 1998
The Gift, L. Timmel Duchamp
excerpts from Camouflage, Joe Haldeman - winner 2004
excerpts from Troll: A Love Story, Johanna Sinisalo - winner 2004
Looking for Clues, Nalo Hopkinson (essay)
Nirvana High, Eileen Gunn & Leslie What
Five Fucks, Jonathan Lethem - shortlist 1996
All of Us Can Almost…, Carol Emshwiller - shortlist 2004
The Brains of Female Hyena Twins, Gwyneth Jones
Another Story, or a Fisherman of the Inland Sea, Ursula K. Le Guin
Kissing Frogs, Jaye Lawrence - shortlist 2004