An Autobiography of Skin
A Novel
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • This magisterial, intimate look at Black womanhood "follows three women whose various traumas haunt them literally and metaphorically, as it explores what it means to be a Black woman in America today" (The New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice).
A middle-aged woman feed slots at a secret back-room parlor. A new mother descends into a devastating postpartum depression, wracked with the fear that she is unable to protect her children. A daughter returns home to join the other women in her family waging spiritual combat with the ghosts of their past.
An Autobiography of Skin is a dazzling and masterful portrait of interconnected generations in the South from a singular new voice, offering a raw and tender view into the interior lives of Black women. It is at once a powerful look at how experiences are carried inside the body, inside the flesh and skin, and a joyous testament to how healing can be found within—in love, mercy, gratitude, and freedom.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With gorgeous prose and subtly spectral vibes, Carr's striking debut delves into generational trauma with the stories of three Black women. There's middle-aged Jeanette, who treats her grief over her mother's death by gambling in a backroom slot parlor and deals with her lonely marriage by drinking, listening to records, and taking hot baths, "letting the heat of the water do things husband stopped doing years ago." Maya, a stay-at-home mother, finds her postpartum depression deepened by the absence of her husband Troy, an adult film producer, and by frequent news of Black men being killed by police. Maya's friend Ketinah, meanwhile, sees ghosts, and her reunion with the elder women in her family—including her mother, Peaches, who is best friends with Jeanette; and her tenacious grandmother Mama Eloise, who shares Ketinah's mystical abilities—forces her to reckon with the enduring heartbreak and substance abuse issues disrupting her relationships. By tracing the characters' complex bonds, Carr underscores the power of community and kinship among Black women who find a way to be vulnerable and joyful in a world that too often charges them with the role of caretakers. This exploration of love, courage, and desire is not to be missed.
