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 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.
Powerful and timely ... Carr is interested in the expressive potency of the body, and the novel is meticulously structured to highlight its enduring cultural significance. At the same time, the book is less interested in explaining or rationalizing that significance than in dramatizing how it literally feels ... It is a testament to Carr’s power as a writer that she is able to so clearly represent these aspects of her characters’ experiences with such intimacy and honesty.
The protagonists often appear two-dimensional, and their story ultimately leaves the reader wanting more, but Carr’s writing is eloquent and engaging, and her supporting characters are strong.
A deep plunge into the depths of violence, faith, and love experienced by several Black Texan women ... Whether seen as a novel or three novellas linked by overlapping characters, Carr’s debut is by turns eloquent and raw, fantastical and realistic ... With vivid writing and characters, Carr's debut is sometimes brutal or sentimental, always passionate, never boring.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
