I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself - A Novel
Author(s): Marisa Crane
Lesbian & Bi SF / Fantasy | Lambda Awards 2024
Finalist for the Libby Book Awards
Dept. of Speculation meets Black Mirror in this lyrical, speculative debut about a queer mother raising her daughter in an unjust surveillance state
In a United States not so unlike our own, the Department of Balance has adopted a radical new form of law enforcement: rather than incarceration, wrongdoers are given a second (and sometimes, third, fourth, and fifth) shadow as a reminder of their crime--and a warning to those they encounter. Within the Department, corruption and prejudice run rampant, giving rise to an underclass of so-called Shadesters who are disenfranchised, publicly shamed, and deprived of civil rights protections.
Kris is a Shadester and a new mother to a baby born with a second shadow of her own. Grieving the loss of her wife and thoroughly unprepared for the reality of raising a child alone, Kris teeters on the edge of collapse, fumbling in a daze of alcohol, shame, and self-loathing. Yet as the kid grows, Kris finds her footing, raising a child whose irrepressible spark cannot be dampened by the harsh realities of the world. She can't forget her wife, but with time, she can make a new life for herself and the kid, supported by a community of fellow misfits who defy the Department to lift one another up in solidarity and hope.
With a first-person register reminiscent of the fierce self-disclosure of Sheila Heti and the poetic precision of Ocean Vuong, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is a bold debut novel that examines the long shadow of grief, the hard work of parenting, and the power of queer resistance.
January 2024
Lambda Award Winner 2024 – LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction
Product Information
General Fields
- :
- : Catapult
- : Catapult
- : 0.357431
- : 09 January 2024
- : .95 Inches X 5.52 Inches X 8.23 Inches
- : 01 February 2024
- : books
Special Fields
- : 352
- : English
- : Paperback
- : Marisa Crane