{"id":34191,"date":"2022-12-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lesbianfunworld.com\/books\/?p=34191"},"modified":"2022-12-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T00:00:00","slug":"i-keep-my-exoskeletons-to-myself-by-marisa-crane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesbianfunworld.com\/books\/i-keep-my-exoskeletons-to-myself-by-marisa-crane\/","title":{"rendered":"I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself by Marisa Crane"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I Keep My Exoskeletons To Myself<\/em><\/h2>\n

a novel<\/em><\/h3>\n

Marisa Crane<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Dept. of Speculation meets Black Mirror in this lyrical, speculative debut about a queer mother raising her daughter in an unjust surveillance state<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Check for it on:<\/h2>\n