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derhindemith's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t have enough superlatives for how much I enjoyed this book.
Psychometry , or Gone with the Dust-
Cute, if a bit heavy-handed with horrible white people are
Sapling-
OMG, so good.
Mauve’s Quilt-
Again, so beautiful. I’ve been sewing a lot lately, so I really loved this one
Lyes-
Kinda like Spike Lee's Bamboozled, but personal and centered on a woman. Oh, and reclaiming mammy.
Sugardaddy-
This guy wrote Candyman but better. I mean, it's a lot easier to write that story if you're not a white english guy.
Zora's Destiny-
Cute fantasy origin story for Zora Neale Hurston
Death and Two Maidens-
This was rough. There was a lot of (emotional) violence (and some physical too) in this one and the payoff wasn't as fulfilling as I wanted it to be.
The Inscribed Man-
An interesting take on generational trauma in the form of an idee fixe passed from father to son. Still don't understand what happens when Hermes is three times as big
Coalrose-
Rasputin as a woman. Sexy, enthralling, magical. To meet her is to be changed by her.
Psychometry , or Gone with the Dust-
Cute, if a bit heavy-handed with horrible white people are
Sapling-
OMG, so good.
Mauve’s Quilt-
Again, so beautiful. I’ve been sewing a lot lately, so I really loved this one
Lyes-
Kinda like Spike Lee's Bamboozled, but personal and centered on a woman. Oh, and reclaiming mammy.
Sugardaddy-
This guy wrote Candyman but better. I mean, it's a lot easier to write that story if you're not a white english guy.
Zora's Destiny-
Cute fantasy origin story for Zora Neale Hurston
Death and Two Maidens-
This was rough. There was a lot of (emotional) violence (and some physical too) in this one and the payoff wasn't as fulfilling as I wanted it to be.
The Inscribed Man-
An interesting take on generational trauma in the form of an idee fixe passed from father to son. Still don't understand what happens when Hermes is three times as big
Coalrose-
Rasputin as a woman. Sexy, enthralling, magical. To meet her is to be changed by her.
scrow1022's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, lush, visceral and compelling. Love how he reaches back into history for some of these.
misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
please don't read this as an insult: the cover is the best thing about this collection
look at it. it's beautiful. even if the stories weren't good i wouldn't regret picking it up for the cover alone
luckily that is not the case! skin deep magic is a collection of fantastical stories centering black women. there are a few historical, mostly contemporary, all set in the 'real world' with a touch of magic winding through it. i think they're a little more literary than my typical reads -- i was struggling for words to describe the stories and the best i could think of was the experience felt closer to how i feel when looking at an art gallery than the kind of feelings laden immersion i experience with most books i like. except for lyes. lyes drew at an 'awww' from me by the ending. 3 stars
look at it. it's beautiful. even if the stories weren't good i wouldn't regret picking it up for the cover alone
luckily that is not the case! skin deep magic is a collection of fantastical stories centering black women. there are a few historical, mostly contemporary, all set in the 'real world' with a touch of magic winding through it. i think they're a little more literary than my typical reads -- i was struggling for words to describe the stories and the best i could think of was the experience felt closer to how i feel when looking at an art gallery than the kind of feelings laden immersion i experience with most books i like. except for lyes. lyes drew at an 'awww' from me by the ending. 3 stars
readmeup's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
errantdreams's review
5.0
Craig Laurance Gidney’s Skin Deep Magic: Short Fiction is a most excellent collection of magical short stories centered around, primarily, black women. Content note for slurs, suicide, and brief sexual material. A couple of stories include gay characters.
Some stories are very brief slices-of-life. “Psychometry, or Gone with the Dust” is one such–we get a brief glimpse into the life of Margo. She cleans up the homes of dead people, and sometimes gets impressions off of objects she finds there. This particular house has a collection of rather racist items. “Zora’s Destiny” involves Zora, who goes to reputed witch Hattie for a headache cure for her mother, and gets her fortune read. It feels like the first chapter in a novel that I’d like to read.
Transformation is a repeating theme in this book. “Sapling” sees young Mabel start to come into her own. She meets a very odd man who inhabits a park near her home, and then she starts to change. “Sugardaddy” introduces us to Tasha, who meets another strange man no one else can see, and like Mabel, starts to change into something… else.
“Lyes” sees Sheri writing a thesis on the images of African Americans in advertising. When some of the women from her ads start to come to life and are determined to make over her life, she has to enlist the aid of another iconic advertising figure.
“Death and Two Maidens: The Sad Fate of Prothenia Jenkins” shows us the life and death of Prothenia, and what happens to her afterward.
“Coalrose” is my favorite of the stories in here, although it had to do battle with “Sugardaddy” and “Sapling” for that honor. In 1930, Etta goes to the big city because she wants to be an actress. Of course, roles for black women are scarce and not entirely appealing. She reinvents herself as Zoë Coalrose, using her mysterious ability to affect people’s minds to become a cult favorite. We get to see how she touches a handful of the lives around her over the course of 30 years.
I absolutely love this set of stories. There are so many strong women in here, living such magical lives. It’s a delightful anthology.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/08/review-skin-deep-magic-craig-laurance-gidney/
Some stories are very brief slices-of-life. “Psychometry, or Gone with the Dust” is one such–we get a brief glimpse into the life of Margo. She cleans up the homes of dead people, and sometimes gets impressions off of objects she finds there. This particular house has a collection of rather racist items. “Zora’s Destiny” involves Zora, who goes to reputed witch Hattie for a headache cure for her mother, and gets her fortune read. It feels like the first chapter in a novel that I’d like to read.
Transformation is a repeating theme in this book. “Sapling” sees young Mabel start to come into her own. She meets a very odd man who inhabits a park near her home, and then she starts to change. “Sugardaddy” introduces us to Tasha, who meets another strange man no one else can see, and like Mabel, starts to change into something… else.
“Lyes” sees Sheri writing a thesis on the images of African Americans in advertising. When some of the women from her ads start to come to life and are determined to make over her life, she has to enlist the aid of another iconic advertising figure.
“Death and Two Maidens: The Sad Fate of Prothenia Jenkins” shows us the life and death of Prothenia, and what happens to her afterward.
“Coalrose” is my favorite of the stories in here, although it had to do battle with “Sugardaddy” and “Sapling” for that honor. In 1930, Etta goes to the big city because she wants to be an actress. Of course, roles for black women are scarce and not entirely appealing. She reinvents herself as Zoë Coalrose, using her mysterious ability to affect people’s minds to become a cult favorite. We get to see how she touches a handful of the lives around her over the course of 30 years.
I absolutely love this set of stories. There are so many strong women in here, living such magical lives. It’s a delightful anthology.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/08/review-skin-deep-magic-craig-laurance-gidney/
apostrophen's review
5.0
Reading as part of my Short Stories 366 project. Individual stories will appear under this tag.
kjcharles's review
Another excellent collection of stories. Gidney's writing is magical, sinister and evocative, and his ideas haunting. Particularly loved the crossover as Baron Samedi haunts a Victorian opium den.
The proofreading on this leaves something to be desired, sadly, the author deserved better. But the quality of the stories is really strong.
The proofreading on this leaves something to be desired, sadly, the author deserved better. But the quality of the stories is really strong.
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