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A review by bosermoki
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall, the book was solid for a debut novel.
The author did a good job with characterization and I liked the narrative being structured as a sort of long-running story directed at the protagonist's dead wife. The main character manages to be relatable yet debatably likable which I think was a good choice and well done. The pacing was meandering, but at least it kept mostly moving in the right direction.
What didn't work well... The book has a cool central premise which from what I can tell is essentially an exploration of how othering people, in this case with the application of a prosthetic shadow, results in alienation and dehumanization. But I feel the author struggles to find the line between a literary novel around this allegory and genre fiction or a character sketch and exploration of grief and LGBT solidarity against a dystopian backdrop. It's likely because it's a debut novel, but I felt the author didn't trust the reader enough to understand the allegory since it gets hammered home over and over with our protagonist existing largely as a passive punching bag for the world at large. I think the dystopian setting could have worked better either as a more subtle background or something that is revealed as the narrative progresses because as it is, it turns a neat premise into something more gimmicky, and the extra shadow replaceable with almost any other marker of alienation.
Ultimately, despite the good character work, there just wasn't much to the book despite the evocative title and fascinating premise.
The author did a good job with characterization and I liked the narrative being structured as a sort of long-running story directed at the protagonist's dead wife. The main character manages to be relatable yet debatably likable which I think was a good choice and well done. The pacing was meandering, but at least it kept mostly moving in the right direction.
What didn't work well... The book has a cool central premise which from what I can tell is essentially an exploration of how othering people, in this case with the application of a prosthetic shadow, results in alienation and dehumanization. But I feel the author struggles to find the line between a literary novel around this allegory and genre fiction or a character sketch and exploration of grief and LGBT solidarity against a dystopian backdrop. It's likely because it's a debut novel, but I felt the author didn't trust the reader enough to understand the allegory since it gets hammered home over and over with our protagonist existing largely as a passive punching bag for the world at large. I think the dystopian setting could have worked better either as a more subtle background or something that is revealed as the narrative progresses because as it is, it turns a neat premise into something more gimmicky, and the extra shadow replaceable with almost any other marker of alienation.
Ultimately, despite the good character work, there just wasn't much to the book despite the evocative title and fascinating premise.