I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is about a dystopian United States in which people who commit crimes gain an extra shadow. The book follows Kris and her daughter, both living with extra shadows and grieving the loss of Kris’s wife.
I will admit, the first paragraph of this book threw me off. I am not a fan of excessive (or any, really) cursing in books, not because I am morally against it or do not curse in real life, but because I think it comes off as forced and takes away from the writing, especially in first person narration, which is how I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is written. Though, the first chapter redeems itself quickly, simply because I was taken with the concept, the characters, and the somewhat unconventional formatting.
I don’t read comedy books, and that is just a personal preference. But this book is so unbelievably funny. The humour is subtle, dry, witty and catches you off guard and I absolutely adored it. It brought the characters and relationships alive and instead of taking away from the plot or the writing, it enhanced it. I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself manages to be hilarious and somewhat light hearted while exploring grim and dangerous concepts, i.e. surveillance states, government corruption, prejudice that becomes harm, and systematic oppression.
To date, it is the closest book I’ve read to Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, not because it’s about two queer women and grief, but because the writing was similar; direct, never overly descriptive, and sharp. The two narrators share the same disconnect from their grief through most of the story, and both authors use these narrators and their close relationships to tell larger stories about loss and love and need. Both Armfield and Crane are remarkably distinct writers but I certainly saw some parallels between these two books, which was lovely because I adore both of them. If you liked Our Wives Under the Sea, you’ll like I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself.
This book is one part make you-laugh-unexpectedly, one part casually devastating, and one part constantly proving that love is what makes it worth it to exist. It’s an exploration of grief, healing, letting go, control, forgiveness, and most of all, of enduring love.
In the best way, I feel like this book rearranged my insides (to fit more love in there). I can just tell so much love and care and attention went into this and it spills out onto the pages. Crane is a singularly exceptional writer and their ability to create such fervent emotion and rich internal lives is so affecting. I cannot recommend this book enough!
That’s all for now, take care of yourself, and as always, let me know your thoughts.
I’ve never heard of this book but now I’m adding it to my tbr!! Such a great review 💗
This piqued my interest when I saw it first come out but not enough to pick it up, but you’ve def moved it to my TBR pile. Thanks!