BOOK REVIEW - CAUL BABY

Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: April 2021

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Magical realism

Setting: Harlem, Jamaica

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Synopsis:

Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This time has to be different, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power.

When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn’t know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family—by her niece, Amara, an ambitious college student—and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is special: she’s born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family’s prosperity.

Growing up, Hallow feels that something in her life is not right. Did Josephine, the woman she calls mother, really bring her into the world? Why does her cousin Helena get to go to school and roam the streets of New York freely while she’s confined to the family’s decrepit brownstone?

As the Melancons’ thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family. When mother and daughter cross paths, Hallow will be forced to decide where she truly belongs. (source: goodreads)

My Thoughts…..

Book Review – Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

3/5 Star rating

Book Review – Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

3/5 Star rating

Caul babies are a rare phenomenon, happening in 1:80000 births. A caul birth occurs when the baby comes out still inside or partially wrapped in the amniotic sac and it is believed that these babies possess magical and spiritual abilities, in most cases, the ability to tell the future. This belief in the caul is the basis of Morgan Jerkin’s ‘Caul Baby’ where she imagines and recreates a world where caul is a special commodity that regenerates until the age of 21 and that can be harvested (and sold) for its healing properties.

At the heart of this saga is the Melancon family, an old Harlem family headed by their Matriarch Maman. They are a caul bearing family who have found a way to profiteer from their ‘gift’ by slicing pieces of their caul (skin) and selling it to the highest bidders. Maman, who lords over her family with an iron fist, only consideration is which member of her family has the ‘good’ caul and who can pay the right price for it. And as capitalism would have it, only white people are able to afford it, locking out their black Harlemite neighbours. This earns them hatred and contempt in equal measure and will be repeated throughout the book:

‘All skinfolk ain't kinfolk’

The book begins with Leila, a happily married Harlemite who upon undergoing numerous miscarriages, decides to approach the Melancons for their caul, in the hopes that it will help save her current child. The deal falls through and she ends up losing her unborn child, driving her to near insanity. Unknown to many, Leila’s Ivy League attending niece, Amara, is secretly pregnant and gives up her child at birth. By a strange twist of fate, this child – Hallow – is born with a Caul and is adopted by the Melancon family in a hush-hush deal. Many years later, Amara, now the head prosecutor and running for DA is on a mission to bring down the Melancon empire, fuelled by her need for revenge for her Aunt’s suffering. Soon enough, mother and daughter (who has now taken over the Caul empire) will have to reckon with each other and their choices.

The Melancon’s brownstone, which has been the family’s home for close to 90 years is falling apart and no amount of repair work is able to restore it. Even the soil and plants in the garden are dead. The cracks keep getting bigger and bigger and are threatening to overrun the house and its inhabitants. I found this an apt metaphor for the Melancon family who are also unravelling from the inside under the weight of expectation and dissatisfaction with self and each other; and from the outside, by the forces of a community’s building hostility towards them and the gentrification of Harlem which is forcing them out. Will Hallow, the new heir and successor of the empire be able to save the brownstone and their legacy, or will they eventually be forced out and crumble? With the cracks and condition of the brownstone taking so much of the book, my heart leaped every time a newer, bigger crack was mentioned because it was almost a prediction of doom for the family.

As a reader who is not a fan of magical realism, I was surprised that I found these aspects the most relatable of the book. The exploration of the ‘power’ of the caul was quite interesting to read. Sadly, much of the book fell flat and the story appears too disjointed, hurried and in some places, overly dramatic and trope ridden. There was so much potential to tell a powerful story and create memorable characters, but it felt like the need to tell ‘A’ particular story and tick certain boxes, overpowered the story itself. The characters were all very caricaturistic, unexplored and predictable. For instance, I didn’t understand the significance of Leila and the exhibition of her pain in moving the story forward, all things considered. Amara's motivation for revenge seemed far-fetched especially when she didn't seem like she was too attached to her aunt and her pain. Iris, the Melancon’s medium was left unexplored and there was no backstory to her and her gift, Josephine was flat and even in instances where she attempted to put her foot down with Maman, felt unconvincing.

Amara who the story is hinged on, disappears for 20 years and very little is given to backfill her story post-baby delivery to the present time. There’s a lot more that the author would have done with the characters. This was a missed opportunity.

I however loved the sensitivity with which Jerkins tackled themes of motherhood, and black motherhood specifically. From the deep longing for a child to the grief of repeated miscarriages, as evidenced by Leila’s grief which was so raw and palpable. The tough choices some mothers have to make in giving up their children, the sometimes-strained relationships between mothers and their daughters to the disproportionate access to proper maternal health care for black women. She was not entirely convincing though in the execution and I had a few eye-roll moments. I was particularly underwhelmed at the final reveal which had been built up for much of the second half of the book. I found the drama unnecessary, unrealistic, and quite forced.

I know it does feel like I’m shitting on this book, which is unintentional, but I felt for such a powerful premise, the execution fell short. I would still encourage you to pick this up because somewhere in there, there is a powerful message.