I received this book from The Next Best Book Club in exchange for an honest review.
“The truth is, the truth is, the truth is, I am fertile with pain,” (Robinson 53, “The Rabbits”).
The Ill-Fitting Skin is a fantastic short story collection! Most of the stories follow women in various stages of their lives: mothers, partners, young children, and all of them have some trouble coming to terms with themselves. This appears in different ways, like how they can be good mothers, reconciling with their pasts, feeling unfulfilled in their life but uncertain how to become fulfilled. Each story is different with similar threads that bind them together. Robinson’s writing is strong and her characters are wonderfully developed. I can’t wait to read more of her work!
Read my full thoughts on each of the stories below:
Origin Story – 3 stars
A mother’s son is diagnosed with lycanthropy and she and her husband try to find a way to make his life easier. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve read a novel/story that uses animals as a metaphor for childhood autism diagnosis, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it’s happened twice. There’s a lot of good in this story, but the metaphor gets a little murky and lost near the end. Not bad, just needed a little more tightening I think.
Miscarriages – 4 stars
The title says it all. Full of hurt, heart, and humour. I liked how this story had little stories within and how it jumped through different times in the characters life. It made the grief feel that much more real.
The Rabbits – 5 stars
This is a fictional retelling of the very real story of Mary Toft, a woman who pretended to give birth to rabbits. I was surprised by the amount of sadness and heart in this story considering the subject matter. One of my favourites in the collection!
Dirt – 3.5 stars
A freelance housecleaner is employed by a perverted man who wants her to dress the part as she cleans his house. This story ends with the title of the collection and I’m confused as to why this story isn’t called the same, it makes more sense than “Dirt.” Though the protagonist frustrated me she was very fleshed-out and I enjoyed trying to understand her.
A Doom of Her Own – 2 stars
A choose your own adventure (or doom) story, which is always fun but not so fun in a PDF format. I went through a few different options with this story and it was just very disjointed and has at least three different plot-points including childhood bullies, denial in a bad relationship, and a circus. Not my favourite.
Secondhand – 4 stars
A woman who works at a thrift store starts to find her childhood clothes in the store. I really liked everything that was unsaid in this story. It partly felt like a ghost story without being scary. A story that haunts the reader.
All Things Bright and Beautiful – 4 stars
A pet portrait artist plans an intervention for her alcoholic brother. I liked the juxtaposition between planning and emotion in this one, the protagonist was very interesting and the ending a punch to the gut.
Zombies – 3 stars
A woman wishes that her boyfriend will breakup with his girlfriend while also obsessing over zombies. This was a slow one that definitely dragged at parts, but I loved the dialogue and the descriptions.
You Are Now in a Dark Chamber – 4 stars
George and his friends are forced to include Megan, an incredibly unpopular girl, into their DnD campaign. Robinson did an excellent job showing the cruelty of children and the safety found in DnD.
Charybdis – 5 stars
A woman remembers her sexual encounter with a man with a micropenis. I really enjoyed how this story was set up in different parts and thought the movement between past and present was done very smoothly.
Changeling – 5 stars
While researching a book about people who have done bad things online, a woman takes care of her mother with Alzheimer’s by giving her a toy doll to take care of. This was such a solid story, I loved the characters, the plot, and how concise everything felt.
Birdie – 4 stars
A woman takes a talking bird as her tenant. I love a good, surreal, talking animal story and this one didn’t disappoint! It kept me guessing about what would happen next and was a great story to end the collection with.
Publication: May 3 2024
Publisher: Press 53
Pages: 242 pages (eBook)
Source: Owned
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
The Ill-Fitting Skinis layered with surreal story telling but remains an extraordinarily realistic read, in the sense that even the most solid realities of life—and death—tend to blur and shimmer at their raw edges. The talkative bird that nests in a woman’s womb is as real as the “previous tenant.” The love of a mother for her uncontrollable son is as real as the wildness that is in her too. The women of The Ill-Fitting Skin are real women—who work and grieve and create and destroy, who love and do not love, whether at the roll of the dice or because “the pages are paths, and you will have to choose among them.”
Sarah O'Connor 