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All about Skin: Short Fiction by Women of Color
All about Skin features twenty-seven stories by women writers of color whose short fiction has earned them a range of honors, including John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships, the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the Flannery O'Connor Award, and inclusion in the Best American Short Stories and O. Henry anthologies. The prose in this multicultural anthology addresses such themes as racial prejudice, media portrayal of beauty, and family relationships and spans genres from the comic and the surreal to startling realism. It demonstrates the power and range of some of the most exciting women writing short fiction today.
The stories are by American writers Aracelis González Asendorf, Jacqueline Bishop, Glendaliz Camacho, Learkana Chong, Jennine Capó Crucet, Ramola D., Patricia Engel, Amina Gautier, Manjula Menon, ZZ Packer, Princess Joy L. Perry, Toni Margarita Plummer, Emily Raboteau, Ivelisse Rodriguez, Metta Sáma, Joshunda Sanders, Renee Simms, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Hope Wabuke, and Ashley Young; Nigerian writers Unoma Azuah and Chinelo Okparanta; and Chinese writer Xu Xi.
Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians
Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Reviewers
The stories are by American writers Aracelis González Asendorf, Jacqueline Bishop, Glendaliz Camacho, Learkana Chong, Jennine Capó Crucet, Ramola D., Patricia Engel, Amina Gautier, Manjula Menon, ZZ Packer, Princess Joy L. Perry, Toni Margarita Plummer, Emily Raboteau, Ivelisse Rodriguez, Metta Sáma, Joshunda Sanders, Renee Simms, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Hope Wabuke, and Ashley Young; Nigerian writers Unoma Azuah and Chinelo Okparanta; and Chinese writer Xu Xi.
Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians
Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Reviewers
- GenresShort Stories
316 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 19, 2015
This is a great collection of short stories ranging in genres from literary to sci-fi. A great read for anyone looking for an introduction to literature outside of the white/male canon.
August 20, 2015
A completely essential anthology! The diversity in this collection is pretty astounding, and I was introduced to some wonderful new (to me) writers.
February 22, 2021
Really great selection of authors and the writing in 90 percent of the stories was great. It's rare for me to like anthologies, but this one was really good.
November 7, 2016
I think there's something in here for everyone. All About Skin is a collection of short fiction by many talented women of color. I'll admit, sometimes it was a little hit and miss, but the ordering of these short stories was well thought out, so as to break up monotony.
Some personal favorites of mine:
Patricia Engel "Aida"
ZZ Packer "Pita Delicious"
Amina Gautier "Candidate"
Jennine Capo Crucet "Just The Way She Does Things"
Ashley Young "The Great Pretenders"
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan "A Strange People"
Learkana Chong "Entropy 20:12"
Jacqueline Bishop "Beautiful Things"
All of the stories have their own special flare when it came to writing style, the story itself, and the characters. For me, someone who is not familiar with a lot of women of color writers, particular of black descent, this was a nice way to learn about new authors of all backgrounds and now I plan to check out their other work. If you're looking for a nice variety of writers of color, this is a definite read.
Some personal favorites of mine:
Patricia Engel "Aida"
ZZ Packer "Pita Delicious"
Amina Gautier "Candidate"
Jennine Capo Crucet "Just The Way She Does Things"
Ashley Young "The Great Pretenders"
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan "A Strange People"
Learkana Chong "Entropy 20:12"
Jacqueline Bishop "Beautiful Things"
All of the stories have their own special flare when it came to writing style, the story itself, and the characters. For me, someone who is not familiar with a lot of women of color writers, particular of black descent, this was a nice way to learn about new authors of all backgrounds and now I plan to check out their other work. If you're looking for a nice variety of writers of color, this is a definite read.
August 27, 2016
The charitable take on this anthology would be "uneven at best." For a good 75% of the collection, the editorial lens is narrow and bleak, which I find oddly stereotypical. As if women of color = protagonists of color = sexual violence, crushed dreams, random sex, dysfunctional relationships, de facto drug use and poverty, bodily mutilation, kidnapping, rape, murder, hopelessness, darkness and despair. It's not true for every story, but for most, and it results in a very myopic, nihilistic read.
But my biggest complaint is that most of the work is just not very good. Certainly some of these heavy subject can be beautifully held. Consider the work of Louise Erdrich, Edwidge Danticat, Zadie Smith, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Jamica Kincaid, Gish Jen or Jhumpa Lahiri for examples of brilliant short fiction by women of color. These writers also embrace sometimes very difficult material, but with an illuminating skill and artistic power that is profoundly lacking in this collection.
But my biggest complaint is that most of the work is just not very good. Certainly some of these heavy subject can be beautifully held. Consider the work of Louise Erdrich, Edwidge Danticat, Zadie Smith, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Jamica Kincaid, Gish Jen or Jhumpa Lahiri for examples of brilliant short fiction by women of color. These writers also embrace sometimes very difficult material, but with an illuminating skill and artistic power that is profoundly lacking in this collection.
November 14, 2015
I picked this up because I am trying to read more diverse books. Like with any short story collection, some were mesmerizing, some were just okay, and some I had to struggle to get through every page. But the majority were good. I'm really glad I read it because the perspectives were different than my own, but most of the time I could still relate to some part of the story, which is really the whole point of reading diverse books, right? To see the differences and learn something, but to also notice the things we can relate to in order to recognize that there are similarities in all of us.
February 10, 2015
Excellent short story collection. Typically I only like about half of the stories in any given anthology, but almost every story in this book was a stunner. Highly recommended.
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February 23, 2015823.01089 A4162 2014
February 21, 2015
Excellent current collection of short stories by women of color. Good thematic sections. Great variety.
July 23, 2015
I enjoyed the breadth of this anthology and the different styles and perspectives that were brought together.
July 10, 2015
I LOVED 'Fairness'. It kinda reminds me of Morrison's The Bluest Eye.
April 12, 2017
This collection gave me a new appreciation for short stories. I even had some of the stories bringing me to tears, causing me to laugh, and making me anxious. I would recommend it to anyone looking for enjoyable recreational reading. Additionally, I acknowledge that the stories address serious issues, but the form through which they do is both genuine and creative.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews