Review: “Caul Baby” by Morgan Jerkins
“Not easy being a Black mom, you know? But I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
“What I’m saying is . . . mothers are made just like children are, and I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough.”
CAUL BABY by Morgan Jerkins takes us to a modern-day Harlem community centered around the Melancon family and their disastrous interactions with members of the community that leads to tragedy and vendettas spanning decades. The Melancons are a multi-generational family of women with the magical ability to heal rapidly due to being born in the caul. Being born in the caul is a very rare and wondrous occurrence during childbirth, and Jerkins gives the caul a magical sort of treatment in her novel as the Melancons essentially keep their caul like a protective layer over the skin. Under the brutal guidance of the matriarch, Maman, the family has monetized their caul and turned it into a very lucrative business. But they only sell to rich (read that as white) customers and are very closed off from the local community. The story takes off after Laila, a local, is triggered into madness after she is rejected by the Melancons when she attempts to purchase some caul as insurance for her latest pregnancy and she ultimately loses her baby.
I really enjoyed this book. Although it's not a perfect novel, in the sense that the reliance on the magical realism of the caul felt like a convenient plot device at some parts, and the ending felt a little rushed after the climax - I nonetheless appreciated it for the fact that I found it to be a very thought provoking read. It’s a novel that explores themes of gentrification, the Black female body and our agency (or lack thereof), and the complicated choices of motherhood. The Melancons are definitely dealing in a morally gray area with the literal sale of their bodies and their choice to only sell to white customers, but I low-key understood Maman’s choices as she saw it as the only means to have control over her body in a world that had abused and disenfranchised them for so long.
But the theme I appreciated most from this book was it's deep exploration of black motherhood. It really made me sit and contemplate my own mothering experience and how I'm coping with Black Motherhood in America. I tend not to dwell on it too much (because hint, hint - it's hard and the odds are stacked against us and our children), but this novel forced me to pause and sit with it for a second. The quote I posted above about mothers being made just hit me like a hammer and made me do a quick journal session as I reflected back on how I’m such a different mother now to my youngest child, then I was with my oldest when I was much younger and emotionally all over the place. I mean I’m still a headcase now, but I’ve got better coping tools now you know lol.
So yea, I definitely say read this book and let me know your thoughts if you already have.
🍷🍷🍷🍷/5
