The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher

The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher

A young, queer Palestinian American woman pieces together her great-aunt's secrets in this enchanting, memorable (Bustle) debut, confronting questions of sexual identity, exile, and lineage.

As beautifully detailed as a piece of Palestinian embroidery, this bold, vivid novel will speak to readers across genders, cultures, and identities.--Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Fencing with the King

A THEM BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In a Pacific Northwest hospital far from the Rummani family's ancestral home in Palestine, the heart of a stillborn baby begins to beat and her skin turns vibrantly, permanently cobalt blue. On the same day, the Rummanis' centuries-old soap factory in Nablus is destroyed in an air strike. The family matriarch and keeper of their lore, Aunt Nuha, believes that the blue girl embodies their sacred history, harkening back to a time when the Rummanis were among the wealthiest soap-makers and their blue soap was a symbol of a legendary love.

Decades later, Betty returns to Aunt Nuha's gravestone, faced with a difficult decision: Should she stay in the only country she's ever known, or should she follow her heart and the woman she loves, perpetuating her family's cycle of exile? Betty finds her answer in partially translated notebooks that reveal her aunt's complex life and struggle with her own sexuality, which Nuha hid to help the family immigrate to the United States. But, as Betty soon discovers, her aunt hid much more than that.

The Skin and Its Girl is a searing, poetic tale about desire and identity, and a provocative exploration of how we let stories divide, unite, and define us--and wield even the power to restore a broken family. Sarah Cypher is that rare debut novelist who writes with the mastery and flair of a seasoned storyteller.

Cypher, Sarah: - Sarah Cypher holds a degree in Creative Writing, Phi Beta Kappa, from Carnegie Mellon University and her own writing has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, The Oregonian, Fodor's, Salon, and Publishers Weekly. For over 15 years, she's worked with writers to find the story and bring novels to fruition. She has edited New York Times bestsellers and helped clients on their way to deals with Big Five publishers, foreign publishers, and production companies.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780593499535
ISBN 10	0593499530
Title	The Skin and Its Girl
Author	Sarah Cypher
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2023-04-25
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.