'The Skin and Its Girl' ponders truths, half-truths, and lies passed down in families
Sarah Cypher's debut novel ponders how stories can unite or divide as narrator Betty considers a big decision with her great-aunt Nuha's own mysterious life — and the tales she told — in mind.
There is a particular magic to stories about storytelling, especially when they use the metafictional element to probe into the very nature of reality and how we live inside of it.
Sarah Cypher's debut novel The Skin and Its Girl is one of these, specifically dealing in the truths, half-truths, lies, and folktales passed down through family. It begins with a fitting request: "Imagine this."
Elspeth Rummani, sometimes called Betty, is the book's narrator, and her narrative takes the form of a series of stories, memories, and speculations that she shares at the
