Caul Baby audiobook

I can see this being a favorite for a lot of people come 2021! I love a book with a solid premise and Caul Baby explores a topic I have never read about. A caul birth is when the baby comes out at birth with the sac (caul) still intact. A caul birth is so rate that 1 in 80,000 persons are born that way… yes! It is a miracle, something special to behold. In CAUL BABY we meet the Melancons who known in Harlem as dealers of cauls which is a precious piece of skin that offers healing power to those who it is given to. The Melancons is lead by the matriarch Maman who sees to the business of caul using the skin of her daughters and granddaughter. With the demand of caul outweighing the means to produce the Melancons receive a miracle source. Laila went through numerous miscarriages and heartbreaks trying to carry a baby into the world. This time she can feel that this one is going to make it but to cover to all her basis she reached out to the Melancons for a caul but they turned her down. Laila ends up losing the baby which sends her spiraling. Hallow knows that she services a purpose to her family but sometimes she wonders if without her caul she would be of use. She is constantly being watched and shown around to others. She wonders about her family and their standing in the Harlem community, how she can make it right. Meanwhile a budding District Attorney main focus is taking down the family, it all spirals, and quickly!This is such an addictive read, I loved that Morgan Jerkins takes us on this journey one that is laced with history, themes of betrayal, grief, racism, and family. I loved that the characters were mostly women, all with dealing with a tragedy, making the best use of the opportunities given to them. There is a bit of magical realism to it that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were certain moments where I was a bit lost and I did not believe the character’s motivation but overall I felt this was well written and it will be story a lot of people will love come 2021.

Audiobook....read by Janiece Abbott-Pratt 10 hours and 53 minutesThis book is soooo good....I went in blind...(worked like a charm) From start to finish ....”Caul Baby” is an engaging fascinating story!I liked the story, the audiobook narrator, the characters, the family roots and history, the themes of love, loss, sacrifice, motherhood, and the value of family, the emotional integrity, and learning more in-depth about ‘caul’ (amniotic membrane enclosing a fetus)...and the way it’s used to tell a powerful tale. I was so impressed with the storytelling....I looked up more information about the author Morgan Jenkins. (this was my first introduction to her).I ended up purchasing another book by Jenkins: “This Will Be My Undoing”. I’m a new Morgan Jenkins fan..... ....With so many new books out this year ...many powerful ones about Black history, and Black Women,.....if this book doesn’t stand out as one of the years best....I’d be very surprised. And....as one other reviewer already said so eloquently, (beating me to the punch)....”WE NEED THESE KINDS OF HAPPY ENDINGS”....As my older daughter use to ask me at night before bed - after having read a book together...She’d ask ....”Tell me a story when you were a little girl, that was sad, with a happy ending”. This novel has the ‘sad-with-with-a-happy-ending’ aspect going on!With Mother’s Day a week away — “Caul Baby” sure would make a lovely gift to one’s mother.For those of us whose mother’s are no longer with us.... ....may Mother’s Day bring us warm memories — appreciatingthe impact our mother’s had on our lives - the love and sacrifices they made for us.

Thank you, @harperperennial and @librofm, for the gifted book and ALC.About the book: “New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins makes her fiction debut with this electrifying novel, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jacqueline Woodson, that brings to life one powerful and enigmatic family in a tale rife with secrets, betrayal, intrigue, and magic.”TW: fertility.Caul Baby is Laila’s journey to becoming a mother. She’s had several miscarriages in the past. This time she seeks out the Melancons, a family in Harlem with healing powers. At the same time, Laila’s niece, Amara, delivers a baby, Hallow, who is sent to the Melancons to raise. She’s kept at home and protected, and as she grows up she does not understand why she is treated differently than her cousins.What a page-turning, original story. There’s so much to think about here. It’s a loving tribute to mothers and daughters and has many other important themes, too, with a touch of magical healing and ethical dilemmas to process through.Audio quick notes: I did a combination of reading and listening, which was especially powerful for this story because the narrator, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, added so much authentic emotion to the story, I had to keep turning the pages. Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

A caul is the amniotic membrane that encloses a gestating fetus. In an extremely rare number of births, the caul still encloses the newly born baby. In many cultures and folklore, a baby born with a caul is considered a form of good luck and an omen of the child having a “second sight.” Morgan Jerkins uses this phenomenon to construct a story of magic realism with allegorical overtones that is set in Harlem beginning in 1998. Long considered a Mecca of Black culture, Harlem in 1998 is entering a period of gentrification that is rapidly altering the tone and makeup of the community.The Melancon family emigrated from the Cane River in Louisiana and has lived in an imposing but decaying brownstone on 145 th Street for eighty years. Ruled by its overbearing matriarch,Marceline, the family is notable because they have a lineage of caul births. Their cauls merge with their skin and provide enhanced recuperative powers, regeneration from wounds, and enhanced fertility.The family has capitalized on this accident of birth by cutting off parts of their caul and selling the pieces to the highest bidder.This enterprise has made the Melancons both wealthy and unpopular in the Harlem community.Some people think that the legend of the caul is a street hustle based on unfounded myths of root magic. Others believe in its powers but can not afford the sale price.The Melancons’ clients are almost exclusively rich and white, perceived as interlopers who visit the area and extract a valuable resource, leaving no tangible benefit for the community at large.At the outset of the story, the Melancon’s lineage is not producing new caul births as prolifically as they have in the past.Their wealth is diminishing and their brownstone is rapidly decaying. They are desperately seeking new clients and hoping for another family birth that will continue their caul lineage and revive their economic fortunes. Laila, a middle class black woman,has suffered several miscarriages but now is pregnant once again.She seeks out the Melancons in hopes of enhancing her chances of carrying her baby to term. The parties come to a preliminary agreement but never finalize the arrangement.Laila gives birth to a stillborn baby and dramatically confronts the Melancons. This scenario lays the groundwork for a twenty year saga of secrets, tensions, maternal love and betrayals.This book is a very ambitious undertaking that touches on many pertinent issues. Central to the narrative is the notion that economically advantaged groups enter into a rapacious relationship with a more disadvantaged community, depriving them of their resources with no attendant empowerment.The role of outsiders using Black women and their bodies for their own benefit folds neatly into this concept.The narrative is filled with rich symbolism throughout. The caul is a symbol of both good fortune and oppression. The brownstone is a monument to grandeur while its disrepair is a reminder of an antiquated economic premise that is no longer workable.The reader will be engrossed by the issues and images presented in this novel.Despite these strengths, there are some factors that limit the effectiveness of the novel. The plot sometimes plods a bit too much and the secondary characters need a little more development and integration into the story line. The issues and themes presented in this book raise this work well beyond an ordinary level. The story line is able to support these themes but could benefit from a slightly different shading. Nevertheless, the novel on a whole succeeds in captivating the reader and presenting a picture of a community and society in transition.Morgan Jerkins is a talented young writer who has a chance to become an important voice as she continues to explore her vision.3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

My 100th read of 2021!!!4.5 ✨ And I am so glad I picked this book to be book 100! It's so awesome and it's got a lot of elements I just love! Black women, black women's magic, women's fiction, mother-daughter relationship, marriage and marital issues, fertility issues, grief, family, loss, secrets, betrayal, race and relations, gentrification, black motherhood and mortality, generational trauma, police brutality, and so many other important themes/topics were discussed and explored in this book.The audiobook was narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, my favorite audiobook narrator, and as usual, she was just perfect! 👌🏾💕This book covered a lot of issues, and most of them were hard hitting. There were two families of black women at the heart of this story. The Melancons - Josephine, Iris, Helene, and Maman; and Leila, her sister Daphne, and Daphne's daughter Amara. They become interconnected over generations in more ways than they realize, thanks to middleman Langdon.The blurb covers most of the story, and while you already have a general idea of what's going to happen, the beauty of the story and what kept me going was the richness of the prose, the importance of the themes, and the depth of the characters. It was all so well done!The story starts off with a lot of loss for Laila, and we're soon introduced to the Melancons and what drives them. We also get to meet Laila's family, and Langdon. The trauma and devastating effects of many miscarriages and an eventual stillborn on Laila's marriage is also explored.As the story progresses from 1998 to about 2018, we learn a lot about the daughter Amara gave up, and her life as a Melancon. We get to see the inner workings of the dysfunctional Melancon family as well.This was such an amazing read and I enjoyed it so much, and definitely highly recommend!Many thanks to Harper Audio and Librofm for my ALC of this book. This in no way influenced my review, which was written voluntarily.

4.5 leaning 5So excellent. It has so many moving parts and all of them good. Its horror, magical realism, ahistorical fiction, black feminism, social commentary and in my favorite book setting NYC. I loved it. So was Elijah, Amari's baby daddy a part of the caul family from way back?

This is one of the best novels I've read in years. It manages to be simultaneously about New York, gentrification, the exploitation of Black women, and generational trauma. If that sounds like a difficult trick to pull off, well, you're correct. "Caul Baby" is a high-wire act from first page to last, and there's not a single misstep.

4.5 Stars rounded up.Wow! I loved everything about this novel.Well done

A stellar debut.Three generations of Black women in Harlem, the magical properties of a baby's caul, a decidedly haunted house, gentrification, love affairs, the carceral state, healthcare for Black women and Black moms in particular... there's a lot in here, but Jerkins never overloads, never lets a plot spin out of control. The focus is tight while the prose is expansive, and the nimble movement through time keeps us zipping along without our even noticing.Count this as one of the major debuts of the year, one of the books we'll all be talking about when awards and lists and what-not get to going.

(Caul Baby x Morgan Jerkins //4.4/5 Rating)Have you ever read gone ahead to read a book just because of the genre without you further knowing anything else about the book? This was me when I read Caul Baby, and I'm impressed I did.The primary reason I went for this audiobook on @librofm was due to the fact it was categorized under contemporary literature and the Motherhood genre. But along the line, while listening to the audiobook, I had to check the synopsis and goggle for what the title meant because I was curious.I must say I've never read something of this before, ever since have been reading. It was interesting and at the same time, weird.Caul Baby is a read which explores magical realism, fairy tale, contemporary issues of Black identity, from history, to pregnancy, motherhood, family, marital issues, gentrification, police brutality, trauma, education, opportunity, racism, betrayal, and political compromise.I won't talk about the storyline because the synopsis is well detailed with what the storyline is about.Caul Baby started with a low rhythm, and after a couple of pages, it got interesting. Thanks to the topics been discussed and, the complexity of the characters and their drama (you won't see it coming).Despite I enjoyed reading this, I had a problem with the way it all ended. It settled well too easy for me.PS: (if you've read this, you might know what I mean with Amara and Hallow).In conclusion, Caul Baby is a read I highly recommend.Happy I'm able to put up something about this book because I felt I couldn't write a review about what the book is about.Thanks to @librofm for my ALC of this book.

I thought it started off really strong but then lagged in the middle before wrapping up nicely. I love a satisfying ending. Loved the narration of the audiobook. I don't check beforehand, but was pleasantly surprised to find timbre of Joenice Abbott-Pratt (I've listened to her narration of Grown, Black-Out, Legendborn, and The Other Black Girl).The premise of this book is fascinating and I loved the diversity of topics that Jerkins was able to cover in this book including magical realism, gentrification, marital issues, infertility, adoption, race relations, police brutality, grief, trauma, mental illness and more woven seamlessly into this story.Overall, this was very well done.

This was a beast of a story! Emotionally draining, but damn good.

Audiobook ReviewI placed this book on hold at the public library as it kept jumping out to me as a read. Again, this is another listen by an author new to this reader. “Caul Baby” by Morgan Jerkins is a riveting and extraordinary listen that I had a hard time putting down once I started the book. Although it can be difficult to follow at times, I thought the narration was wonderfully performed by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, a new narrator.The story begins with Laila, a woman in dire need to have a baby after several miscarriages. When she believes that she finally going to complete her pregnancy, doubt sets in and she seeks the help of the Melancons, a family known in their Harlem neighborhood who bear the “caul”…a heritage of being born encased in their amniotic sac. The Melancons consist of daughters, Josephine and Iris, who are ruled by Maman, the matriarch of the family. They were once wealthy by selling their “caul” but is now a family with deteriorating profits along with the brownstone in which they live. It is said that the caul has healing, fertility and regeneration powers and thus is sold by this family for a profit to the highest bidder regardless of race. After being turned away by the matriarch and having all hopes dashed, she has a stillbirth that leaves her mentally unstable and a hatred towards the family. In the meantime, her niece, Amara has a bright future ahead of her, but finding herself pregnant does not fit within her future. She turns to Langdon for help not knowing that he provides clients to the Melancon family for money. He soon discovers that the child Amara carries may be a “caul baby” and desperate to regain his fortune as well as the Melancon, Amara’s child is the answer that has appeared on their doorstep in the form of Hallow, the great-niece of the lady they turned away. Thus, the real story begins and progresses over the next twenty years.This story addresses several topics in Harlem during the year 1998. There are fertility issues between a husband and wife, the relationships between mothers and daughters, relationships between black men and women, grief, secrets, race, and betrayal, not to mention a time of gentrification within an all-black community. However, the “caul” in this story has been fortunate for some and a way to oppress others. I thought the story was well-written, but it also dragged a bit in places making it sometimes a hard listen. There are moments that tug at your heart, make you angry, and champion the underdog. This new to me author is a talented writer. She has way of weaving black folklore within the characters that draws you into the story until the very end. Definitely recommend the read but especially the audiobook as the narration is performed very well by Joniece Abbott-Pratt.4.5-Stars

Loved every minute of this story!