The year is 1998 and the Melancons are a family of black females who live in a Harlem brownstone and own a bodega.
The bodega isn't the Melancons' real source of income, however, because they're caul bearers. The Melancons have a covering fused to their skin, called a caul, that has healing and regenerative properties. The beneficial features of the caul give the book a touch of magical realism, as evidenced when the caul bearing Melancons are cut or burned and immediately heal.
The Melancons sell pieces of their caul for VERY high prices, usually to white people who can afford it. The Melancons require a lot of money because their brownstone, which is infested with dark spirits, is decaying and moldering and in constant need of expensive repairs. In addition, the Melancons are determined to be independent, and not reliant on the government or outsiders.
As the story opens, a well-off, married black woman named Laila, who has suffered innumerable miscarriages, finds herself pregnant again.
Laila is desperate to have a baby, and with the help of an intermediary named Landon, Laila arranges to purchase a piece of caul from the Melancons for $15,000.
Laila is sure the caul would ensure a successful pregnancy and she's crushed when the Melancons refuse to sell after all, apparently thinking the sale would bring them bad luck.
Laila's pregnancy fails and she has a complete breakdown, for which Laila's family blames the Melancons. Laila's niece Amara, a student at Columbia University, vows to go to law school, become a prosecutor, and take down the Melancons for 'selling their bodies.'
As it happens Amara herself gets pregnant after a drunken night with her college study partner, and - with college, law school and a career ahead of her - Amara is not ready to be a mother. Amara's godfather, who happens to be the Melancons' intermediary Landon, comes up with a solution.
Amara will keep her pregnancy secret and stay at Landon's home until she gives birth. Afterwards Landon will find a good home for the baby. Long story short, Landon gives Amara's baby girl, named Hallow - who turns out to be a caulbearer - to the Melancons. Amara isn't told who has her baby, and Hallow isn't told about her origins.
Landon isn't just a business partner with the Melancons. Though Landon is married, he's having a torrid affair with beautiful Josephine Melancon.
Landon still lives with his wife Valerie, who's aware that Landon is having a dalliance with Josephine. Valerie accepts the situation for financial support and to have a father for her children, but she feels unhappy and betrayed.
We follow the main characters in the story for the next twenty years, as Hallow is raised by the Melancons - who aren't a harmonious bunch;
Amara graduates from law school and becomes a prosecutor;
and Landon continues his association with the Melancons and his affair with Josephine.
The Melancons are extremely unpopular in Harlem, because they sell the caul to white people, but refuse to help needy (but poor) black people.
Given the black residents' animosity against the Melancons, Amara thinks she can rely on their support when she's ready to make her move against the caul-sellers.....and towards the end of the story, Amara is finally ready.
The story is compelling, and I enjoyed the book. I was disappointed with the final chapters, though, which feel forced and inauthentic to me.
That said, the story addresses important issues, such as health care in black communities; black motherhood; police harassment of black people; unfaithful men; gentrification of poor neighborhoods; profit over solidarity; and more.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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