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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Light enough for a summer read, deep enough for winter.,
By DAMwriter "David Moore" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Under the Skin: A Novel (Paperback)
In his excellent debut novel, Faber offers readers a compelling story that is both a quick, easy beach-towel read and a serious exploration of alienation, desire and what it means to be human. An artful balance -- and as a writer, one worth emulating.From the reader's perspective, the first part of the book puts us in the position of detective. Who is Isserly, and why is she driving the roads of Scotland looking for men? Without revealing anything of the plot (this is one book that you should enter completely uninformed), Faber lays down a series of clues and information that easily lead us into creating an image of this woman and her motivations -- only to have this image completely exploded when the revelation comes. In some ways, it reminded me of the movie "The Sixth Sense": an interesting, compelling story that gets turned upside-down, forcing us to confess that we were given all the information we needed, but we came to the wrong conclusions anyway. After the key revelations, the remainder of the story skirts the edges of simplistic, moralistic allegory. However, the author appears to be aware of this risk, and turns the remainder of the book into a serious study of the main character's key conflict. His writing is fluid, descriptive and highly imaginative throughout, so our interest in the story and the characters is maintained despite some of the heavy emotion and inner turmoil. I realize that this review may sound a bit obtuse, simply because I am so concerned about not revealing details that may ruin a new reader's enjoyment and astonishment. Go out and read this book yourself -- it's worth it.
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Under the Skin gets Under YOUR skin!,
By Carla M. W. (West Des Moines, IA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Under the Skin (Hardcover)
If you like psychological thrillers that make your brain actually "think" while you read, then you'll definitely enjoy this book. It takes you on a very detailed and descriptive journey through the thoughts of a struggling woman named Isserley, as well as through the minds of the hitchhikers she picks up on the A-9. This book deserves a 5 out of 5 because of the imagery and imagination, the story line, and the emotion. Michel Faber is a very compelling author who definitely knows how to mix imagery and imagination together. When he describes his characters he not only states the obvious things like hair color or height, but he gives the reader and overview of their personality. When you read through the book it feels like you're almost there because you can "feel" the moist air on the beach, or you can "hear" the rain puttering on Isserley's car windows. Faber's creativity is awesome because he uses it to creep on the reader when they least expect it, and when it hits them, they're absolutely shocked! This particular story line is very interesting and unique. If Faber were to write side notes for every page in the book it would seriously take so much away from the reader's own imagination to where the story is going. It's amazing how this book makes you think that it's all about a very strange yet appealing woman who picks up hitchhikers, and yet it turns completely around to where she's actually on a mission to find the right "specimen." Under The Skin is a science fiction/adventure story tied into one, but you can't even tell. As you dig deeper and deeper into the story, you can't really stop yourself from reading because the sentences pull you out from your world and into the story's own world. Faber's words leaves you pondering about what they mean in relation to the story and it leaves you saying, "Is that what I think it is?" Faber does an excellent job in portraying Isserley's character. By the end of the book, you already understand who she is and why she is feeling like she's feeling. On the outside, she holds her emotions because she does not want to seem weak, but when no one is around she cries herself to sleep in her cottage because of her job. Isserley was yanked out of the slums in the neighborhood to work for Vess Incorporated. She knows who she is inside, but she never wants to let anyone get to know her. She is an emotional, strong, and beautiful person who struggles with her confusion and with her own emotions.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a great first novel,
By KnottyFella (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Under the Skin: A Novel (Paperback)
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The story telling is strong and fluid and the twists and turns caught me off guard, which is not easy to do. I recommend reading it without any preconceived ideas about plot direction and ending. If you don't normally read first works, this will be a good exception to your rule.
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