Customer Reviews

Under the Skin

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

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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.

....but I will say this is a superbly crafted, wonderfully written, deeply affecting book whose afterglow lingers long after the last page is finished. What is Under the Skin about? Revealing too much of the story, outside the context of Faber's expert writing and original world-view, would risk characterizing the book as just another strange, pulpy mix of horror and science fiction. No question, this is not a book for the squeamish. But it is, no question, a work of literature. The beauty that emerges in the face of brutality is not only breathtaking -- it is breath-giving, too. Few books leave a reader with an honest, unsentimentalized sense of compassion and gratitude for life on Earth. This book is one of them.

This debut novel is stunningly well-written. The author is able to carry off a barely credible storyline through convincing, evocative prose. The story begins with a 'woman' driving along the A9 road, in the middle of Scotland, searching for well-built male hitchhikers. This is not the story of a crazed nymphomaniac however - it is much more brilliant than that. I want to avoid giving away too much here but Isserley, the 'woman' has a very different reason indeed for 'hunting' these men. This novel enters the realms of science-fiction but it never sacrifices powerful insight into the human condition, the beauty of our world (here the wonders of the Scottish highlands are brilliantly captured), and will make you think long and hard about any perception you may have of us as the 'superior' race. The story should grip you until the end. Once you have discovered the main premise of the story you fear that it may tail off but it never does, right up to a dramatic ending which is well-judged and somehow appropriate.

There's very little that's predictable about "Under the Skin." This is perhaps one of the strangest books I've read all year. Trying to pigeonhole this book in a genre is impossible, as it mixes thriller elements with horror, science fiction with a highly literary sensibility.

First and foremost, Faber's writing is wonderful. He tempers his language like a swordsmith, starting from raw story elements and gradually refining them, working in key concepts patiently, until the full shape of the story becomes clear. He doesn't rush, and he seems to love the act of wordsmithing itself. The book is a joy to read, even just from the standpoint of beautiful words.

In contrast to this is the story itself. It's a challenging story, one which is both disturbing and enlightening. The main character, Isserley, at first seems somewhat strange, but it's only as the tale progresses that you learn just how very strange she is, and how her circumstances are perhaps even stranger. And yet, by the end, she becomes very real. This personality, who at the beginning seemed so distant, and then so impossibly different, becomes someone I can understand easily. Her motivations, her feelings, her pain... it all comes into clear focus.

The themes of the book challenge the meaning of what it is to be human. Is "human being" just a phrase, or does it mean something? Does it mean different things to different people? From an outside perspective, what are we, really? Which are all important questions... and perhaps what I liked best about the book is that these questions were implicit. They were never stated outright in the book, but were asked subtly, through the telling of a compelling story.

More than anything, the book reveals out own assumptions and prejudices by taking them and flipping them on their head. "Under the Skin" is not about what you think it might be about. By the simple persuasion of its elegant language, it made me question a great deal of what I believed to be real and reliable.

A highly recommended book, especially for people who like surprises.

I'll be up front and let you know that I'm biased towards this book as I'm Michel Faber's primary publisher over in Britain. But hand on heart this guy is one of the most talented writers I've published and I would defy anyone who is interested in serious fiction not to be deeply affected by Under the Skin.

This is not to say that the novel is inaccessible or opaque - quite the opposite. Under the Skin hooks you in from page one and is utterly unputdownable but has depths to it which make it a profoundly wise and humane work. It is hysterically funny at times and yet is a horror of sorts.

I've published a good number of excellent novelists in the six years I've been running Canongate Books (check canongate.net to get a better idea of the diversity and quality of the list)but I've never had a reaction to a book such as I've had to Under the Skin. Not only has the critical acclaim in the UK been massive but we've already sold the novel to 15 different publishers around the world. The book has blown away editors and publishers in so many different parts of the world and its ability to transcend cultures and languages is the ultimate reflection of its humanity and sheer brilliance.

I am certain that Michel Faber is going to emerge as one of the great novelists of the 21st Century

Imagine picking up a book, that on its surface, appears to be a bizarre thriller involving a mysterious woman who picks up strong male hitchhikers with an agenda not made obvious at first. You think "this sounds kind of fun and kinky" and so you start reading, expecting nothing more than a mundane road story with predictable twists and turns. However, in fairly short order, you find yourself turned upside down, without even remembering how you got there. I think I understand how Alice felt after falling down the rabbit hole. Nothing is what it seems. Michael Faber has written a story which is nothing short of mythical. It redefines who we are as human beings (if, in fact we ARE human beings). The story is a blending of simple reality and mind-boggling fantasy. Ultimately, we are unable to determine which is which. As other reviewers have noted, it is not a fast read. But in order to shed our own prejudices and expectations about this story, it needs to be read slowly and deliberately. Isserley, the main character of the story, evokes such an array of emotions from the reader: admiration, irritation, sometimes downright dislike. As different as she is ultimately found to be, she is representative of Everywoman, only from a very unique perspective. I would have liked to have read more about the characters' backgrounds and how they came to be what they were. But that may not have been in Mr. Faber's plan in writing the book. Even so, it is a unique, disturbing and thought-provoking experience. Certainly not for everyone, but for any reader who wants something different. I really enjoyed it, even if I didn't completely understand it all. I understood enough!

What starts out as a strange and somewhat unnerving tale about a disfigured woman who picks up strong male hitchhikers and then injects them with something that knocks them out so she can dress them up in other men's clothes slowly takes shape as a very clever and creative social satire. Of what, I'm not going to tell you, as half the enjoyment of reading this book comes about a third of the way through when you start to figure out what's going on. Faber's point, while first striking me as mundane, actually started to affect me by the end of the novel. Yeah, I've heard the argument before, but this is actually a pretty effective (and certainly NEW) way to put it. I highly recommend this book, although not for the weak of stomach (as some of the scenes are pretty graphically violent). It's one of the most unique books I've encountered in my lifetime. And for once, a satire described as "Swiftian" on the back cover has actually lived up to the adjective.

Isserley drives for a living. She motors along Scotland's A9 and looks for male hitchhikers - buff, hunky males, the bigger the better. If a man meets her standards, she takes them on the ride of their lives...destination unknown. Isserley is tiny, though well developed where it counts. She is shy, introverted and scarred - inside and out.

"Under The Skin" is a chilling, bizarre, and erotically charged novel that explores how we view humanity, other races and species. Michel Faber almost forces the reader to observe how we, as human beings and caretakers of the earth, protect our environment and each other. This psychological thriller is at times macabre and gruesome, occasionally humorous with its satirical take on mankind, and often very sad. It is difficult not to empathize with Isserley's moral dilemma, yet how can we not condemn her? It is impossible to judge and we are not asked to here.

Mr. Faber's demonstrates his seemingly boundless imagination with this, his debut novel. If you allow him, he will take you to places you've never been to before in the world of fiction. Faber's plot and characters are some of the most original I have encountered in a long time. He weaves his compelling tale with a tightly written, elegant narrative and superb dialogue. He also created a language for the book that reminds me of the "Nadsat" language in "A Clockwork Orange." I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Faber's "The Crimson Petal And The White" and, wanting to read more by the author, picked up "Under The Skin." The two novels are as unalike as two works of fiction can be, although both are clearly written by the same extremely talented author. If you are looking for a totally unique reading experience, this is it! I doubt very much that you will be disappointed.
JANA