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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I read The Crimson Petal and the White a decade ago, and was entranced, so I desperately wanted to love the book. And I saw some flashes as I read, but not enough to keep me reading.
The book is a detective story, and the reader is the detective. Faber starts by placing a seemingly normal woman in a seemingly normal circumstance, which turns very weird very quickly. It only gets weirder with every turn of the page, and as details are slowly, painstakingly revealed, the reader is left to figure out just what the hell is going on.
Only it happens a bit too slowly, and with a character a bit too murky to care about. I stopped reading halfway through. I may return eventually, but for now, there's too much great stuff out there to be read to settle for a mediocre story.
The book is a detective story, and the reader is the detective. Faber starts by placing a seemingly normal woman in a seemingly normal circumstance, which turns very weird very quickly. It only gets weirder with every turn of the page, and as details are slowly, painstakingly revealed, the reader is left to figure out just what the hell is going on.
Only it happens a bit too slowly, and with a character a bit too murky to care about. I stopped reading halfway through. I may return eventually, but for now, there's too much great stuff out there to be read to settle for a mediocre story.
dark
mysterious
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting take on aliens and comment on the meat production industry but not fun to read and I was forcing myself to finish it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
I think this is probably one of my favorite books of all time. It's sadly over-shadowed by a film adaptation that frankly wasn't my jam (and is so surface level about the misogyny its alien character experiences while trying to blend in among humans). Michel Faber crafts an amazing, compelling and upsetting world for us with a very likeable morally gray character in Isserley, an alien posing as human in order to lure human men to be harvested for food. The worldbuilding is fantastic, Faber cleverly makes you disconnect at times from the reality that Isserley is hunting *us*. The aliens are referred to as human, the homo sapiens referred to as Vodsels (a play on the dutch word for food), and you really do empathize with Isserley.
Under the Skin explores misogyny, labor exploitation, the realities of animal agriculture, disability and environmentalism through the lens of its alien protagonist and the harsh life she's leading. It's beautifully written and very upsetting.
Under the Skin explores misogyny, labor exploitation, the realities of animal agriculture, disability and environmentalism through the lens of its alien protagonist and the harsh life she's leading. It's beautifully written and very upsetting.