A review by blandrea_reads
Skin Lane by Neil Bartlett

5.0

I would never have picked this up if I hadn't had a group of people (with similar pallets) recommend it. And I am very glad I didn't have to read this book alone. If you are considering it, maybe have an emotional support buddy because it's an intense ride.

There are plenty of reviews on here that will do a much better job at capturing this book than I ever could so I'm just going to go with my impressions.

This is a story of a man who lives out of time. This is a story with no clear genre. This is a story with a narrator that at once seems omniscient, but then has very obvious gaps in knowledge. All of these combine to create an experience that is unsettling in a way that does not rely on a jump-scare to leave you feeling slightly lost and never quite sure where the story is headed.

When I was told this story was a bit of a fairy tale, I instantly imagined Disney, but this is probably the closest an adult can get to re-experiencing the Grimms version of fairytales.

I am so, so glad I read this.

Light out now.

Goodnight.