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A review by shermanberry
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
This was a difficult one to rate. It was definitely thought provoking, definitely engaging, definitely a page turner that I literally struggled to put down at times but did I enjoy it? Not entirely.
I would strongly advise potential readers to avoid spoilers. DO NOT be tempted to Google words that you don’t recognise. The author has made up some words. I was the idiot who looked one up and got smacked squarely in the forehead with a massive spoiler. Fear not, no spoilers here.
The main character is a female called Isserley. She cruises around the Scottish Highlands looking for hitchhikers to pick up on the proviso that they are male and well muscled.
The real interest for the reader lies in how she does this as well as why she’s doing it. The author had me totally on the hook and the layers of the mystery are gradually and skilfully revealed leaving the reader shocked and disturbed but strangely keen for more.
The switch in the narrative from Isserley’s point of view to that of the hitchhiker’s is really well done and a clever writing technique that worked very well as we get a glimpse into their thoughts.
After the midway point of the novel I thought it went downhill a bit. It felt like the author had had an incredible idea for a novel (which I agree with) but didn’t quite know how to end it.
The end was a bit flat for me but still worth a read. Unlike anything I have ever read and difficult to fit into a genre. Part literature, fiction, science fiction, mystery, horror, satire, allegory etc.
Recommended but you’ll need to be brave and not look away.
I would strongly advise potential readers to avoid spoilers. DO NOT be tempted to Google words that you don’t recognise. The author has made up some words. I was the idiot who looked one up and got smacked squarely in the forehead with a massive spoiler. Fear not, no spoilers here.
The main character is a female called Isserley. She cruises around the Scottish Highlands looking for hitchhikers to pick up on the proviso that they are male and well muscled.
The real interest for the reader lies in how she does this as well as why she’s doing it. The author had me totally on the hook and the layers of the mystery are gradually and skilfully revealed leaving the reader shocked and disturbed but strangely keen for more.
The switch in the narrative from Isserley’s point of view to that of the hitchhiker’s is really well done and a clever writing technique that worked very well as we get a glimpse into their thoughts.
After the midway point of the novel I thought it went downhill a bit. It felt like the author had had an incredible idea for a novel (which I agree with) but didn’t quite know how to end it.
The end was a bit flat for me but still worth a read. Unlike anything I have ever read and difficult to fit into a genre. Part literature, fiction, science fiction, mystery, horror, satire, allegory etc.
Recommended but you’ll need to be brave and not look away.