A review by caleb_mercer
Under the Skin by Michel Faber

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A somewhat rare example where I'd say I prefer the film adaptation to the novel. They're different enough to be borderline incomparable, but I prefer the more ambiguous and understated tone of the film. The novel goes into quite a bit of detail about the more alien side of things even though it never leaves Earth and I can't say that I was super into those sections. When it was just about Isserley learning more about humanity and struggling with the reality of what she does for a living and trying to justify it was when I think the book was at its best. Every scene in the car where the characters are sizing one another up was brilliant, and I'm glad that there were so many. Any description of the captured men was properly disgusting and every scene that they were in was uncomfortable to read in a manner clearly intentional.
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