Customer Reviews

Under the Skin

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Given the many previous reviews, it's difficult to avoid repetition here. Still, here goes: this is one of the most haunting, mesmerising, beautifully unsettling books I've ever read (and I've read by the skip-load!). What begins as a strange journey with elements of gothic/serial killer/thriller, develops into a beautifully written and heartbreaking road down which we accompany Isserley, the main character, into a richly imagined world.
Faber only gradually reveals the complex forces which underpin Isserley's role, and the moral and ethical dilemmas she encounters, with which we are also encouraged to wrestle, and not rush to judgement. The book's dark heart opens to explore what it means to survive in this world (do ends justify means?), the price paid for loyalty, solitude and loneliness, love and redemption, all set within an unforgettable isolated backdrop in the Black Isle in Scotland.
If you can't be arsed reading something which I've made sound difficult/pretentious, fear not, for the momentum and the pace of Faber's mesmerising grip on the plot flings you headlong through revelation after revelation, as you hurtle through the twists and turns of this astonishing novel. I wager you'll come out at the other end exhausted, wiser, and unable to shake the dark beauty of this story for a long time. An essential read.

Under The Skin is a really excellent novel. This book is truly unputdownable. Not only is it a gripping page turner, it is very, very well written. Also it gives the reader an opportunity to examine the issues involved at a higher level if they so wish. I will not explain anything of the plot, as I would not want to spoil anyone else's pleasure in the suspense and intrigue. Enough to say that you are puzzled and surprised right up to the end. Not a word is wasted. Although there are a few red herrings thrown about this is by no means a criticism. Faber draws us in, and then surprises us with another strange dimension. He could have been tempted into politicising or sentimentality, but he keeps his narrative firmly on the rails. The message in the book speaks for itself, and, when I reluctantly finished it, I was very surprised to find myself thinking about a lot more that hitch hikers in Scotland. This book has been placed on my shelf of 'best ever reads', which is still fairly small despite nearly thirty years of reading adult fiction. Thank you Michel Faber, and I look forward to reading more of your work.

Interesting and bizarre story line that I never expected from reviews. If you like something a bit weird, mixture of thriller, sci-fi, and something completely different, give it a go.

First I would say that if possible you should avoid looking at any reviews before reading this book, and also any preface or introduction to the work. (This short review is ok though, as I won't give you a clue about the content.) With the film due out soon it's going to be tricky to avoid, so best perhaps to read it now!

Read this book if you want to experience something totally new and unexpected; read it if you love good prose; read it if you like the sense of being wrong-footed by the author and continually left off-balance, but more than anything read it with an open mind and it'll leave your critical faculties suspended.

As many people have said, Under the Skin is difficult to put down and will almost certainly stay imprinted on your mind long after you've finished it.

I was lured into reading this after watching The Crimson Petal and the White on tv which I adored. Faber has a talent for producing addictive stories and this one also had me hooked. The language is richly descriptive and creates a vivid and often horrific picture. I had to put life on hold while I finished this. You will love or hate it but don't miss it.

I wonder if Faber chose the title because he knew what effect it would have on his readers? If so, he was spot on: you can forget any horror / sci-fi/ psychological thriller you may have read before, because this novel will invade your mind and keep you awake at night.
Set against the bleak emptiness of rural Scotland, Isserley cruises up and down the lonely roads searching for fit young male hitchikers. What promises to be a raunchy exploration of female sexuality, turns into something strange sinister and nasty, and it has to be said - completely unexpected.
This book blew me away. I have never read a novel that has "got" to me as much, and not only because in parts it is pretty graphic, but also because it made me sit up and evaluate humanity's relationship with other creatures, and our blind imperialism over species not our own.
There are flaws: Given Isserley's past, she should be an immaculately constructed character in her own right. She is not, and this wekens the considerable impact of the book. Likewise, the reader's disbelief is occasionally asked to suspend a bridge too far, but these are minor quibbles in a generally excellent work.
"Under The Skin" is a refreshing and unconventional tale with a disturbing flavour and unsettling plot. Faber's greatest achievement however, is to make us sympathise with Isserley, a character we cannot begin to understand.

I must admit that I'd never heard of Michel Faber until "The Crimson Petal and the White" was adapted for television. "Under the Skin" is very much a first novel, in that it has a high concept and sets out to make a splash (much like Iain Banks' debut "The Wasp Factory".

Without giving too much away, Faber succeeds in creating a reality of his very own in the novel and is able to use this as a prism to ask fundamental questions about our own. He also displays a facility for creating strong characters and, although I have yet to read "The Crimson Petal", it is clear from the tv adaption that this talent for characterisation flowers more fully in his later work (excuse the pun!)

The rear page reviews of any novel usually need to be taken with a pinch of salt; this novels reviews are the exception. I had never heard of Faber before and was given this book as a Christmas present, based solely on the rear cover. I can honestly say that I have only once before been so pleasantly surprised with an unknown book (Host, Peter James).
The tale is based around a female character, Isserley who is introduced as a car driver with quite specific criteria for picking up hitchhikers. Your mind formulates its own ideas as to her purpose, but I can confidently say that you will spend the book rebuilding them as Faber leads you further and further from your initial predictions. Isserley is very well written and manages to evoke an array of conflicting feelings from the reader. Her origins, daily tasks and moral questions drive the story, which is pleasantly interjected with the thoughts of hitchers she collects. To reveal more of the book would spoil the experience, suffice it to say that I would have struggled to categorise this book as it fits many criteria outside of just plain fiction. Every time I was forced to put this book down it was with a pang of regret, given the opportunity I would have consumed it in one sitting.
I enjoyed the style of writing and the characters but most of all I loved the story. The back cover states.."It'll get to you, one way or the other", absoloutly spot on, this is a book which you will want to talk about as soon as you finish it (Isn't that frustrating?). Satirical, challenging but overall highly entertaining, Under the Skin will not be forgotten in a hurry!

I had just read 'the Crimson Petal and the White' and loved Faber's writing style, but like many others was ultimately disappointed. I decided the author was worth another shot and picked up 'Under the Skin', his first novel. What a joy that I did.

As you will no doubt be aware by now the storyline of this novel is amazing, unique, and cannot be described in any way as it will ruin the slow revelation for others. But the storyline is a distant second to the writing, the same story would have been laughable in any other writer's hands. Faber's understated style swings from poetry to street slang with the reader hardly noticing. It is completely immersive and vivid, with an almost drug enhanced hyper-reality to it.

Most amazing of all is the depth of character, and how we come to know and feel about the characters he creates. You will come to understand Isserley intimately, and care about her deeply. In the context of this novel such an achievement cannot be praised highly enough.

It is also gratifying to have the story resolved, something he stole from us in the Crimson Petal.

Get this book and read it as soon as you can.

After reading Michel Faber's briliant "Crimson Petal and the White" I was desperate to read more of his works. However as I am not a fan of short stories "Under the Skin" was the only other book that I decided to read. Nothing was given away by the other reviews, nor the back cover, so I was interested to see where this book would take me. And where it ultimately took me was a journey into myself. I am now a vegetarian after reading this book and on the road to becoming a vegan. I doubt many people could see how something like that could arise from reading a fictional book but I suspect anyone who has read Under the Skin will see how this came about.

So be warned, if you read this book you may have some interesting moral choices to make. But at the very least you will be greatly entertained. This is one of those books that you never want to end.