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Title: Under the Skin: A Novel by Michel Faber ISBN: 0-15-601160-3 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 20 August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.99 (82 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Magnificent
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Under the Skin gets Under YOUR skin!
Comment: If you like psychological thrillers that make your brain actually "think" while you read, then you'll definitely enjoy this book. It takes you on a very detailed and descriptive journey through the thoughts of a struggling woman named Isserley, as well as through the minds of the hitchhikers she picks up on the A-9. This book deserves a 5 out of 5 because of the imagery and imagination, the story line, and the emotion. Michel Faber is a very compelling author who definitely knows how to mix imagery and imagination together. When he describes his characters he not only states the obvious things like hair color or height, but he gives the reader and overview of their personality. When you read through the book it feels like you're almost there because you can "feel" the moist air on the beach, or you can "hear" the rain puttering on Isserley's car windows. Faber's creativity is awesome because he uses it to creep on the reader when they least expect it, and when it hits them, they're absolutely shocked! This particular story line is very interesting and unique. If Faber were to write side notes for every page in the book it would seriously take so much away from the reader's own imagination to where the story is going. It's amazing how this book makes you think that it's all about a very strange yet appealing woman who picks up hitchhikers, and yet it turns completely around to where she's actually on a mission to find the right "specimen." Under The Skin is a science fiction/adventure story tied into one, but you can't even tell. As you dig deeper and deeper into the story, you can't really stop yourself from reading because the sentences pull you out from your world and into the story's own world. Faber's words leaves you pondering about what they mean in relation to the story and it leaves you saying, "Is that what I think it is?" Faber does an excellent job in portraying Isserley's character. By the end of the book, you already understand who she is and why she is feeling like she's feeling. On the outside, she holds her emotions because she does not want to seem weak, but when no one is around she cries herself to sleep in her cottage because of her job. Isserley was yanked out of the slums in the neighborhood to work for Vess Incorporated. She knows who she is inside, but she never wants to let anyone get to know her. She is an emotional, strong, and beautiful person who struggles with her confusion and with her own emotions.
Rating: 3
Summary: A great idea put to average use
Comment: The idea of this book is really good and in my opinion quite original but unfortunately Michel Faber doesn't do as much with it as you could have wished for. The gradual introduction of the characters and the environment is really interesting but all of a sudden the book ends and you realize that there was never really any plot. This book is almost pure description of the idea and hardly any story and it is such a shame because it would have made a brilliant book if it had been developed further. Instead it reads more like the author sitting down for coffee with you and describing this really cool idea he has just had for a book he might write one day. Here's hoping that he actually does that one day because the idea really is good. "Under the skin" is definitely worth reading if you can just overlook the lack of plot and see it as a description instead.
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Title: Some Rain Must Fall: And Other Stories by Michel Faber ISBN: 0156011484 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 20 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber ISBN: 0156028778 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Hundred and Ninety-nine Steps by Michel Faber ISBN: 1841953288 Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd Pub. Date: 04 July, 2002 |
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Title: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides ISBN: 0446670251 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue ISBN: 0156007479 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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