In celebration of the the release of Michel Faber's new novel, The Book of Strange New Things, Alex revisits an earlier title, Under the Skin.
Michel Faber’s Under the Skin is one of those rare books that simultaneously succeeds in thrilling and in posing deep questions. It is a powerful story that explodes simplistic expectations, not only portraying harsh social realities but also imagining frightening new ways in which our human natures might mutate.
On the surface it is the tale of Isserley, who spends a lot of time driving around highlands and picking up hitchhikers. Nodding to such classic tales of suspense as Breece D’J Pancake’s Time and Again and Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen, Faber uses this simple frame to construct a stark and complicated reality that undermines the comforting assumptions of ‘civilised’ society to chilling effect.
Isserley is a complex and unforgettable person, whose reasons for doing what she does, and being who she is, sit very uneasily with our commonplace understandings of human nature. It is not too much of a spoiler to suggest that much of Isserley’s power as a character resides in the questions she embodies about what human beings are, as well as what they might be capable of doing. Her darkly shaded encounters with the troubled people she meets, and the terrible, surprising power of the decisions she makes, quickly worked my tension to a dreadful pitch.
From my first encounter with this story, I sank deep into its blackness. It took me on a journey through countless challenging intersections between gender, power, humanity and the natural world, revealing dark, hidden places and new vistas with startling clarity. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Under the Skin is a book for anyone who has recently enjoyed Gone Girl, Winter’s Bone, or All the Birds Singing, or who treasures the work of Ursula le Guin, Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith.
Under the Skin is in stock and The Book of Strange New Things is out now!
