Under the Skin

Very shocking book. At the beginning you have no idea what the heroine is doing with the males she picks up. When the truth is revealed, it shocks and appalls. I dare not give it away, but this is a book that can definetly compete with the imaginations and story types of both Stephen King and Dean Koontz. It was a horror with a twist and a definite moral in the story, that we are all indeed, the same under the skin. I would also like to add, one will never look at a piece of steak the same again after reading this. Truly a remarkable and well thought out novel and should one read between the lines and see the moral, one will find themselves pondering it for hours after reading the final page.

Quite disturbing but beautifully written. No blood and gore but my mind certainly played tricks. I was reading so fast so I could get to the end. It was a great book, so different to any I have read. I will read it again now so I can get more I to the characters, as speed reading leave me a bit empty. GREAT book. Recommended.

I should be right in the readership wheelhouse for books like this. I love sci-fi, I'm not freaked out by gore or uncomfortable themes, and I don't even care about traditional pacing or formatting of how books flow.

I will offer that I saw the movie first, and was completely captivated with it. I then decided I wanted to explore the concepts that were floated in front of me, thinking that if I read the book, I would have a nice double-barreled viewpoint.

In short: the novel kind of fell flat in comparison to the film. They are both a little dark and messed up, but where the film really hooked me and set my mind afire with the bizarre alternate viewpoint of humanity from an alien consciousness, the novel's attempt at the same seemed so forced, overtly pedestrian, and too literal. The novel did the thinking for me, the film allowed me to come to my own thoughts about it. This is unusual; it's usually the other way around.

There were a few moments of revelation that were interesting such as when we are finally brought into the fold of what is going on with the mysterious vodsels in the camp, but other than that, I experienced very little suspense while reading this book. I think the author could have been a little more creative with the background and world building. As it was, his world building was just making up about 6 alien sounding words and hinting at a few other things regarding the culture - and while he did fill in some more detail in the 2nd half of the book, it just seemed very staccato, not woven into the fabric of the story, but glommed on to it.

I will say, though, that the dialog between Isserley and her marks in the car scenes were well done and a high point in an otherwise underwhelming novel. Perhaps I was expecting too much. The film completely blew me away with its style and form. The novel seemed to be a chore to read.

I actually wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it if weirdness is your bag, though. I wonder how I would have reacted to this book if I hadn't seen the film first.

Strong opinion in novel form about feminism and vegetarians. And you can easily ruin yourself the main surprise by reading annotation. Also nice people usually don’t end well in the novel, try to deduce this.

I read, approximately, about 200 books a year. Most of these are brain candy, little easy books that feed my desire to escape and do nothing else. Most of the books written today are like that, a nice story and nothing more. I'd almost forgotten how it felt to read something like this. I wish there were another star I could add to my rating to show that this book really is something extrordinary. I think it has a perception of beauty; it made me want to cry.

I'm deeply indebted to the other reviewers who did not give away the story, so I will keep my fingers quiet about the plot. Suffice to say that all is not what is seems, and by the time you have an idea of what's going on you've been slipped oh-so-silently into a perception of the world that is different than your own, and it is beautiful and funny and monstrous, and when you're done reading I hope you understood it.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more by this author.

Under the Skin, by Michael Faber, continues in the best tradition of classic science fiction by giving us a tale that is not only exotic and imaginative but which also challenges us to look afresh at some of our deepest held assumptions, standards and ideas.

The main character, Isserly, is a young female, heartlessly cast aside by society and forced to choose between a life of degrading drudgery and life on a remote planet among an alien race. Even though the latter choice requires a great personal sacrifice, she dreads the social stigma and humiliation of hard labor and chooses banishment.The story follows Isserly, now hideously transformed in order to blend with the aliens, as she pursues her perilous, grisly and lonely career.

She finds some solace in her surroundings, as the alien planet is a place of breathtaking beauty and wonder, still her days are tinged by a growing apprehension about her employers, her choices and her future. Should she leave her position and escape to a new life in this spectacular new land? And if so, how might she live and whom could she trust?

A visit by a potential suitor, a handsome young heir from her home planet, seems to hold out hope that she might not have to remain lonely and alone but, at the suitor's departure, Isserly plunges back into the anxious abyss again, beset by corporate politics, increasingly difficult assignments and incompetence.

Finally, after a brutal encounter with a crazed alien, Isserly is forced into a desperate decision, the meaning and consequences of which will haunt the reader long after Under the Skin has been set aside.

So, if you're an SF fan who doesn't mind thinking and are unperturbed by the prospect of a haunting memory or two, this book is for you.

An outline of the book would be interesting and ingenious. The book itself is extremely heavy handed in places with disturbing graphically described violence in various forms.

At heart it is an allegory advocating for animal rights and care for the planetary ecology, postulating a race that has already experienced planetary ecological destruction with its consequences, and sets up the meatpacking plant that the protagonist works to supply with material. While there is some romance, most of what is depicted is dismal. Definitely not recommended as a "feel good" book.

One cannot criticize the author for lack of intelligence, creativity, or failure to communicate the message. However, I suspect that the audience that would actually enjoy reading this book is limited.

Strange, compelling, addictive. I was led to UNDER THE SKIN from a reference in another review it was oblique, unsettling with emotional twisters. This had it all. I didn't study or look in depth into the novel like I usually do before buying. The few reviewers I did read provided a good account of expressing the distorted nature of the story. Good enough for me. Thank you reviewers.... for not divulging the twists that piled up on new twists and kept piling on more until the very last page. At first I was pulled into what I thought were startling developments of unusual debauchery. I was rattled to find it completely different. But it continually had me rolling along wondering...what? It was sucking me into the next ripening scenes of characters fermenting into something I never anticipated at all. Conflict, hostility, childlike sciolism. Surprise.

The POV was clever. The location was Scotland. Faber's native dialect for several of the characters was terrific.

Faber did a deep dive (pardon the new-era bromide) into cosmic ethos. Crooked, knotted, displeasuring confrontations were physically and mentally gouging the senses. Yet in places... surprisingly touching. This writing is extraordinary: dense in meaning, pugnacious, dramatic. Faber avoids safe, he goes for the jugular. UNDER THE SKIN had my skin crawling. Won't forget this one for awhile. Just the way I like it.

Bizarre and provocative the story holds your attention from beginning to end. Faber does a great job of letting the story unfold in little bits and pieces. The movie, although also good has little to do with the novel.

Wonderfully weird sci fi exploration of a variety of moral issue, including our relationship to animals and relationship to one another. The author keeps your sensibilities off balance, as you find yourself rooting for what is, under any objective description, a fairly horrifying individual.

When I first began reading this book I felt right away that something was amiss. Isserly seemed so delicate and sympathetic why would a girl like that be trolling the roads picking up male hitch hikers?
Surely that put her at terrible risk ( I smiled ) because I knew once the secret was revealed Isserly would be so much more than the reader was being lead to believe.
I wasnt disappointed at all the story infolds so fluidly with nary a tiny pebble to upset the calm waters.
Faber is a Masterful story teller he doesnt so much grip his readers, As instead he takes their hand and leads them down a dark and frightening road.
With no reassurances it will be safe or pretty in the end. He weaves a rich allegory that will give the readers pause to think, long after the book is read, what if? What if the roles were reversed?
Would we be so quick to discard our humanity as we have, and still do?
I am a voracious reader so I have a lot to compare it to in style and quality and I truly have to say it ranks as one of my top ten favorite book ever, from comics to the classics.
Partly because of its impact at once as subtle as a breeze, and as hard as a hammer blow.
I have never forgotten, merky, merky, I doubt any other reader will also.

How does a book that is obviously a somewhat heavy allegory about industrial farming and class end up being highly unpredictable? Faber's work, which is not actually reflected in the otherwise interesting movie based on it, must be approached carefully. The plotting is fast-paced, and takes many twists. It would seem underdeveloped if one did not have a sense that Isserley's character has been fully fleshed out by Faber "off-screen" and if many of the turns of the plot where not cleverly used to confuse your moral sympathies. One should approach this book with little knowledge, so I will refrain from spoiling the book more than the first two sentences already have, but it is a provocation book: a reflection on both humanity and nature that is at harrowing and alien. I strongly suggest a read, preferably before one sees the movie.

Recently got this on Kindle and was blown away by it. As the story unfolded my mind changed many times. Incredible how it made you feel for different characters, who you would normally write off as unworthy of sympathy. Still in my mind now. Highly recommended.

Great concept for a book and different for sure...I felt that the character development could have been much better though. There were more areas they could have explored with the main character. Can't wait to see the movie soon...

I expected more from the recommendations and reviews, but in the end it reminded me of a high-school "for discussion" morality and ethics book - complete with discussion points at the end!

1. Heavy-handed treatment of animal rights, diet and environment. Check.
2. Unsympathetic and strange character to force you to change your perspective. Check.
3. Lyrical descriptive passages and use of atmospherics to imply the progress of the story and the difficult issues involved. Check.
4. Reet'n loik da speik daar to show colour and variety. Check.
5. Shock and gore scenes to jolt the lazy reader out of his comfort zone. Check.
6. Grotesque and puerile caricatures of economic and social differences to "make the reader think". Check.
7. Slow and somber pace to pound in each of these concepts. Check.

But, if you ignore all that, you're still left with a great story, right? Well, no. You get:
1. Classic main character does not overcome self ending. Check.
2. We are what circumstances make us and cannot overcome that. Check.
3. Convincing lack of concern for massive plot holes and disregard for the economics and science that would have to underpin this story. Check.
4. Predictable ending after about 30 plodding pages. Check.
5. Except it takes another 250 pages and ends in medias res even before then. Check.

Because this is basically enough of an idea for a max 10 page short story stretched to 300 pages!

It's an annoying, depressing slog to a destination you know, excep...

...t it ends before it even gets there. 260 pages later.

Oh, and it's not satire. It's a padded morality pamphlet.

A mind opening treatise on perspective and how each individual views the world differently. I highly recommend this book especially if you've watched the movie (at least you're never completely lost in the book).

A startling tale of an imaginary world where humans are prey. The protagonist, a physically reworked woman eventually becomes
a sympathetic character. This is no formula tale. No fan of science fiction should pass this by.

There is something profoundly disturbing in viewing ourselves through the eyes of Isserly and her co workers if for no other reason than it gives us a glimpse into our own inherent ethnocentrism. Her story gets under the skin in reminding us to look beyond the skin.

Very dark, very thoughtful, and extremely interesting. I would highly recommend this book. If this one does not make you re-think everything you know about the world, you just didn't get it. It's unfortunate that the reviewer who only saw the book as a sci-fi thriller didn't. Do yourself a favor and enlighten your mind! You'll never be the same.