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165th out of 967 books
—
3,443 voters
Under the Skin
by
Michel Faber
Hailed as "original and unsettling, an Animal Farm for the new century" (Wall Street Journal), this debut novel lingers long after the last page has been turned.
Described as a "fascinating psychological thriller" (The Baltimore Sun), this entrancing novel introduces Isserley, a female driver who picks up hitchhikers with big muscles. She, herself, is tiny-like a kid peerin...more
Described as a "fascinating psychological thriller" (The Baltimore Sun), this entrancing novel introduces Isserley, a female driver who picks up hitchhikers with big muscles. She, herself, is tiny-like a kid peerin...more
Paperback, 296 pages
Published
May 3rd 2004
by Canongate Books Ltd
(first published 2000)
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Since you asked for my opinion on hitchhiking, don’t do it.
My grandfather was on his way to pick up my uncle for the Christmas holiday when he stopped for two male hitchhikers. They forced him to an abandoned house, beat him, and drove off. Police found the body two weeks later. My mom was eleven years old.
Clearly, picking up hitchhikers is a big no-no in my family. Now this book warns me against the other side of hitchhiking: standing by the road with your thumb in the air. Again, don’t do it....more
My grandfather was on his way to pick up my uncle for the Christmas holiday when he stopped for two male hitchhikers. They forced him to an abandoned house, beat him, and drove off. Police found the body two weeks later. My mom was eleven years old.
Clearly, picking up hitchhikers is a big no-no in my family. Now this book warns me against the other side of hitchhiking: standing by the road with your thumb in the air. Again, don’t do it....more
Things I love about Under the Skin
- the heroine is really creepy
- the whole situation is really mental (that's a literary term coined by F R Leavis in his seminal 1938 essay "Ezra Pound : Fucking Mental")
- you only find out bit by bit and it gets weirder until you just can't stand it
- it didn't put me off hitchhiking because I'd already served my time as a dedicated hitchhiker, I've got a car now, and anyway the heroine was looking for the beefy type which I could never be mistaken as, even in t...more
- the heroine is really creepy
- the whole situation is really mental (that's a literary term coined by F R Leavis in his seminal 1938 essay "Ezra Pound : Fucking Mental")
- you only find out bit by bit and it gets weirder until you just can't stand it
- it didn't put me off hitchhiking because I'd already served my time as a dedicated hitchhiker, I've got a car now, and anyway the heroine was looking for the beefy type which I could never be mistaken as, even in t...more
33 likes · like · see review
Jan 08, 2012
MJ Nicholls
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
novels,
other-parts-of-europe
Caution, spoilers! A modern fable on any number of potential issues—animal cruelty? corporate greed? human brutality?—set in a version of the Highlands where multiple people hitchhike each day (I go frequently to the Highlands and I’ve never seen no hitchhikers—maybe Faber ate them all?) The story begins with our big-breasted heroine Isserley picking up a series of unemployed assholes and stabbing them in the buttocks with a stun chemical activated via her dashboard. She drives her victims, know...more
7 likes · like · see review
Completely captivating. To this day, this story haunts me. Takes place in Scotland and the main character is a female who picks up male hitchikers. What she does with them ... is well ... let's just say, I almost became a vegetarian, if it wasn't for being Croatian and meat-eating is a patriotic obligation. In an eery and out-of-this world way, this story forces you to examine how we treat animals.
Jun 03, 2012
K.D. Oliveros
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to K.D. by:
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
Surprisingly good. The book will keep you turning the pages because of the slow tease. In the end, I was expecting something like The Silence of the Lambs but Faber probably anticipated it and he brought me to a place I've never been before. That's despite that I already have 700+ books in different genres in my read folder. Definitely my first time to have encountered and read something like this.
It is a story of a pickup lady named Isserly. She drives back and forth in a Scottish highway looki...more
It is a story of a pickup lady named Isserly. She drives back and forth in a Scottish highway looki...more
hmm what should I say or in this case what should I not say.
The winning element of this story is mystery, being surprised and the strangeness that comes with it.
This original story is one that can possibly stir some repulsion in the reader and some thought on our human race and trusts that we may allude to.
A captivating story with a female main protagonist that you DO NOT want to hitch a ride with.
This one does not get pigeonholed into a certain genre it has a wide scope of attraction.
Review als...more
The winning element of this story is mystery, being surprised and the strangeness that comes with it.
This original story is one that can possibly stir some repulsion in the reader and some thought on our human race and trusts that we may allude to.
A captivating story with a female main protagonist that you DO NOT want to hitch a ride with.
This one does not get pigeonholed into a certain genre it has a wide scope of attraction.
Review als...more
4 likes · like · see review
I started this book one Saturday, and then laid around all day finishing it. I felt justified in doing that, too.
Tonally, it's literary. The plot is pretty suspenseful, but i don't mind being in the dark for the majority of a novel if the writing carries it well. Faber is just as good at landscape and dialogue as he is at slowly uncovering a narrative. He's also admirably gruesome.
Tonally, it's literary. The plot is pretty suspenseful, but i don't mind being in the dark for the majority of a novel if the writing carries it well. Faber is just as good at landscape and dialogue as he is at slowly uncovering a narrative. He's also admirably gruesome.
It's so rare to read a book that is completely surprising. I read it over a year ago and I still find myself thinking about it.
I think it's best not to know what this book is about; but I wish someone would read it so we could discuss it.
I read his book about prostitutes not knowing it was the same author. Both enjoyable, but extremely different.
The whole shower scene is bizarre. I find myself thinking about that as well (no, it's not dirty, just gross and weird. Actually, I think it's simila...more
I think it's best not to know what this book is about; but I wish someone would read it so we could discuss it.
I read his book about prostitutes not knowing it was the same author. Both enjoyable, but extremely different.
The whole shower scene is bizarre. I find myself thinking about that as well (no, it's not dirty, just gross and weird. Actually, I think it's simila...more
3 likes · like · see review
Hmmm... What can I say about this book... I didn't dislike it and yet.. I wasn't entirely sure why I kept reading - I think I probably wanted more grissly details... which unfortunately never came!
It certainly wasn't the kind of read I was expecting from Michael Faber and I felt that the plot didn't really expand any further by the end of the book than it had in the first few pages. It hasn't put me off Michael Faber because I enjoy his style of writing.. would I recommend you pick this up...?...more
It certainly wasn't the kind of read I was expecting from Michael Faber and I felt that the plot didn't really expand any further by the end of the book than it had in the first few pages. It hasn't put me off Michael Faber because I enjoy his style of writing.. would I recommend you pick this up...?...more
6 likes · like · see review
This book is odd, weird, strange, and bizarre. It is also highly disturbing. It begins with a girl named Isserley, driving the Scottish freeways daily to look for hitchhikers. The impact of this book depends on knowing no more than that, so all I will say is that it made me think about things in a different way. Highly recommended.
Later edit: Bumped to 5 stars on second reading. There really is a lot in this book to think about and discuss.
Later edit: Bumped to 5 stars on second reading. There really is a lot in this book to think about and discuss.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
1 like · like · see review
The reviews for this were glowing and flowing. Why so? It is not a bad book. Having said that, it is not a great one either. I would classify it as fairly competent, the sort of book that is, perhaps, the most uncomfortable category to read.
The theme is nothing new, really, and has been overdone in many ways. Who are 'we' and what are 'we' under the skin? At the same time, it seems to have been written with a fair amount of feeling. It reminds me of Waldo, in a way -- it is a debut novel too app...more
The theme is nothing new, really, and has been overdone in many ways. Who are 'we' and what are 'we' under the skin? At the same time, it seems to have been written with a fair amount of feeling. It reminds me of Waldo, in a way -- it is a debut novel too app...more
Jan 18, 2012
Shovelmonkey1
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
any sci fi fans and vegetarians
Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by:
1001 books list
A lonely stretch of road. A ribbon of slick tarmac stretching into the distant Scottish Highlands. There are few people around and every hitch hiker has to take their chances. After all what could possibly be dangerous about the young woman with the large eyes?
Beware of dark roads. Beware of the kindness of strangers. Evocative and well written, this is a difficult book to review without spewing forth spoiler after spoiler in a big frothing pool of spoiler vomit. Therefore I will not write too...more
Beware of dark roads. Beware of the kindness of strangers. Evocative and well written, this is a difficult book to review without spewing forth spoiler after spoiler in a big frothing pool of spoiler vomit. Therefore I will not write too...more
11 likes · like · see review
I’m very happy to have had only the slightest idea what this was about when I started reading it. I thought it was a psychological thriller by the author of The Crimson Petal and the White It turned out to be not only that but also 1) sci-fi 2) horror 3) literary fiction 4) mystery and 5) morality tale.
The main character is a funny-looking little lady named Isserly, who drives around Scotland picking up hunky hitchhikers. On the first couple pages you wonder if there’s some sexual deviation enco...more
The main character is a funny-looking little lady named Isserly, who drives around Scotland picking up hunky hitchhikers. On the first couple pages you wonder if there’s some sexual deviation enco...more
1 like · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Wow, this book will really get to you. The narrator, Isserley, picks up hitchhikers in Scotland, and she's a wee bit of a lass, so no, it's not a typical slasher creepfest. But you'll definitely get the creeps as you read, and you'll only be fed small clues here and there as to what's going on. I think it's a very effective book, even once you're given the reveal - you can agree or disagree - Isserley is definitely a unique character, and Faber a very unique writer. If I were you, I'd just pick...more
Isserley is a mysterious, awkward looking, seemingly vulnerable yet also strangely threatening young woman who spends her days driving up and down the A9 in the wilds of Scotland picking up muscly men and proceeding to grill them on their lives. Do they have any family? A job? Any friends?
The reason why she asks these question is up to you as readers to find out as this is simply one of those books where it would be impossible to summarise any part of the plot without completely giving the game...more
The reason why she asks these question is up to you as readers to find out as this is simply one of those books where it would be impossible to summarise any part of the plot without completely giving the game...more
I can best describe this book in one word: disturbing. I read about this book on a list of favorites, where someone compared it to Gone Girl. While it was similarly disturbing, this book got under my skin (pun intended) even more than Gone Girl did.
The basic plot is that Isserly drives up and down the A9 in Scotland picking up hitchhikers. She has a strategy. She has a plan. She executes flawlessly. But what does she want, what does she do, with all of these hikers? I don't want to spoil the boo...more
The basic plot is that Isserly drives up and down the A9 in Scotland picking up hitchhikers. She has a strategy. She has a plan. She executes flawlessly. But what does she want, what does she do, with all of these hikers? I don't want to spoil the boo...more
At first I thought "This is just a fairly straightforward sfnal concept dressed up as literary fiction, and its premise only seems surprising because of the genre context."
The book snuck up on me, though. The prose is all right--not flashy, but smoothly under control. The characters are flattened, almost parable-flat (and this is almost parable, but better than that), but their consciousness is vivid. The quiet weirdness of the book works; the paen to the natural world is a little bit heartbreak...more
The book snuck up on me, though. The prose is all right--not flashy, but smoothly under control. The characters are flattened, almost parable-flat (and this is almost parable, but better than that), but their consciousness is vivid. The quiet weirdness of the book works; the paen to the natural world is a little bit heartbreak...more
About all I can say after reading this book is "Wow!". Isserley, a gaunt but attractive women, picks up hitchhikers every day, looking for the strong, muscular men, and men who are loners, or outcasts, or otherwise socially disconnected from society. It is a dangerous enterprise, but she can do it.
More than that I cannot say, without revealing major spoilers. In fact, I cannot even say what genre the book is in without giving a spoiler. The book is a psychological thriller; Isserley is an oppres...more
More than that I cannot say, without revealing major spoilers. In fact, I cannot even say what genre the book is in without giving a spoiler. The book is a psychological thriller; Isserley is an oppres...more
I read The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber for an online book group a few years ago. It is a historical novel set in the 1800's about a prostitute who is taken in by a married man as his concubine. I really enjoyed the novel, especially the author's writing and approach to the social issues of the day. His characters weren't particularly likeable, but they were interesting and connecting with them was no problem. After reading The Crimson Petal and the White, I knew I wanted to read...more
I am thisclose to giving this book 4.5 stars -- I found it verynearly amazing, but it fell just slightly short of that for me.
Here's my advice for anyone interested in reading this book -- do not read ANYTHING about it before reading. Don't read reviews, don't read the back cover, don't even read the blurbs on the front. Just go into it completely cold.
So, having said that, what in the world can I say about this book without ruining it?
I can tell you that it opens with a woman named Isserley dr...more
Here's my advice for anyone interested in reading this book -- do not read ANYTHING about it before reading. Don't read reviews, don't read the back cover, don't even read the blurbs on the front. Just go into it completely cold.
So, having said that, what in the world can I say about this book without ruining it?
I can tell you that it opens with a woman named Isserley dr...more
OK - usually I am not a sci-fi fan. Despite years of wanting to like sci-fi books, I just never really honestly did, and I'm guessing it's because most sci-fi is so far divorced from our daily lives that it's too unrelatable to me... I feel like I'm trying to get inside the heads of machines most of the time, and that just bores me. But this was a very "sci-fi lite" book. It takes place on contemporary Earth, with a very human-like protagonist.
I found this book more gripping as it went on. The a...more
I found this book more gripping as it went on. The a...more
Upon looking for something new to read, and knowing nothing about the author, this one instantly caught my eye.
Reading the back synopsis, which hardly gives anything away, about a female driver who cruises the highway looking for hitch hikers to pick up, seemed somewhat interesting. And upon reading a page or two of the beginning, mainly some awkward conversations between driver and hitcher, I thought, "well, this sounds like fun. Might as well go with a light read for a change".
A few hours of...more
Reading the back synopsis, which hardly gives anything away, about a female driver who cruises the highway looking for hitch hikers to pick up, seemed somewhat interesting. And upon reading a page or two of the beginning, mainly some awkward conversations between driver and hitcher, I thought, "well, this sounds like fun. Might as well go with a light read for a change".
A few hours of...more
Jun 15, 2011
Rebecca eley
added it
Recommends it for:
don't bother it's terrible
Recommended to Rebecca by:
me
Shelves:
why-did-i-carry-on-reading
If I could give it 0 stars I would, in fact less than no stars would be apt.
I was lured by a hint of cult fiction. I rarely take against books to such a degree and never before have I felt a compulsion to write a review but I feel I should warn all readers who are looking for something a bit off the beaten track you will be left empty by this book. If you have a few hours to kill drive up the A9 it will be a better experience and by the end you may feel you have achieved something.
There could...more
I was lured by a hint of cult fiction. I rarely take against books to such a degree and never before have I felt a compulsion to write a review but I feel I should warn all readers who are looking for something a bit off the beaten track you will be left empty by this book. If you have a few hours to kill drive up the A9 it will be a better experience and by the end you may feel you have achieved something.
There could...more
I'll be honest. The only reason I read this is because of a gossip column talking about how they were turning this book into a movie starring Scarlett Johanson and people comparing the premise to Species.
But in reality, this books is so different that other than it's use of aliens I don't know if it really belongs in the Sci-Fi genre. I personally don't see how they can even begin to properly adapt it into a film as most important parts are Isserley (the main character) and her ill-fated compani...more
But in reality, this books is so different that other than it's use of aliens I don't know if it really belongs in the Sci-Fi genre. I personally don't see how they can even begin to properly adapt it into a film as most important parts are Isserley (the main character) and her ill-fated compani...more
One word of advice: go into this book knowing next to nothing about the plot.
For me this was an impulse read - I had neither heard of the book before or know of the author. I chanced upon this book's description (honestly I only read like, 3 lines of the synopsis before I impulsively decided to read it), sent a sample to my kindle, and the next thing I know, I can't do anything else until I finish this book
So, Faber really knows how to engage his audience, draw us in bit by bit, dangling a shiny...more
For me this was an impulse read - I had neither heard of the book before or know of the author. I chanced upon this book's description (honestly I only read like, 3 lines of the synopsis before I impulsively decided to read it), sent a sample to my kindle, and the next thing I know, I can't do anything else until I finish this book
So, Faber really knows how to engage his audience, draw us in bit by bit, dangling a shiny...more
This is going to be a startlingly short discussion. I am a person who is, to put it kindly, verbose. Wordy. I type too damn much sometimes. I know this. And if I let this tendency go unchecked in this discussion, I will spoil this entire book for you. This is a book wherein crucial plot points are revealed in layers. As you read, Faber reveals bits and pieces that make you wonder what is wrong, why the main character is experiencing back pain, why she looks odd, why she is stalking large, well-b...more
Every day, Isserley drives the roads of the Scottish Highlands looking for beefy male hitchhikers to pick upbut not for the reasons that anyone would expect. Isolated from home, out of place among the hitchhikers, Isserley is the only link between two cultures. Under the Skin is a nightmare to summarize and even harder to review because the truth of Isserley's identity and role is a huge spoiler which is crucial to book's plot and message. Nonetheless it's safe to say: the first half of the boo...more
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Michel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch writer of fiction. He writes in English.
Faber was born in The Hague, The Netherlands. He and his parents emigrated to Australia in 1967. He attended primary and secondary school in the Melbourne suburbs of Boronia and Bayswater, then attended the University Of Melbourne, studying Dutch, Philosophy, Rhetoric, English Language (a course involving translat...more
More about Michel Faber...
Faber was born in The Hague, The Netherlands. He and his parents emigrated to Australia in 1967. He attended primary and secondary school in the Melbourne suburbs of Boronia and Bayswater, then attended the University Of Melbourne, studying Dutch, Philosophy, Rhetoric, English Language (a course involving translat...more
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Jan 08, 2012 02:21pm
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updated Jan 08, 2012 03:15pm