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Under The Skin

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Under The Skin

By: Michel Faber, David Mitchell - introduction
Narrated by: Gerri Halligan
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Isserley spends most of her time driving. But why is she so interested in picking up hitchhikers? And why are they always male, well-built and alone?

An utterly unpredictable and macabre mystery, Michel Faber's debut novel is an outstanding piece of fiction that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.

©2000 Michel Faber Science Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Scary
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Critic reviews

". . . strange, adept, original . . . Would that more first novels were as adventurous or as funky and daring in their conception."
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Tenses and prods the reader up a plethora of literary blind alleys before hauling them screaming towards its final, thrilling destination.

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Profound and disturbing . . . Faber writes superbly.

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The real triumph is Faber's restrained, almost opaque prose. This is a man who could give Conrad a run at writing the perfect sentence.

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"A wonderful book - painful, lyrical, frightening, brilliant . . . I couldn't put it down."
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brilliantly compressed drama of threat and ambiguity . . . Recalling writers such as Jim Crace and Russell Hoban, Under the Skin, like Faber's short stories, is an extremely assured and imaginative work.

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"Under the Skin is a shocking and fantastical take on modern humanity."
"'One measure of a book is its stickability, its ability to remain in the mind long after being read. Michel Faber's Under the Skin passes this test with ease, or should that be unease? Faber builds a credible thriller on what seems the shakiest of premises . . . Its triumph, however, is that it plays on the mind long after a first reading. It is the best first novel of the year and a worthy successor to Faber's short stories."
"Astonishingly, this is Michel Faber's first novel. It is audacious, fascinating, repellent and quite unlike anything I have ever read."
"Edgy, accomplished debut . . . To describe the bizarre scenario behind this novel would make it sound absurd but in Michel Faber's hands it is a compelling and darkly disorientating tale. Told in sparse, often beautiful prose, Under the Skin defies genre, swerving from parable to science fiction and questioning what makes us human, how we connect to each other, and how we define and treat the 'other'. A refreshing reminder of how good fiction can make our own world seem alien."
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The fantastic is so nicely played against the day-to-day that one feels the strangeness of both . . . A remarkable novel.

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"Under the Skin tattoos the memory with an unholy trinity of hitch-hikers, the Scottish highlands and the extraterrestrial meat-packing industry. Wonderful, grisly and beyond bonkers." (David Mitchell, author of CLOUD ATLAS)
"Unlike anything else I've ever read." (David Sikey)
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Any additional comments?

Holy tomoly! Even though I enjoyed this book and it creeped me out completely don't think I'll be listening to it again for a long while. Very disturbing, especially for men I should imagine. Good but disturbing

Deeply creepy

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What did you like best about Under the Skin? What did you like least?

The concept of the story was the reason I bought this book. Sadly this was too far from my expected listening experience.

What could Michel Faber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I'm sure that he was true to the story he wanted to tell, however this book was not to my tastes, with its harrowing subtext and ending.

What does Gerri Halligan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Builds the tension in the story well.

Do you think Under the Skin needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No - the ending left the story concluded and I would not want a follow up to the story.

Uncomfortable listening

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this is the second time and read the story the acting is amazing and the characters really are sublime highly recommended audiobook because the original story justice.

brilliant

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not time well spent at all. I put up with the awful narration because I wanted to find out where the story was going. All that effort(and it was an effort) to learn that the true meaning of the book had no point, no ending and in fact nothing other than gruesome horror for the sake of it. Big disappointment after all the hype. I certainly won't be watching the film.

What was most disappointing about Michel Faber’s story?

The fact that the whole plot was shallow and pointless contests strongly against the most awful attempt at a Scottish accent I have ever heard in my life. It is an insult to our lovely country and I feel quiet offended that Gerri Halligan seems to think we are all ginger wearing wigs with tartan tammies and an IQ of zero, who go around shouting "See yoo Jimmae". I could go on, but suffice to say that this narrator, who read well enough for the other parts of the story, needs to get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness. She should be ashamed to call herself a narrator.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Gerri Halligan?

Anyone who can do a Scottish accent. My three year old grandaughter could have done it better.

Was Under the Skin worth the listening time?

No. It was a complete waste of time. The story was macarbe just for the sake of it. I didn't engage with the protagonist or indeed any other character. I couldn't care less what happened to them. The teeth grinding attempt at the Scottish accent...rather like chalk on a blackboard together with one dimensional characters and a weak story line made this book sheer agony from beginning to end.

Any additional comments?

The only plus I can add is my intrigue at finding out what was going on. This is what kept me going and Faber does do intrigue well. However, he doesn't follow it up at the final delivery. A very disappointing and pointless book.

A nerve grating insignificant little book

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I absolutely disliked the narration and I feel that has influenced my judgement of the story

hmm...it might have been better to actually read it

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