Under the Skin Audiobook By Michel Faber cover art

Under the Skin

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Under the Skin

By: Michel Faber
Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
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Buy for $21.09

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Hailed as “original and unsettling, an Animal Farm for the new century” (Wall Street Journal), this debut novel lingers long after the last moments have been played.

A “fascinating psychological thriller” (Baltimore Sun), this entrancing novel introduces Isserley, a female driver who scouts the Scottish Highlands for male hitchhikers with big muscles. She herself is tiny - like a kid peering up over the steering wheel. Scarred and awkward, yet strangely erotic and threatening, Isserley listens to her passengers as they open up to her, revealing clues about who might miss them should they disappear - and then she strikes. What happens to her victims next is only part of a terrifying reality.

At once humane and horrifying, Under the Skin takes us on a heart-thumping ride through dangerous territory: our own moral instincts and the boundaries of compassion. A grotesque and comical allegory and a surreal representation of contemporary society run amok, Under the Skin was internationally received as the arrival of an exciting talent, rich and assured.

©2000 Michel Faber (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Suspense Fiction Scary Exciting Highlander Heartfelt

Critic reviews

“A fascinating book…The fantastic is so nicely played against the day-to-day that one feels the strangeness of both…Remarkable.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Faber constructs a compelling, unusual tale about species difference and the limits of compassion. Under the Skin blends elements of science fiction, grotesque comedy, horror, and thriller into a genre-jumping meditation.” (Washington Post Book World)

“Original and unsettling, an Animal Farm for the new century…Michel Faber is a strong, moral voice, and this first novel promises great things for the future.” (Wall Street Journal)
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I felt that the store really picked up/came alive in the last 1/3 of the book. I found it pretty slow otherwise. The moral of the story isn't made clear really ever. It becomes seemingly more obvious towards the end but I was left ultimately shrugging my shoulders. I liked the hints of judgement for eating animals, otherwise I didn't really connect with the story.

Very Odd Story

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I kept going back and comparing to film. Lots of ambiguity but really interesting and could be a good prequel for this by someone about alien homeland

Awesome book much more answers than film.

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I picked this up after watching the movie. I was aware that the book was VERY different ahead of time, but I was still a little disappointed. What starts out as an interesting sifi story, quickly devolves into a standard dystopia story.

Good, but doesn't live up to its own potential.

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Some things were a bit off and I felt the end was a little rushed but overall I really enjoyed the story and wished I could learn more about her home world rather than anything else! That was the most interesting aspect.

A bit confusing and rushed but enjoyable.

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

After loving The Crimson Petal and the White, I was excited to read anything else by Faber. The man has a truly unique voice and an odd point of view. In this book, as in The Crimson Petal.., his prose is lovely. The story is something I've never read before, which is always great; however, for all the ugliness in The Crimson Petal, there were moments of hope and humor. In Under the Skin, there is no spot of lightness or humor; all is grey and melancholy. So, I must recommend it with reservations. It's fascinating, the plot and the main character, but it left me with a vague, lasting saddness. If your not prone to such things, read it by all means. The narrator was excellent although occasionally difficult to understand. Her Scottish accents are sometimes too true and hard for an American ear to comprehend.

Something Different!

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