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3 out of 5 stars
By
Brenda J. Duge
on
07-13-14
Something Different!
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.
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26 of 27 people found this review helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By
Darryl
on
07-13-14
stays with you, then get the film
novel: I very much like this one. It has some odd SF/horror elements that made me think of Well's Time Machine, not the time element, but the Morlocks and the Eloi. And then there is a little bit of the Man Who Fell to Earth identity confusion/struggle on the alien's behalf.
I don't want to give too much away, but there is a "huntress" looking for men. I thought there'd be a little more of the Piers Anthony Firefly idea but it's not really that at all. I do think a couple of the hunt episodes maybe run long, but not horribly. There is a rather horrific scene involving the men but in general I think the ideas are more horrible than any particular scenes. And in an odd way you come to identify with the girl. Much can be said about the ideas of body image and sexual attraction/predation.
film: If you are interested and want to see a very cool interpretation of this check out the film that just got released on disc/itunes. Artsy, impressionistic, very Kubrick-ian use of image, music, cinematography, and no easy answers and explanations. It is not a strict filming of the novel though but I thought it was fascinating.
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11 of 12 people found this review helpful