How we view the outsider and our attempts to conform and make sense of the world are also key elements - and to what degree do we judge people by appearance and not substance or character. An ‘issues’ novelĪs much as I’m loathe to describe Under the Skin as an “issues” novel, it does contain many ethical, moral and political matters that may well force you to rethink your views on everything from Nature to meat consumption, sexual identity to the notion of mercy. And on that score, I’m keeping completely schtum. What happens to these men once they’ve been “caught” - or lured by Isserley’s big bosoms, more accurately - is the crux of the novel.
She wants big men, specifically men with muscles, and when she lures them into her car she can’t help “savouring the thought of how superb he’d be once he was naked”. So, now that we know that Isserley looks unconventional, I can tell you about her unconventional job - which is to cruise the main roads of Scotland looking for hitchhikers who are “hunks on legs”. But she had puffy cheeks and was wearing the thickest glasses he’d seen in his life: they magnified her eyes so much they looked about twice normal size. It was small and heart-shaped, like an elf in a kiddie’s book, with a perfect little nose and a fantastic big-lipped curvy mouth like a supermodel. Long skinny arms with big knobbly elbows - no wonder her top was long sleeved. The rest of her was a funny shape, though. How tall would she be? Five foot one, maybe, standing up. Tiny - like a kid peering up over the steering wheel. This is how one man she picks up describes her:įantastic tits on this one, but God, there wasn’t much of her otherwise. She drives up and down the A9 in Scotland in her battered red Toyota Corolla and often picks up hitchhikers along the way - well, actually, she seeks them out, but more on that later. It’s intriguing and creepy and defies categorisation and the title is uncannily appropriate, because the story does, indeed, get under the skin… An unconventional lead characterįirst, let’s meet the main character, Isserley, who is “half Baywatch babe, half little old lady”. Let me just say that it is quite unlike anything I’ve ever read before. This is a novel that is cloaked in secrecy - I’ve yet to come across a review online that gives away the bizarre content or the dramatic ending - and I’m not about to become the first to give it all away. That’s because writing about Michel Faber’s Under the Skin without giving away crucial plot spoilers is nigh on impossible. This may possibly be the most difficult review I’ve ever had to write. Fiction – paperback Canongate 305 pages 2000.
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