Under the Skin

Michel Faber

An extraordinary discovery - one of those books that are the reason that we all keep reading. Nailbitingly tense, profoundly intriguing, the type of read that you can't put down or get out of your thoughts. Poignant, lyrical, frightening, horrifying, and run through with a core of rage and sadness that is hard to shake off.

Extract

He pawed nervously at the alien substance on his breast. then murmered in wonderas it melted between his fingers. He looked at Isserley as if shehad organised this whole display herself; as if she had just up-ended the whole universe for him, in case it might charm him for a moment.
'Just watch,' she said. 'Don't talk. Just Watch'
Together they sat in Isserley's little car as the sky unburdened its load. Within half an hour all the land around them was dusted with white, and a brilliant crystalline lather was climbing up the windscreen.

Parallels