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blandrea_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I would never have picked this up if I hadn't had a group of people (with similar pallets) recommend it. And I am very glad I didn't have to read this book alone. If you are considering it, maybe have an emotional support buddy because it's an intense ride.
There are plenty of reviews on here that will do a much better job at capturing this book than I ever could so I'm just going to go with my impressions.
This is a story of a man who lives out of time. This is a story with no clear genre. This is a story with a narrator that at once seems omniscient, but then has very obvious gaps in knowledge. All of these combine to create an experience that is unsettling in a way that does not rely on a jump-scare to leave you feeling slightly lost and never quite sure where the story is headed.
When I was told this story was a bit of a fairy tale, I instantly imagined Disney, but this is probably the closest an adult can get to re-experiencing the Grimms version of fairytales.
I am so, so glad I read this.
Light out now.
Goodnight.
There are plenty of reviews on here that will do a much better job at capturing this book than I ever could so I'm just going to go with my impressions.
This is a story of a man who lives out of time. This is a story with no clear genre. This is a story with a narrator that at once seems omniscient, but then has very obvious gaps in knowledge. All of these combine to create an experience that is unsettling in a way that does not rely on a jump-scare to leave you feeling slightly lost and never quite sure where the story is headed.
When I was told this story was a bit of a fairy tale, I instantly imagined Disney, but this is probably the closest an adult can get to re-experiencing the Grimms version of fairytales.
I am so, so glad I read this.
Light out now.
Goodnight.
screamdogreads's review
4.5
He knows that the boy is dead (that's another phrase that comes to mind, dead weight, he thinks he understands it now.) but nonetheless he wants to hold him tight; to hold him tight and rock him back and forth and whisper gently in his ear I've got you. I've got you. That's it; I've got you; shh.
How does anyone begin to convey coherent thoughts about a novel that strips their soul bare like this? How is it possible to express the intensity with which Skin Lane leaves you exposed and vulnerable? A novel crafted as wonderfully as this succeeds in isolating and wrecking the hearts of its readership. Desolation, desire, and loneliness explode from the pages of this book in a powerful and sickening kaleidoscopic vibrancy.
What an incredible piece of literature this is, not only is it an honor to experience something so fantastic, it's frankly amazing that it even exists. By far, this may be one of the most harrowing and moving pieces of fiction I've read all year. Despite what an uncomfortable experience it is, to feel such vulnerability within a story, it's still a staggeringly lovely tale. Ultimately, this story is about denial, and the soul-shattering consequences of unrequited love, but, it's also, so much more...
Bartlett has created a work of art here. The enigmatic and mysterious Mr F is the star of our story, and the narrator, while not quite unreliable, cleverly holds over our heads how complicit we are in our own manipulation. It's a fragile and obsessive thing, this story, intimate and lurid and lacking in a tidy resolution. Luscious and erotic undertones shimmer throughout this story, making it a deeply desirable thing, like a secret guarded close to the heart. It's a rare find, this one, a gem laying on a beach of stones, a lump of gold in a river of coal.
How does anyone begin to convey coherent thoughts about a novel that strips their soul bare like this? How is it possible to express the intensity with which Skin Lane leaves you exposed and vulnerable? A novel crafted as wonderfully as this succeeds in isolating and wrecking the hearts of its readership. Desolation, desire, and loneliness explode from the pages of this book in a powerful and sickening kaleidoscopic vibrancy.
What an incredible piece of literature this is, not only is it an honor to experience something so fantastic, it's frankly amazing that it even exists. By far, this may be one of the most harrowing and moving pieces of fiction I've read all year. Despite what an uncomfortable experience it is, to feel such vulnerability within a story, it's still a staggeringly lovely tale. Ultimately, this story is about denial, and the soul-shattering consequences of unrequited love, but, it's also, so much more...
Bartlett has created a work of art here. The enigmatic and mysterious Mr F is the star of our story, and the narrator, while not quite unreliable, cleverly holds over our heads how complicit we are in our own manipulation. It's a fragile and obsessive thing, this story, intimate and lurid and lacking in a tidy resolution. Luscious and erotic undertones shimmer throughout this story, making it a deeply desirable thing, like a secret guarded close to the heart. It's a rare find, this one, a gem laying on a beach of stones, a lump of gold in a river of coal.
"People think that it is in the tangle of bodies, in the actual congress, that one person invades another and takes possession of them; that it is on the bed that we give ourselves up. Well it is true that there is a surrender there that is unlike any other, but the real time they get under your skin is when you spend these hours alone preparing for them; imagining them. The hours where you find yourself wondering if these sheets would be too hot with two people under them. Or when you lie there on your back with both eyes open, as Mr F lies now, in the desperate early hours of that Monday morning, wishing that your nightmare would come back and plague you, just so that you can see your beloved one last time."
Skin Lane is touching in ways I'd never imagined when I picked it up, it's so deeply affecting in its own, unique manner. And, perhaps, latching on to the idea of beauty is too easy when reading this devastating story. I think that's the magic of it though, we think so much of beauty because in this tale, Beauty awaits the devouring by Beast.
When a man is solitary, people always want an explanation, don't they - have you noticed that? Especially if he ends up doing something notable, committing a crime for instance, or even just surviving to a very old age. At some point in the conversation, someone always says, I wonder what made him that way?
trendingline221's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
becka6131's review against another edition
4.0
Really tender depiction of a repressed gay man - first half is just a wonderful, slow falling apart, although the last half is less convincing and I got the sense that the author didn't quite know how to end it.
ginger_slam_becs's review
5.0
Yes; maybe it's in the silences, the silences in which we imagine the answers to the questions that we never dared ask, that the damage is first done. Who knows.
Skin Lane is an evocative, lyrical, vivid book that completely captivated my attention (could-not-put-it-down) and I am still haunted by it.
This story of Mr F - a perfectly ordinary middle-aged man who works as a furrier in London's Skin Lane. He is single, lives alone, and has a very regimented, contained, quiet life. That is, until, he experiences a very disturbing dream about a man tied up in his bathroom. He becomes obsessed with understanding the dream and identifying the man in it. Mr F mentally recreates the dream in painstaking detail over and over again looking for clues to the identity of the man. His normal routine becomes disrupted by his obsession. A man who was afraid to "look" now finds himself looking at all the men in his world for clues. He spends solitary hours at the National Gallery where he feels safe to look and stare - to understand. Looking at the painting, The Incredulity of St Thomas, he is approached by another gallery visitor. The stranger makes an observation about how the artist creates a real sense of tangibility, the sense of touch. Mr F is captivated by this comment and confused by the encounter.
When he is asked to mentor a young man, nicknamed Beauty at work, Mr F's understanding of his dream begins to take corporeal shape. The tension and threat of crisis or violence builds as Mr F continues to live his seemingly quiet life that is full of turmoil under the surface. I don't really want to write much more about the plot because it is so captivating and just beautifully executed - and I cannot do it justice.
The book is set in 1967 London and the setting and year is a very specific choice - as it was the year of the Sexual Offenses Act that legalized consensual homosexual activity between consenting adults in Britain and the Abortion Act which legalized abortions on certain grounds. The political and cultural changes that Mr F observes from his route to and from Skin Lane and reading the Evening Standard - he tells himself that these are only happening on the edges of his life, surely not affecting him personally.
The writing style is so expressive, creating the small, highly structured world of Mr F and and the multilayered fur trade business. The description of light in Mr F’s recurring dream the "blood" light on his arm, the harsh glare of the single bulb in his bathroom - so vivid and intense. The dark corners in St. James's Church, the black door of the Skin Lane premises are so evocative and reminded me of the Caravaggio moment and his intense and realistic paintings and use of light and shadows. A book about an ordinary, quiet man, slowly, painfully becoming aware of possibilities - of knowing himself. Imagining the possibilities he never contemplated before: pulling up a second chair at his kitchen table, or in his living room. The idea of “a pair” this simple idea is gorgeously heartbreaking. This book is just so good. SO GOOD.
And the date of Mr F's letter 27 July 1967. Oh. My. Heart.
amphipodgirl's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is more challenging to read than my usual fare, but I'm glad I persevered. Set in the year that sex between men and abortion were both legalized in the UK, it follows a man with a very closed-down, regimented life as that closed system begins to break down and open up in a time of great social change. Mr. F stands for all the generations of queer men stuck in silence and obscurity because their love was illegal to express and for all those of us who find it hard to expand out into the fullest selves we could be. Rewards close reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy and Abortion
dernichtraucherin's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dobbsthedog's review
5.0
This is quite a book. It is about Mr F, who is a 47 year old furrier in London’s fur trade, in 1967.
What I found fascinating about the book is how it defies genre. It certainly veers towards horror, but is also deeply emotional. And while you’re pretty certain Mr F is going to straight up murder someone throughout most of the book, the ending is completely not what you would expect. So, it also veers towards being a thriller, because it keeps you guessing until the very end. But then maybe it’s just a story about a lonely man, living and working in London in a year of great change (the Homosexual Offenses Act was passed, the Abortion Act was passed).
This book gave me so much to think about and having read it twice, back to back, I’m still thinking about it, and likely will be for quite a while to come.
Skin Lane is definitely not a book for everyone. But if you like genre-bending with an incredibly fascinating narrator that will leave you guessing, then maybe this is the book for you. Though good luck finding a copy; it’s out of print and not available as an e-book.
Also, if you read this book and need something more, I so enjoyed the book that I wrote a bit of fan fiction for Mr F, you can find it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40161987
What I found fascinating about the book is how it defies genre. It certainly veers towards horror, but is also deeply emotional. And while you’re pretty certain Mr F is going to straight up murder someone throughout most of the book, the ending is completely not what you would expect. So, it also veers towards being a thriller, because it keeps you guessing until the very end. But then maybe it’s just a story about a lonely man, living and working in London in a year of great change (the Homosexual Offenses Act was passed, the Abortion Act was passed).
This book gave me so much to think about and having read it twice, back to back, I’m still thinking about it, and likely will be for quite a while to come.
Skin Lane is definitely not a book for everyone. But if you like genre-bending with an incredibly fascinating narrator that will leave you guessing, then maybe this is the book for you. Though good luck finding a copy; it’s out of print and not available as an e-book.
Also, if you read this book and need something more, I so enjoyed the book that I wrote a bit of fan fiction for Mr F, you can find it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40161987
eicart_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0