Product Description

At 47, Mr. F?s working life on London?s Skin Lane is one governed by calm, precision and routine. So when he starts to have frightening, recurring nightmares, he does his best to ignore them. The images that appear in his dream are disturbing ? Mr. F can't for the life of him think where they have come from. After all, he's a perfectly ordinary middle-aged man. As London?s crooked backstreets begin to swelter in the long, hot summer of 1967, Mr. F?s nightmare becomes an obsession. A chance encounter adds a face to the body that nightly haunts him, and the torments of his sweat-drenched nights lead him ? and the reader ? deeper into a terrifying labyrinth of rage, desire and shame. Part fairy-tale, part compelling evocation of a now-lost London, Neil Bartlett's critically-acclaimed third novel is his fiercest piece of writing yet: cruel, erotic, and tender.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330638 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"'Skin Lane is a fiendishly taut little psycho-shocker that recalls Simenon at his most hardboiled and Highsmith at her creepiest' Will Self 'A powerful and complex story of sexual obsession... a raw, dark, highly dramatic narrative... a profoundly original meditation on thwarted desire' Patrick McGrath 'Brilliantly eerie... constantly surprising... captures vividly the atmosphere of the changing London of the 60s... But it's in his depiction of a specific kind of helpless and fearful love that Bartlett excels' Guardian 'Skin Lane welds itself to your hands from first to last. Textured, teeming with menace and, at the end, deeply moving, it is an extremely fine piece of writing' The Times 'Original, disturbing and... beautifully written, this is an always fascinating work' Literary Review 'A potent fable about the destructive power of lust and an unsettling psychological study in the manner of Patricia Highsmith' Dally Telegraph 'With Skin Lane, Bartlett further demonstrates his skills as a creative polymath of the highest order' Dazed & Confused"

Guardian
`Brilliantly eerie... constantly surprising... captures vividly the atmosphere of the changing London of the 60s... But it's in his depiction of a specific kind of helpless and fearful love that Bartlett excels'

The Times
`Skin Lane welds itself to your hands from first to last. Textured, teeming with menace and, at the end, deeply moving, it is an extremely fine piece of writing'

Customer Reviews

Astounding!
Skin Lane is very quiet, and very profound. It tells the story of Mr F, who works in Skin Lane making fur coats. His is a very banal and orderly existance, until one night he dreams (a thing he never does) of a naked boy hanging in his bathroom. The boy in question, nicknamed 'Beauty', works with Mr F, who becomes obsessed with him. It it extremely moving and there are minor references and parallels to Beauty and the Beast. The ending is astounding, as is everything that leads up to it. Bartlett has a very eerie way of connecting past events with the present. This book is definately worth reading!

Great read for those who know how to take their time
Beautifully crafted story. All the pieces fall into place like in a Tetris game. The mechanics of the writing matching the mechanics of the main character. A rare book in a very unconventional environment, a story with no sex but so much sexual tension.

Moving and profound
I found this book a most enthralling and moving read and my excitement and enjoyment increased as my reading progressed. What a joy to have this book to return to after a day at work. The theme of deeply thwarted, hidden desire in the hot summer of 1967 is beautifully handled and convincing. The ending is moving and profound. Overall, a very impressive novel quite unlike anything I have read before.