Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2007.
Costa Book Awards 2007 Judges' comment: "A cunningly narrated story in a totally original milieu. A tale of the unexpected."
Extremely detailed piece of writing that follows a lonely middle-aged man through a disturbing obsession. He is a cutter in the 60’s fur trade, a fascinating backdrop to a menacing tale of lust, with a surprising conclusion.
Comparison: Alan Hollinghurst, Jake Arnott, Patrick Gale.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
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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 long-awaited third novel is his fiercest piece of writing yet: cruel, erotic, and tender.
Skin Lane features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Thriller and Suspense, General Fiction, Fiction
Skin Lane is available in Paperback
Skin Lane was written by Neil Bartlett and published by Profile Books Ltd
Skin Lane has 344 pages
£11.69