I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley Published by Unsung Stories on October 22 2018
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 240
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Whiteley cuts to the heart of love in this emotionally powerful futuristic tale, where changing the way you feel about someone is as easy as peeling off your old skin.
Aliya Whiteley writes very odd stories, but now that I’ve read three of her books, I look forward to that “oddness” because her stories all have wonderful layers to them. The Loosening Skin is now officially my favorite of her books, and I anticipate seeing it on some award lists soon. I’m a bit late reviewing it, since it was released in 2018, but as the saying goes, “better late than never!”
The concept is an unusual one. In this world, people shed their skins every seven years or so, and with that moult comes a loss of the relationship that person was in. When the story begins, a woman named Rose has been in love with famous actor and director Max Black for the past two years. Even though the two have been taking an experimental drug that is supposed to delay the moulting process, Rose realizes one day she’s getting her moult early, and as her skin peels off, she leaves Max and everything they had together behind. Eight years later, Max comes back into Rose’s life when his collection of skins is stolen, and he asks her to help track them down.
In addition to having a unique idea, the story also has a very different format than I’m used to. It’s divided neatly in two halves that feel very different from each other. The first half deals with what happens when Max and Rose reunite and the horrible, self-serving act that Max carries out, despite the fact that Rose wants nothing to do with him. And the second half takes place years later and is told by a man named Mik Stuck, who was one of the Stuck Six, a famous group of six men and women who all fell in love with each other at once and managed to keep their relationships going for years. In this section, the woman who helped Max try to “recondition” Rose against her will is dying of a disease caused by a drug called Suscutin, and before she dies she wants to track down Rose and ask her forgiveness. All the chapters jump around in time, so it’s sometimes a challenge to keep track of what’s going on. But in the end, I loved this method of storytelling because all those jumps reveal very important information that’s critical to understanding the overall story.
Whiteley often writes about body horror and how emotions can affect a person’s physical being, and even though in this world, shedding one’s skin is as normal as getting your hair cut, Whiteley’s descriptions of the moulting process, well, made my skin crawl! The title of the book refers to the beginning stages of the moult, when your skin starts to loosen and itch uncontrollably. But it’s the emotional toll of moulting that is heartbreaking. Moulting is a metaphor for change and loss. You’re not only losing your skin and starting over fresh, but you’re sloughing off your feelings of love for a person as well. It’s a terrifying idea, that emotion is controlled by a bodily function, something you have no control over. No matter how much in love you are with a person, when your moult starts, your feelings inevitably change as well. You’ve heard of the “seven year itch,” right? Well, Whiteley has taken this idea, that after seven years you start to lose interest in a spouse or lover, and gone so far as to craft a chilling world in which it makes perfect sense to leave someone.
Even stranger, although many people burn their old skins, some hang on to them and are reluctant to throw away all those old emotions. Max has saved Rose’s skin, when she moulted and left him, because he couldn’t bear to have their relationship end. The feelings of love are buried deep in a person’s skin and can be felt years later simply by touching that skin. Creepy, yes, but what a powerful idea!
Ultimately, this is an emotional story filled with sadness and regret. Despite the fact that Rose has moulted and fallen out of love with Max, she still clings to the idea of loving him and can never quite let that feeling go. Likewise, the passages that deal with the members of the Stuck Six are especially poignant. After years of successfully staying in love, one of them, a young woman named Nicky, begins to moult and the act is as heart-wrenching as the death of a loved one. In Whiteley’s world, love is tenuous and fleeting, but because of that, it’s nurtured and cared for with exquisite attention. This is a must read for all Aliya Whiteley fans, and a great place to start if you’re new to her work.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Note: This review uses the British spelling of the word “moult” as opposed to the American spelling, “molt.” Don’t worry, I did it on purpose.
How do you find all these cool things? 😀 Love the concept!
You know, they sort of find me, lol. I work with some amazing SFF small press publishers that really put out some amazing books that don’t always get enough attention.
What a fascinating concept – I’m totally intrigued and have lots of questions already! I read a book once where a character mentioned that over the course of seven years all your body cells will have been replaced/renewed therefore making you a different person in some respects – I guess this is a similar idea but taken one step further with the actual physical shedding of the skin. Gives a new meaning to the seven year itch??
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
Oh that’s pretty cool. So her idea might be based on something real. I’ll have to look into it more!
I’m really intrigued by this and it sounds beautiful and powerful in its exploration of love. So creative, too. Wonderful review, Tammy!
Thanks Jennifer, it was unique and I probably won’t ever forget it!
This does sound like a powerful read. Such a strange but unique concept. I may be looking into this one soon. I think it would be awful to lose all those relationships every 7 years!
It’s actually a really cool idea. I love the way she brought it all together.
Oh what weird fun! Ye really do find the oddest things sometimes. I have not heard of this author so I will start with this. Thanks for the lovely review matey!
The Captain recently posted…The Captain’s Log – in an absent dream (Seanan McGuire)
Ha ha, I’ve been reviewing books for some very unusual small press publishers for a long time, so they always give me interesting books to read:-)
What are some of the names of these small press publishers? One of the ones that I have come to love is Tachyon Publications. Not only do I like what they publish but the people who run it have been so nice.
I love Apex Books, this book is from Unsung Stories, which is a UK publisher. I also like Inkshares and Blackstone Publishing. There’s more but I can’t think of them at the moment:-)
Apparently in the US loosening skin is going to be published by Titan Books. I just read the first two books of an awesome series from them and was looking at the rest of their catalog and saw it there. I will have to look into the other publishers because I am currently enjoying weirdly quirky sci-fi and fantasy. I am more into concepts then plots it seems these days. Arrr!
x The Captain
The Captain recently posted…On the Horizon – break the bodies, haunt the bones (Micah Dean Hicks)
I like oddness in storytelling. It tends to make me focus that much more on the characters and the telling. Curious about this author now and off to check out her books. Thanks for your wonderful review:)
Laura Thomas recently posted…Two Witches And A Whiskey ~ Excerpt and Giveaway
She’s worth reading, and I think she gets better with each book.
I LOVE a good body horror and have a feeling this book is a book for me. Thanks for the great review, Tammy!
I can see you enjoying this, Laurie!
wow this is definitely a unique concept! It does sound very emotional! The kind of story that is unputdownable
It was really emotional, I wasn’t expecting that when I started reading:-)
Sounds amazing, and I love the cover! Will have to check it out. 🙂
I love the cover too, it fits so well with the story:-)
What a weirdly unusual concept! I’m not sure that it would be the right book for me (there is something in the idea of shedding one’s skin – and keeping it!!! – that unsettles me deeply), but still I’m curious about this kind of story, and your review might go a long way toward my attempt at overcoming that deep-seated uneasiness…
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE HUNGER, by Alma Katsu
The way it’s presented in such a way that shedding your skin and even saving it is completely normal. So it honestly doesn’t seem that strange while you’re reading the story:-)
The whole premise of the story has me so intrigued. I can’t imagine losing a relationship every seven years. Great review!
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Early Mini Reviews: SPECTACLE and THE SISTERHOOD
It’s a scary thought!
This might be a tough one for me to read given its themes of sadness and regret, but it does sound interesting. Also it reminds me, I still have The Arrival of Missives to read…
I liked this better than The Arrival of Missives, but both are definitely on the strange side, just so you’re forewarned!
Oh wow, this sounds amazing. I love the idea and theme. I do love odd and weird too–sometimes some alien concept is great at making people think on what an author is actually trying to say. I’ll have to add this one to my list for sure.
You’d probably love this, Lisa! I’m hoping one of my blogger friends reads it as well so we can discuss:-)
Sounds really different/unusual and intriguing, but I’m a bit worried it might cross my “weird threshold”.
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Audiobook Review: The Triumphant by Lesley Livingston
Ha ha, it’s definitely on the “weird” side:-)
Thanks for the heads up… I’m adding it to Goodreads. ✨
I hope you enjoy it, if you get the chance to read it:-)
The title of this book honestly creeps me out so much for some reason? I don’t know why but it makes me skin crawl a little bit hahaah. The plot sounds really interesting and unique though, so I may have to check it out. Great review, and looks like you found another winner!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious recently posted…The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in This One by Amanda Lovelace
The whole idea is REALLY creepy, but she writes it as though it’s a normal occurrence so after a while it didn’t seem as creepy!
This sounds AWESOME!!! I haven’t heard of this author before, but I like that you say all her stuff is on the weird side … I’m going to scurry off and look her up right after finishing this comment! Great review – I can’t wait to read this! 🙂