Morgan Fleetwood’s “The Skin Room” tells a dark story about a man who recalls memories of blood, decadence and murder, all in the guise of nightmarish confessions.
This book is divided into three parts. The first part, “Failure,” tells the story of translator Alex Melville as he attempts to kidnap a woman named Valentina and use her for a ritual. He has a sister named Sonia, who he believes is being abused by her boyfriend, and a father who has forgotten the gory details. The second part, “The Fugitive,” tells the story of Alex on the run after Valentina’s murder. He races to find his sister, who he believes can help him. The third film, “Girl,” finally sees Alex sink deeper and deeper into his own depravity. Wearing Sonia’s clothes, he meets the Inspector under the alias Sandra, and he tries to uncover the truth behind Sonia’s disappearance.
I loved reading about Alex. I loved every dark turn in his mind as he descended further into madness until only the monster underneath was left, a horrific creature lurking in the recesses of his psyche. I couldn’t help but cringe every time I completed a section. It was like he was peeling back the layers of his madness, drawing me further into the depths of his depravity. Although he was finally caught by the inspector, he still did not give up the disturbing atmosphere. This becomes apparent when he feels he had something to do with Sonia’s death. Throughout the story, he never tries to bring himself to accept what he has done. He never raised any moral issues and never tried to convince himself that what he was doing was the right thing. It’s not like anything I’ve read before; it’s like I’m reading about a hollow being that I can neither call a monster nor a human.
I can’t help but compare this book to Stephen King’s nightmarish work, Carrie. The titular protagonist wants to belong, but when she’s humiliated, she uses her powers to slaughter her classmates. However, in Fleetwood’s book, Alex doesn’t try to fit in; he acts as if he does, but there’s nothing normal about him beyond that. “Carrie” is about an innocent girl being dragged down the road to hell, and Alex acts like he paved the way from the beginning, dragging everyone down without looking or Not caring who gets roped into it. If these two were together, I have no doubt that Alex would try to lure Carrie into his lair, just like he did with Valentina.
Overall, I would give this book a 4.0 out of 5 stars. Alex’s madness and sadistic nature reflected to me the depth of human depravity, which borders on the edge of hell. I also loved the way it reminded me of Carrie, and how such a sweet and innocent girl would no doubt be driven into despair by Alex’s complicated mind. Because of this, I would recommend this book to fans of Jacob Appel’s The Mask of Sanity and Sterling Emmal’s Xenon Phobia.
