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Che fine ha fatto Miss Baby?
Laney e Miss Baby non si sono mai incontrate, eppure le loro storie sono intrecciate, e la salvezza di una dipende dalla rovina dell’altra.
Laney vive in un camper nella desolata periferia dell’Illinois, insieme alle sue amiche Delilah e Rose, due donne sole che per trovare un amore sono pronte a tutto, anche a ricorrere alla magia. Per Laney, invece, l’unica speranza di felicità è Lester, un ragazzo timido e, a detta di molti, strano. Ma quando tra Delilah e Rose esplodono gelosie e litigi, anche Laney rimarrà coinvolta in una spirale perversa di rivalità e scontri.
In Texas, a chilometri di distanza, c’è un’altra donna, Miss Baby. Ha il cuore a pezzi, perché gli uomini della sua vita non hanno fatto altro che offenderla e umiliarla. Finalmente conosce un ragazzo tenero e gentile, una persona di cui si fida, che però ha perso la memoria.
C’è un filo di sangue che unisce le storie di Laney e di Miss Baby. E quando la polizia bussa a una porta nell’Illinois, un mondo di superstizioni, magia nera, odio e rabbia torna alla luce…
Laney vive in un camper nella desolata periferia dell’Illinois, insieme alle sue amiche Delilah e Rose, due donne sole che per trovare un amore sono pronte a tutto, anche a ricorrere alla magia. Per Laney, invece, l’unica speranza di felicità è Lester, un ragazzo timido e, a detta di molti, strano. Ma quando tra Delilah e Rose esplodono gelosie e litigi, anche Laney rimarrà coinvolta in una spirale perversa di rivalità e scontri.
In Texas, a chilometri di distanza, c’è un’altra donna, Miss Baby. Ha il cuore a pezzi, perché gli uomini della sua vita non hanno fatto altro che offenderla e umiliarla. Finalmente conosce un ragazzo tenero e gentile, una persona di cui si fida, che però ha perso la memoria.
C’è un filo di sangue che unisce le storie di Laney e di Miss Baby. E quando la polizia bussa a una porta nell’Illinois, un mondo di superstizioni, magia nera, odio e rabbia torna alla luce…
245 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
15 people are currently reading
785 people want to read
About the author
Lee Martin
12 books142 followersLee Martin is the author of the novels, The Bright Forever, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; River of Heaven; Quakertown; Break the Skin; Yours, Jean; The Glassmaker's Wife; and the soon-to-be-released, The Evening Shades. He has also published four memoirs, From Our House, Turning Bones, Such a Life, and Gone the Hard Road. His first book was the short story collection, The Least You Need To Know, and he recently published another, The Mutual UFO Netwlrk. He is the co-editor of Passing the Word: Writers on Their Mentors. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Harper's, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, and Glimmer Train. He is the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. He teaches in the MFA Program at The Ohio State University, where he was the winner of the 2006 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
April 13, 2014
This book is told in the first person narrative by two people.
The first person is Laney from the small town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, she is 18 years old and works as a night cashier at the local Walmart. She has no ambitions in life and is just moving through her days. She lives in a trailer with 35 year old Deliah, who also works at Walmart and she is beyond desperate for a man to love her - it seems that is all she wants. Soon Rose moves into the trailer also. One night they go to a bar and Deliah and Rose become very interested in a guitar player who goes by the name of Tweet. Deliah throws herself at Tweet and claims him for her own, but Rose isn't far behind for she is looking for a man to love her too. Laney is wanting everyone to just get along with each other.
The other person we hear from is Miss Baby from Denton, Texas. She describes herself as, "I was short and thick-legged, and I kept my black hair cropped close to my head and spiked with gel so it wouldn't get in my way when I was drilling ink. I wasn't the girlie sort who could turn a man's head, but that never stopped me from trying. I imagine I could put my face up close to this man's, and he'd smell like pine trees, hyacinths, lilacs. Just listen to me go on." Miss Baby owns a tattoo shop. She has never felt loved in her life and she desperately wants a man to love and to love her back. She wants that so desperately that she tells a man who doesn't seem to know who he is that he is her husband, and makes up a story about who he is and they start living as husband and wife.
This book has a lot of depth to it. It is about small town people with little to no ambitions just wanting to be liked and loved, wanting to play house, believing if they just have a man then life will be good, but this book goes further than just that, it goes into just what people will do to get what they want with little to no regard for anyone else. It is a tragic story that happens way to often in this world.
I think this would be a good book to give to young people to read, to teach them how easy it is to fall in with the wrong people and how the events that happen can change their lives in horrible ways that they can't recover from and then their lives are forever changed and so very limited.
The first person is Laney from the small town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, she is 18 years old and works as a night cashier at the local Walmart. She has no ambitions in life and is just moving through her days. She lives in a trailer with 35 year old Deliah, who also works at Walmart and she is beyond desperate for a man to love her - it seems that is all she wants. Soon Rose moves into the trailer also. One night they go to a bar and Deliah and Rose become very interested in a guitar player who goes by the name of Tweet. Deliah throws herself at Tweet and claims him for her own, but Rose isn't far behind for she is looking for a man to love her too. Laney is wanting everyone to just get along with each other.
The other person we hear from is Miss Baby from Denton, Texas. She describes herself as, "I was short and thick-legged, and I kept my black hair cropped close to my head and spiked with gel so it wouldn't get in my way when I was drilling ink. I wasn't the girlie sort who could turn a man's head, but that never stopped me from trying. I imagine I could put my face up close to this man's, and he'd smell like pine trees, hyacinths, lilacs. Just listen to me go on." Miss Baby owns a tattoo shop. She has never felt loved in her life and she desperately wants a man to love and to love her back. She wants that so desperately that she tells a man who doesn't seem to know who he is that he is her husband, and makes up a story about who he is and they start living as husband and wife.
This book has a lot of depth to it. It is about small town people with little to no ambitions just wanting to be liked and loved, wanting to play house, believing if they just have a man then life will be good, but this book goes further than just that, it goes into just what people will do to get what they want with little to no regard for anyone else. It is a tragic story that happens way to often in this world.
I think this would be a good book to give to young people to read, to teach them how easy it is to fall in with the wrong people and how the events that happen can change their lives in horrible ways that they can't recover from and then their lives are forever changed and so very limited.
April 26, 2011
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. As corny as it may sound this book went down like a glass of fine wine. I don't think there was a character that Lee Martin created in this book that I disliked. Everyone wanted to be loved. Everyone was seeking happiness. Laney's side mentions a lot of needles piercing poppets and Miss Baby's side talks about tattoo needles. It was interesting to see the parallels between the two women's lives especially the man that they both fell in love with. I liked the manner in which the book skipped around and kept you guessing about what actually happened. I could tell something had happened, but I never would have guessed how it would all play out. I am thankful that Mr. Martin did not take the easy way out. Although the end was insinuated, the meat of the matter was unexpected.
June 15, 2011
Like everything Lee Martin writes, his new novel, Break the Skin, has all the hallmarks of his style: smooth, clear prose, well-crafted and complex characters, and a kind of generosity of spirit that is hard to quantify. If you read enough of Martin's work (I've read his collection The Least You Need to Know, and two of his earlier novels, The Bright Forever and River of Heaven) you know what to expect from his work, though I don't mean to suggest that translates into predictability. Martin clearly cares for and respects his characters, even when they act in ways that may be harmful to themselves or others.
I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but Break the Skin is told from two alternating first-person narrators: Laney, a young Walmart employee from Mt. Gilead, Illinois, and Miss Baby, a tattoo artist in Denton, Texas. The two story lines at first seem disparate, but they soon start to come together in interesting, and rather unexpected, ways. The two narrators, while different in age, occupation, and race (Miss Baby is Mexican), are similar in that they want nothing more than to feel like they matter to someone. They want to be wanted, and they want to be loved. This want--need--in their lives creates a kind of debilitating fear, especially as pertains to Laney. Laney has the gift of a beautiful singing voice--something her mother thinks she could use to get out of Mt. Gilead--but she is too afraid to use it. Instead, she gets caught up with Delilah Dade and Rose MacAdow who feel equally "stuck" in life, and Laney's life with them begins to take increasingly dark and violent turns.
What I found most interesting about the novel is the way it examines, with dignity, a certain "class" of people. Martin writes thoughtfully and generously about characters lesser writers might simply use as a caricatures or "types" - they work at Walmart, live in trailers, etc. Life has beat these people down to such an extent that they no longer think they have any power over their lives. They want so much for their lives to matter, but their fear keeps them doing anything about it. In fact, they even resort to casting spells and putting hexes on people. I admit, I struggled some with this aspect of the novel, but it shows, perhaps better than anything else, how powerless these characters feel. Their desire for some control over their fate pushes them to believe (or at least want to believe) in magic.
At it's heart, I guess you could call Break the Skin a mystery, though that's certainly selling it short - don't expect any major genre elements. In a way it reminds me of Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply, in that in Break the Skin you don't know (until the end) who is telling the truth, or even if their "truth" is true, though Chaon's novel much more consciously employs and toys with genre elements. (Chaon, by the way, is another excellent writer and a Midwesterner to boot. Check him out if you haven't already - his collection Among the Missing is really great.)
All in all, I think you'll enjoy Break the Skin, but, then again, anything with Lee Martin's name on the spine is going to be worth checking out.
For a chance to win a free copy of Break the Skin check out my blog:
http://thestoryisthecure.blogspot.com...
You have to hurry, the giveaway ends soon!
I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but Break the Skin is told from two alternating first-person narrators: Laney, a young Walmart employee from Mt. Gilead, Illinois, and Miss Baby, a tattoo artist in Denton, Texas. The two story lines at first seem disparate, but they soon start to come together in interesting, and rather unexpected, ways. The two narrators, while different in age, occupation, and race (Miss Baby is Mexican), are similar in that they want nothing more than to feel like they matter to someone. They want to be wanted, and they want to be loved. This want--need--in their lives creates a kind of debilitating fear, especially as pertains to Laney. Laney has the gift of a beautiful singing voice--something her mother thinks she could use to get out of Mt. Gilead--but she is too afraid to use it. Instead, she gets caught up with Delilah Dade and Rose MacAdow who feel equally "stuck" in life, and Laney's life with them begins to take increasingly dark and violent turns.
What I found most interesting about the novel is the way it examines, with dignity, a certain "class" of people. Martin writes thoughtfully and generously about characters lesser writers might simply use as a caricatures or "types" - they work at Walmart, live in trailers, etc. Life has beat these people down to such an extent that they no longer think they have any power over their lives. They want so much for their lives to matter, but their fear keeps them doing anything about it. In fact, they even resort to casting spells and putting hexes on people. I admit, I struggled some with this aspect of the novel, but it shows, perhaps better than anything else, how powerless these characters feel. Their desire for some control over their fate pushes them to believe (or at least want to believe) in magic.
At it's heart, I guess you could call Break the Skin a mystery, though that's certainly selling it short - don't expect any major genre elements. In a way it reminds me of Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply, in that in Break the Skin you don't know (until the end) who is telling the truth, or even if their "truth" is true, though Chaon's novel much more consciously employs and toys with genre elements. (Chaon, by the way, is another excellent writer and a Midwesterner to boot. Check him out if you haven't already - his collection Among the Missing is really great.)
All in all, I think you'll enjoy Break the Skin, but, then again, anything with Lee Martin's name on the spine is going to be worth checking out.
For a chance to win a free copy of Break the Skin check out my blog:
http://thestoryisthecure.blogspot.com...
You have to hurry, the giveaway ends soon!
June 18, 2011
Book Review--Break the Skin by Lee Martin
Break the Skin is on bookstore shelves, and available through on-line sources now. Here we have a tale of longing, desperation and the intrigues of the human heart. Break the Skin is a story anyone who has wanted to be loved and cherished--in other words any human being--will relate to, and read with empathy. It's a story of the things we all are doing, will do, or have done to put ourselves in the way of a meaningful relationship with another person. Break the skin is Laney's story. It's Miss Baby's, Emma's, Pablo and Carolyn's, Rose and Tweet's, even Slam Dent's story to an extent. Rose is the antagonist, the treacherous, scheming, all too human woman who steals Delilah's man, Tweet. Tweet is the music man whose band of rag-tag troubadours--Helmets on the Short Bus--start the novel. Tweet drops into Delilah's forlorn life of Walmart cashier, trailer-rental momma who has been used and abused of late by the villain Bobby May. Double-wide Roomies Laney and Rose see Delilah throw herself at the hirsute Tweet, he of the Samson-like dreadlocks looking to be shorn, and womanly wiles and jealousy insert themselves into the tale. It won't be long before walls come-a-tumbling. One by one the characters fall out of favor, then warmly, humanly, like sheep against winter chill they reconnect and huddle, for comfort, and to survive the ravages of the world's dismissals of them and their too-obvious desperation. Then Lester is turned away, arriving unannounced in Miss Baby's life in far off, but mirror-close Texas. Miss Baby discovers the amnesiac Lester, and proceeds to make him her very own, renaming him Donnie True. Lester, aka Donnie, the returning, tortured Iraq war vet, empty-handed but with plenty of baggage, cedes his life to Miss Baby. Pablo, Miss Baby's baby brother, on the lam from Slam Dent and the law east of the Pecos for good, new-fashioned cattle rustling, discovers Donnie in his sister's life and, as they say, the family plot thickens. In Texas, Slam slams Pablo, Miss Baby awakens to Donnie True's true ID via CNN. Pablo is discovered by the same sheriff Miss Baby has recently inked. Lester returns to Illinois to face the music, where the true crime of the heart has taken place. Rose and Tweet lay dead, shot by assailants unknown, but with Delilah's silvery, short-barreled .38. Laney-girl and her collaborators, it turns out, had hatched a plot to kill the witchy Rose. Our lovelorn trio Laney, Delilah and Lester--with an appearance by slow-Poke Hambrick, go the way of all flesh, looking for love in all the right and wrong places. Break the Skin is written in first person, as if recited to a court reporter, or just to be put on record somewhere, the unquenchable need we humans have to tell someone what happened to us. It's tender, gritty, and wise by turns, and ever mindful of the viscissitudes of the fragile human heart. Oh, and it's beautifully written, maybe better than The Bright Forever. Really.
Break the Skin ©2011 by Lee Martin Crown Publishers, a division of Random House New York
Break the Skin is on bookstore shelves, and available through on-line sources now. Here we have a tale of longing, desperation and the intrigues of the human heart. Break the Skin is a story anyone who has wanted to be loved and cherished--in other words any human being--will relate to, and read with empathy. It's a story of the things we all are doing, will do, or have done to put ourselves in the way of a meaningful relationship with another person. Break the skin is Laney's story. It's Miss Baby's, Emma's, Pablo and Carolyn's, Rose and Tweet's, even Slam Dent's story to an extent. Rose is the antagonist, the treacherous, scheming, all too human woman who steals Delilah's man, Tweet. Tweet is the music man whose band of rag-tag troubadours--Helmets on the Short Bus--start the novel. Tweet drops into Delilah's forlorn life of Walmart cashier, trailer-rental momma who has been used and abused of late by the villain Bobby May. Double-wide Roomies Laney and Rose see Delilah throw herself at the hirsute Tweet, he of the Samson-like dreadlocks looking to be shorn, and womanly wiles and jealousy insert themselves into the tale. It won't be long before walls come-a-tumbling. One by one the characters fall out of favor, then warmly, humanly, like sheep against winter chill they reconnect and huddle, for comfort, and to survive the ravages of the world's dismissals of them and their too-obvious desperation. Then Lester is turned away, arriving unannounced in Miss Baby's life in far off, but mirror-close Texas. Miss Baby discovers the amnesiac Lester, and proceeds to make him her very own, renaming him Donnie True. Lester, aka Donnie, the returning, tortured Iraq war vet, empty-handed but with plenty of baggage, cedes his life to Miss Baby. Pablo, Miss Baby's baby brother, on the lam from Slam Dent and the law east of the Pecos for good, new-fashioned cattle rustling, discovers Donnie in his sister's life and, as they say, the family plot thickens. In Texas, Slam slams Pablo, Miss Baby awakens to Donnie True's true ID via CNN. Pablo is discovered by the same sheriff Miss Baby has recently inked. Lester returns to Illinois to face the music, where the true crime of the heart has taken place. Rose and Tweet lay dead, shot by assailants unknown, but with Delilah's silvery, short-barreled .38. Laney-girl and her collaborators, it turns out, had hatched a plot to kill the witchy Rose. Our lovelorn trio Laney, Delilah and Lester--with an appearance by slow-Poke Hambrick, go the way of all flesh, looking for love in all the right and wrong places. Break the Skin is written in first person, as if recited to a court reporter, or just to be put on record somewhere, the unquenchable need we humans have to tell someone what happened to us. It's tender, gritty, and wise by turns, and ever mindful of the viscissitudes of the fragile human heart. Oh, and it's beautifully written, maybe better than The Bright Forever. Really.
Break the Skin ©2011 by Lee Martin Crown Publishers, a division of Random House New York
July 3, 2011
Break the Skin is a novel of suspense about a group of lonely, small town people, each desperately seeking love and acceptance. The opening sets the tone for the novel, as nineteen year old Laney Volk is approached by two police officers, and wanted for questioning, while working at her job at Walmart. It isn't until much later that we learn the what and why. As the story unfolds the reader travels from small town Mt Gilead, Illinois to Denton, Texas.
The characters in Illinois are nineteen year old, plain and ordinary, Laney, her friend and coworker Delilah, who is nearly twice her age , who is desperate for a good man to watch over her, and Rose, an odd duck, who was known to cast spells. Rose called the group "sisters of the lonely hearts". The three had lived in Delilah's trailer together off and on, and worked together at Walmart, with Rose eventually getting fired.
" One of us was too big, but with a beautiful face. One of us was too slight and boyish. One of us, the one closer to "just right", too rough and hard. Yet all of us were needful and deserving of romance as any woman, no matter how beautiful, how average or how plain."
As the story moves to Texas more characters are introduced: Miss Baby, (aka Betty Ruiz) owner of Baby Hearts Tats, Lester Tweet (aka Donnie True), a war Vet with PTSD and amnesia, Pablo, Miss Baby's brother, and Slam Dent. As the lives of these individuals converge, the mystery about what happened between these lonely and desperate people begins to unravel bit by bit.
The story is told in the first person, and the author expertly weaves a tale of desperate, lonely people whose lives quickly spin out of control. His description of small time life, it's lack of choices many people have, and dead end lifestyle which can result seem convincing and tragic. If you enjoy a good thriller, this novel is certainly worth a try. I also enjoyed this author's earlier book (2005), The Bright Forever.
September 10, 2011
Lee Martin is one of those writers who uses very simple but effective prose to tell a story, and a very moving one at that. "Break The Skin" tells the story of a teenaged girl named Laney, who lives in a trailer with two other girls, Rose and Delilah. She and Delilah work the night shift at the local Wal-Mart. One night, at a local bar, the girls meet a man that will change the course of their lives forever. Meanwhile, in Texas, a tattoo artist named Miss Baby has fallen in love with a young man named Donnie. Donnie suffers from amnesia. It is unclear, at first, how these two stories are connected, but it is fascinating how Martin gradually weaves the two stories together into a tragic story of love, lust, and revenge. There are times where the story could have delved into Jerry Springer territory, but Martin never lets us forget that the characters in this story are real and pathetic. We could easily write them off as white trash, but their feelings of loneliness, despair, and desperation are feelings which most, if not all, people have felt at least once in life. They are, ultimately, just sad people who have made bad decisions. So, who's going to throw the first stone?
December 28, 2012
This was a really interesting book. There is an underlying mystery that is revealed gradually over the course of the book. The story is told from the perspective of two women - Lainey and Miss Baby. They both care for a character "Lester" aka Donnie. Each has a similar but very different relationship in that both women are desperate for love and attention and are willing to do anything for it.
The characters are very well developed. I have a penchant for strong female lead characters, and well, these don't fit that bill. Each of the female characters in this book are weak willed and are willing to do anything to get attention of their friends and to be loved. However, these flaws did make them interesting characters, I just didn't like them!
The book is a really interesting read due to the underlying mystery. I enjoyed the unveiling layer by layer despite my dislike of the female characters in the book. It was woven together very nicely and made for an enjoyable read.
Reader received a complimentary copy from Good Reads First Reads.
The characters are very well developed. I have a penchant for strong female lead characters, and well, these don't fit that bill. Each of the female characters in this book are weak willed and are willing to do anything to get attention of their friends and to be loved. However, these flaws did make them interesting characters, I just didn't like them!
The book is a really interesting read due to the underlying mystery. I enjoyed the unveiling layer by layer despite my dislike of the female characters in the book. It was woven together very nicely and made for an enjoyable read.
Reader received a complimentary copy from Good Reads First Reads.
November 10, 2012
One of the most impressive aspects of Break The Skin is how much the author cares about his characters, makes them real beings, and makes it hard not to have compassion for them and their circumstances. Bad things happen in this novel (murder, manipulation, threats, violence), but not least of all the environments and circumstances shaping these character’s lives, making it inconceivable for them to make the smart and healthy choices. Break The Skin is beautifully and feelingly written, and it doesn’t let go for a minute, alternating as it does between the equally compelling and drama-filled narratives of Laney and Ms. Baby. This dark tale of good girls gone bad is nearly impossible to put down once Martin starts weaving his spell, exposing the tragedy and the humanity in the wreck of these lives. Highly recommended.
May 21, 2011
Leave it to Lee Martin to once again pierce my heart with a story so full of sadness & hopelessnes &, yes, compassion for his characters. High school drop-out Laney Volk just can't get hold of her life or ultimately fatal flaw of wanting to help people who are "unhelpable". She is from New Hope, Il., described as "a ho-hum, no-chance-in-hell town", where she describes herself & her friends as "shiver spooks", those close to coming apart but no one cares. This is a story of people, yes, looking for love in all the wrong places and paying a terrible price. This story offers such insight into human nature & the plight of many of the unfortunates in our society. It really gets under your skin.
July 2, 2011
Wow, what a story. I really enjoyed the way this story laid out. All of the mystery of what happened even though you know was told in such a way you wanted the story to never end. The characters spoke with true voices in a heartfelt story. I love the way Lee writes it is so smooth and easy to read without being simplistic. This story is one that will stick with me, in a very good way! Laney, Rose, Miss Baby, Lester, Deliah all were such real charcters, I could see meeting them if ever I was down that way! I highly encourage anyone who likes a different take on the coming of age story, with a dark twist to give this book a try. It is well worth the read.
July 13, 2011
This book was well written, and I like how Martin was able to weave the characters together. However, I disliked both the main characters. Lanie especially was so desperately clueless. I guess she was 18, but still, she drove me crazy. With Miss Baby I felt her just taken an unknown man of the street and pretending he was her husband was just odd, and unrealistic. Has Martin given Lanie some ambition whatsoever I would have rated this book higher.
June 1, 2012
I WON THIS BOOK IN A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!
I could NOT finish this book. I got about 100 pages in, and I couldn't remember a thing I read. It was so boring, and un-relatable. The book was slow moving and the story line did not interest me. Maybe others will enjoy this book, but it was not for me. I always try to give books the benefit of the doubt, but as I mentioned I was a little over 1/3 of the way through and could not get hooked. :/
I could NOT finish this book. I got about 100 pages in, and I couldn't remember a thing I read. It was so boring, and un-relatable. The book was slow moving and the story line did not interest me. Maybe others will enjoy this book, but it was not for me. I always try to give books the benefit of the doubt, but as I mentioned I was a little over 1/3 of the way through and could not get hooked. :/
July 6, 2011
I had a really hard time getting into Laney's side of the story. I didn't find her very likeable and found myself wanting to skip over her parts. I did really like Miss Baby's character though. I was rooting for her throughout the book. If the book would've been all from Miss Baby, it would've rated a lot higher in my opinion.
August 8, 2011
I liked the way the author weaved the characters together. The beginning was ok, middle was good, the ending tied up the two stories nicely and was the best part. I really did not like the main characters. Some of the story was strange. Overall it’s an ok book.
September 15, 2011
Could not get into it.
July 30, 2014
One word comes to mind when reading Martin's prose--elegant. But Break the Skin isn't just well written. The story and characters are compelling. Break the Skin is Lee Martin at his finest.
September 1, 2020
Breaking the Skin to me means literally coming out of yourself to view the heart as the last frontier. The last frontier means applying for a new job at a private all boys high school to maybe have just an ounce of positivity blown into your existence.
October 8, 2017
Old white guy pretending he's a young girl. Because we need more of that in the world. Hard to get through because the voice rings false more often than not.
August 8, 2013
I received this book through a First Reads giveaway from Crown Publishing, thank you!
This book was very well written. The characters each had their own voices and I definitely had strong feelings (positive and/or negative) for all of them.
Laney is a young girl who drops out of high school to work at Walmart and move in with 35 year old Delilah. They get a roommate, Rose, and all three are desperate for someone to love and to love them back. They're so desperate, it's actually pathetic. The descriptions of bad outfits and perfume actually made me embarrassed for them. After Tweet comes into the picture, everything is set in motion for the train wreck to begin. They attempt to use "magic", they concoct crazy plans, they treat each other like dirt, and all the while Laney still goes back to the horrible people who just want to use her.
There's also a side plot involving Miss Baby, a middle aged woman who has been burned by love but still keeps looking for it. She finds a man suffering from amnesia on the street corner and takes him home while telling him that he is her husband. All the while, she is stuck dealing with her ex-SIL and her brother, whom the law and an angry "colleague" are after.
Unfortunately, overall, this story just wasn't for me. It took far too long describing the scenario, too long to actually get to what had happened (which we could all pretty much guess by the time Tweet came into the picture). I also kind of felt that the side plot involving Miss Baby just added to that length. I wasn't able to identify with the characters at all, honestly they made me feel gross and trashy. I think that speaks to how well it was written, but again, just not for me.
The end of the book was much more to my liking, once things got more to the action, the "who done it" so to speak. I really felt for the characters, their convictions, and how things finally ended. I'd say only the last 100-150 pages or so really strongly held my focus.
This book was very well written. The characters each had their own voices and I definitely had strong feelings (positive and/or negative) for all of them.
Laney is a young girl who drops out of high school to work at Walmart and move in with 35 year old Delilah. They get a roommate, Rose, and all three are desperate for someone to love and to love them back. They're so desperate, it's actually pathetic. The descriptions of bad outfits and perfume actually made me embarrassed for them. After Tweet comes into the picture, everything is set in motion for the train wreck to begin. They attempt to use "magic", they concoct crazy plans, they treat each other like dirt, and all the while Laney still goes back to the horrible people who just want to use her.
There's also a side plot involving Miss Baby, a middle aged woman who has been burned by love but still keeps looking for it. She finds a man suffering from amnesia on the street corner and takes him home while telling him that he is her husband. All the while, she is stuck dealing with her ex-SIL and her brother, whom the law and an angry "colleague" are after.
Unfortunately, overall, this story just wasn't for me. It took far too long describing the scenario, too long to actually get to what had happened (which we could all pretty much guess by the time Tweet came into the picture). I also kind of felt that the side plot involving Miss Baby just added to that length. I wasn't able to identify with the characters at all, honestly they made me feel gross and trashy. I think that speaks to how well it was written, but again, just not for me.
The end of the book was much more to my liking, once things got more to the action, the "who done it" so to speak. I really felt for the characters, their convictions, and how things finally ended. I'd say only the last 100-150 pages or so really strongly held my focus.
April 23, 2011
Here's the blurb from Amazon:
Laney—a skinny, awkward teenager alone in the world—thinks she’s found a kindred spirit in thirty-five-year-old Delilah. Then the police come to ask Laney questions and she finds herself reconstructing a story of suspense, deceit, and revenge; a story that will haunt her forever.
Seven hundred miles away, in Texas, Miss Baby has the hardened heart of a woman who has been used by men in every possible way, yet she is desperate for true love. When she meets a stranger, a man who claims he can’t remember his real name or his past but who seems gentle and trusting, Miss Baby thinks she may have finally found someone to love, someone who will protect her from the abusive men who fill her past.
But Miss Baby and Laney are connected by a terrible crime, and, bit by bit, the complex web of deceptions and seemingly small misjudgments they’ve each helped to create start to unravel. Action, speculation, and contradiction play off one another as the story is told through their first-person voices, which keep you nervously guessing all the way to the shocking, tragic climax. Break the Skin is expert storyteller Lee Martin at his very best.
My Review
This isn't the type of book I usually read-- it's basically about trailer trash, but Martin makes us care about these characters nonetheless. While there are some stereotypically trailer trash kinds of folks, there are also those whose actions show that they aren't what the reader might expect. Martin draws realistic, yet sympathetic characters, and tells the story in a way that even when you know what is coming, you aren't sure how it will all fit together. I'll remember this story for a good while.
Laney—a skinny, awkward teenager alone in the world—thinks she’s found a kindred spirit in thirty-five-year-old Delilah. Then the police come to ask Laney questions and she finds herself reconstructing a story of suspense, deceit, and revenge; a story that will haunt her forever.
Seven hundred miles away, in Texas, Miss Baby has the hardened heart of a woman who has been used by men in every possible way, yet she is desperate for true love. When she meets a stranger, a man who claims he can’t remember his real name or his past but who seems gentle and trusting, Miss Baby thinks she may have finally found someone to love, someone who will protect her from the abusive men who fill her past.
But Miss Baby and Laney are connected by a terrible crime, and, bit by bit, the complex web of deceptions and seemingly small misjudgments they’ve each helped to create start to unravel. Action, speculation, and contradiction play off one another as the story is told through their first-person voices, which keep you nervously guessing all the way to the shocking, tragic climax. Break the Skin is expert storyteller Lee Martin at his very best.
My Review
This isn't the type of book I usually read-- it's basically about trailer trash, but Martin makes us care about these characters nonetheless. While there are some stereotypically trailer trash kinds of folks, there are also those whose actions show that they aren't what the reader might expect. Martin draws realistic, yet sympathetic characters, and tells the story in a way that even when you know what is coming, you aren't sure how it will all fit together. I'll remember this story for a good while.
June 11, 2011
Laney is barely an adult, when she leaves her home and moves in with thirty five years old, Delilah. Delilah and Laney work together as the grocery store. Soon, Delilah and Laney become friends. It is not long after that; the women have a third room mate join them. Her name is Rose. Things seem to be going alright until that one fatal night.
Miss Baby runs a tattoo shop. She has been burned by more men, than she would care to like. When a stranger appears, Miss Baby welcomes the man into her world. But who is he and where did he come from? These are questions that Miss Baby chooses to ignore.
Mr. Lee Martin is a new to me author. I thought that is was a good book. Though, I must admit that there was something about Miss. Baby that I liked more than Laney. With Miss. Baby, I got a woman, who had lived and had a lot of life experiences. Plus, she was more inviting to get to know. While, Laney was less experienced but an alright story teller. This book reminded me of watching a soap opera. There was so much drama, murder, mayhem, intrigue, and romance in soap opera fashion. For me, the book started out alright, the middle was good but the ending was the better part of the book. I thought the ending tied up the two stories nicely.
Miss Baby runs a tattoo shop. She has been burned by more men, than she would care to like. When a stranger appears, Miss Baby welcomes the man into her world. But who is he and where did he come from? These are questions that Miss Baby chooses to ignore.
Mr. Lee Martin is a new to me author. I thought that is was a good book. Though, I must admit that there was something about Miss. Baby that I liked more than Laney. With Miss. Baby, I got a woman, who had lived and had a lot of life experiences. Plus, she was more inviting to get to know. While, Laney was less experienced but an alright story teller. This book reminded me of watching a soap opera. There was so much drama, murder, mayhem, intrigue, and romance in soap opera fashion. For me, the book started out alright, the middle was good but the ending was the better part of the book. I thought the ending tied up the two stories nicely.
January 20, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I had an insanely tough time getting through this book. I had a hard time caring for Laney and her friends. They were each so sad and needing love in their lives SO much. Once I got over the tragic side of Laney's life I discovered I didn't enjoy her personality or character very much. And then her life just kept on getting more tragic! I get that they were so desperate for love that they'd resort to magic and lies, but I'm not sure that route was realistic. Then Miss Baby was on the other extreme - that I loved her personality and story so much I wish she had been featured even more!
Author Lee Martin painted a very grim, depressing story but also very descriptive and involved for how short it was. I kinda guessed how some things were going to happen but wasn't sure how it would all play out. I liked how he tied everything together and he was a very talented writer but I'm not sure this is a novel I could ever read again.
I had an insanely tough time getting through this book. I had a hard time caring for Laney and her friends. They were each so sad and needing love in their lives SO much. Once I got over the tragic side of Laney's life I discovered I didn't enjoy her personality or character very much. And then her life just kept on getting more tragic! I get that they were so desperate for love that they'd resort to magic and lies, but I'm not sure that route was realistic. Then Miss Baby was on the other extreme - that I loved her personality and story so much I wish she had been featured even more!
Author Lee Martin painted a very grim, depressing story but also very descriptive and involved for how short it was. I kinda guessed how some things were going to happen but wasn't sure how it would all play out. I liked how he tied everything together and he was a very talented writer but I'm not sure this is a novel I could ever read again.
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December 27, 2012A couple of years ago, I had the chance to hear the legendary editor Gary Fisketjon talk about books. He described a certain kind of book that married the best elements of genre fiction and literary fiction as "not boring, and not dumb." It's a rare combination, easier proposed than done. Add Lee Martin to the short list of writers who can hit this sweet spot. With Break the Skin, Martin offers a sharp take on the classic crime confessional. It's a story about "sore hearts," with characters who want, more than anything, to be wanted. The book alternates between two narrators—the blown-about Laney, and the brassy Miss Baby—and it doesn't take long for both of them to get under my skin and into my heart. "Not boring, and not dumb" doesn't do this book justice. It's thrilling and touching, deep and beautiful, on every level, and in every line.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the paperback through a Goodreads giveaway.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the paperback through a Goodreads giveaway.
September 5, 2013
This is a really bizarre book - that actually works at being bizarre. Laney (an awkward teenager) finds comfort and refuge in an older-sister-like friend named Delilah (who is twice her age), and Rose. Once Delilah becomes jealous of Rose (since Rose gets the guy Delilah wants) - things get WAY out of hand and Laney finds herself in a situation that no one ever wants to be in. All the while, in Texas - a woman named Miss Baby - falls in love with a man who has amnesia and whom she calls "Donnie." To realize he is Laney's boyfriend and can't figure out why he is in Texas and how everything fits together - is super super bizarre... but it works and it makes this quirky book deserve three stars for pulling something off like that and doing it in a fashion where you aren't left too confused or too angry at the author.
But overall, Laney is an idiot who should have gone to college. (Soapbox done.)
But overall, Laney is an idiot who should have gone to college. (Soapbox done.)
July 30, 2013
Lee Martin does an outstanding job of characterization. It's easy to see that he has compassion for his characters. It was his descriptive and tender nature in developing these characters that kept me reading.
However, the plot takes too long to reach a climax and we keep waiting and waiting for Miss Baby and Laney's lives to connect; I wish he would've brought them together sooner. Also, I did not find the character of Miss Baby to be very believable. I'm not convinced that a woman would take a stranger off the street and bring him home with her, name him Donnie and start living like they've been together for years. I understood that she was supposedly following in her mom's footsteps, but in this day and age, it's just too dangerous to be believable.
I'd like to read another book by Lee Martin. Despite my disappointments with this one, I can tell he has a great talent for writing. I'd like to see what he can accomplish next...
However, the plot takes too long to reach a climax and we keep waiting and waiting for Miss Baby and Laney's lives to connect; I wish he would've brought them together sooner. Also, I did not find the character of Miss Baby to be very believable. I'm not convinced that a woman would take a stranger off the street and bring him home with her, name him Donnie and start living like they've been together for years. I understood that she was supposedly following in her mom's footsteps, but in this day and age, it's just too dangerous to be believable.
I'd like to read another book by Lee Martin. Despite my disappointments with this one, I can tell he has a great talent for writing. I'd like to see what he can accomplish next...
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September 23, 2016Edizione pessima e con un thriller ha poco a che vedere.
La delusione che ho provato leggendo questo libro che avevo comprato anni fa è stata grande. Del thriller non c'è niente, il titolo non vuol dire nulla e non assomiglia nemmeno lontanamente a quello originale (Break the skin), per di più, l'edizione Newton&Compton è farcita di errori. Farcita. Decine e decine. Ho trovato persino un'acca sbagliata. Leggerlo è stato un incubo. Pensavo ci avrei messo 2-3 giorni, ci ho messo quasi due settimane. Alla pessima edizione si aggiunge una storia che avrebbe pure del potenziale, ma che non era quella che mi aspettavo e che quindi mi ha deluso di conseguenza. Concludo dicendo che se Miss Baby fa delle scelte discutibili ma è comunque un personaggio interessante, l'insopportabile trio delle altre protagoniste è veramente pesante.
La delusione che ho provato leggendo questo libro che avevo comprato anni fa è stata grande. Del thriller non c'è niente, il titolo non vuol dire nulla e non assomiglia nemmeno lontanamente a quello originale (Break the skin), per di più, l'edizione Newton&Compton è farcita di errori. Farcita. Decine e decine. Ho trovato persino un'acca sbagliata. Leggerlo è stato un incubo. Pensavo ci avrei messo 2-3 giorni, ci ho messo quasi due settimane. Alla pessima edizione si aggiunge una storia che avrebbe pure del potenziale, ma che non era quella che mi aspettavo e che quindi mi ha deluso di conseguenza. Concludo dicendo che se Miss Baby fa delle scelte discutibili ma è comunque un personaggio interessante, l'insopportabile trio delle altre protagoniste è veramente pesante.
December 30, 2012
Thanks to Goodreads for the chance to read this book.
Like many of the books I receive from Goodreads, this is a book I most likely would have passed on by in a store or library. But I am so glad I got a chance to read this one. It was hard to get into, but once I got the rhythm of the storytelling, it was a hard book to put down. The characters felt so real, the descriptions made one feel part of the town and the people. You got invested into the story before you realize that it happened. The small town feeling was so well described, it almost felt like home. Excellent read. I will be checking out some of Lee Martin's other novels.
Like many of the books I receive from Goodreads, this is a book I most likely would have passed on by in a store or library. But I am so glad I got a chance to read this one. It was hard to get into, but once I got the rhythm of the storytelling, it was a hard book to put down. The characters felt so real, the descriptions made one feel part of the town and the people. You got invested into the story before you realize that it happened. The small town feeling was so well described, it almost felt like home. Excellent read. I will be checking out some of Lee Martin's other novels.
September 23, 2014
I liked this book. I couldn't fully relate to any of the characters, but that's okay. It still made for an interesting enough read. The one thing I think the book could have done without was Laney's singing ability. It just seemed thrown in there, mentioned a few times (and it always shocks people when it does come up) and then it disappears. I understand that it was put there to give people the idea that Laney had some bright future, ect, but that could have easily been done without a random talent thrown in there. She was young enough to where that itself garnered sympathy; she didn't need this random singing talent.
Anyway, decent read, kept me going until the end.
Anyway, decent read, kept me going until the end.
June 9, 2011
Yay! I won another! First-Reads you are terrific! Can't wait to read it!
I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this one is just not my cup of tea. (Wow, two cliches in one sentence!) I couldn't develop interest in the characters. I got confused as to who was who. That may not be a critique against the book or author. It may just be where I am at this time of my life. If anyone notices my current reads, most of them are escaping reality as far as I can get. Or something uplifting. This book, for me, was very depressing. Sorry.
I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this one is just not my cup of tea. (Wow, two cliches in one sentence!) I couldn't develop interest in the characters. I got confused as to who was who. That may not be a critique against the book or author. It may just be where I am at this time of my life. If anyone notices my current reads, most of them are escaping reality as far as I can get. Or something uplifting. This book, for me, was very depressing. Sorry.
September 6, 2015
I love Lee Martin for his lyricism, poignancy, and his ability to say things in the exact way that strikes a chord in readers. His writing is beautiful, but I'd love to see him write something where the characters aren't broken before the story begins. I liked this book, but did not love it like I did The Bright Forever.
A sample of his lyrical writing:
"...it hit me so hard it nearly made me tear up. It was one of those moments you can't see coming even though it's been waiting for you all along. A moment to take your breath away with how true it is." (p. 121)
A sample of his lyrical writing:
"...it hit me so hard it nearly made me tear up. It was one of those moments you can't see coming even though it's been waiting for you all along. A moment to take your breath away with how true it is." (p. 121)
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