So, Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, Huh? (Others - James Herbert)

Member Name: witchwaysup

Product:	Others - James Herbert
Date:	10/11/01 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes you think

Disadvantages: Makes you think

Oh, how we deceive ourselves. Most of us like to believe we see 'the person inside' when we meet people who are different to us, who are physically 'challenged' or just plain ugly.

It was only when I became disabled myself that I really started to try and see 'the person behind the disability' as the politically correct faction would have us all do. I previously believed that I did that anyway, that as someone who has always been 'different' I chose to see the 'normal' person beyond the physical image, however abnormal.

Utter rubbish, having read this book I hang my head in shame to realise how much I have deceived myself. I think we all try to fool ourselves about this to some degree but that doesn't make it okay.

"Others", written by James Herbert is a book that is 'unputdownable'. It is gripping, it is shocking, it is uncomfortably believable, which is the secret ingredient in every one of his books that makes your hair stand on end. His books are so believeable.

Read this book and you will start to get under the skin of physical abnormality and feel the spiritual pain of that. It is soul destroying. Whilst we are on the subject of the soul, I should mention that we make a journey through the soul of the main character in the book, a chap named Nicholas Dismas.

Nick Dismas learns a lot about himself during the unravelling of his tale, as we the readers will surely learn so much about ourselves as we read along. Uncomfortable truths, I suspect.

Abandoned at birth, physically deformed, Nick has not had an easy start in life. He is bitter, he has every reason. Devoid of love, a true 'untouchable' he has no-one in his life who can understand what he goes through every day of his life. Nobody that is until he meets that special someone.

Without ruining the book for you, all I can say is that you really, really should read this bo
ok, even if you don't usually read Herberts books. It will/should change you somewhat and challenge your prejudices, that is if you have a heart.

The most disturbing part of the book is the 'END NOTE' penned by Herbert, amazingly enough at the end of the story.

Do yourself a favour, resist the urge to read it before you read the story PLEASE. For it is the end note that REALLY makes this a DEEPLY disturbing story.....

Summary: