Ratings3
Average rating4.7
The book of human skin is a large volume with many pages of villainy writ upon it. There are people who are a disease, you know. 13 May, 1784, Venice: Minguillo Fasan, heir to the decaying, gothic Palazzo Espagnol, is born. Yet Minguillo is no ordinary child: he is strange, devious and all those who come near him are fearful. Twelve years later Minguillo is faced with an unexpected threat to his inheritance: a newborn sister, Marcella. His untempered jealousy will condemn his sister to a series of fates as a cripple, a madwoman and a nun. But in his insatiable quest to destroy her, he may have underestimated his sister's ferocious determination, and her unlikely allies who will go to extraordinary lengths to save her...
Reviews with the most likes.
It was dense, bleak, and many parts of it were unpleasant to read. I know for a fact that it would've been much harder to stomach had it been a movie (especially some bits in the beginning). But somehow this uncomfortable dark story also pulled off being charming and even funny.
There were despicable characters who were genuinely hard to read but there were also characters I loved and rooted for, including a fantastic romance that made me pray for a happy ending.
I was holding my breath for what felt like the entire time I was reading. A very gripping read, for sure.