A short life of the author
Michel Faber (b. 1960) was born on 13 April 1960 in The Hague, Netherlands. His family emigrated to Australia when he was seven. He studied at the University of Melbourne. He moved to Scotland in the early 1990s.
Life and Career
Under the Skin (2000) — about Isserley, a woman who drives the roads of the Scottish Highlands picking up male hitchhikers, and whose true nature is gradually revealed — is one of the most disturbing and original science fiction novels of its era. Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 film adaptation, starring Scarlett Johansson, transformed it into an almost abstract art film.
The Crimson Petal and the White (2002) — about Sugar, a prostitute in 1870s London who becomes the mistress of a perfume manufacturer — was an 800-page neo-Victorian novel praised for its immersive detail and subversive feminism. It was adapted as a BBC Four series (2011).
The Book of Strange New Things (2014) — about a pastor sent to an alien planet to minister to its indigenous population while his wife endures catastrophe on Earth — was his most emotionally devastating work. His wife Eva died of cancer during its composition, and the novel’s themes of distance, faith, and loss are painfully personal.
Key Works
- Under the Skin (2000)
- The Crimson Petal and the White (2002)
- The Book of Strange New Things (2014)
Collecting Faber
Under the Skin (2000, Canongate UK) brings $30–$80. The Crimson Petal and the White (2002, Canongate) brings $20–$50.