Tag Archives: Laura Wilkinson

#BookReview ‘Skin Deep’ by Laura Wilkinson #contemporary

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Skin Deep by Laura Wilkinson is a thoughtful, difficult book to read about modern-day notions of beauty, ugliness and society’s fascination with appearance. At times it made me feel uncomfortable. It is the sort of book which you find yourself thinking about long after you have finished reading it. It will make you think about your own attitudes to others, do you unconsciously leap to judgement based on their outward appearance, and how much do you worry about your own looks? Laura WilkinsonHulme, Manchester, 1984. Students Diana and Linda start university, Diana is studying art, Linda art history. Diana is keen to make her mark for something she can do with her hands, rather than how she looks. A former child model, people stare at her in the street such is her beauty. Via Jim, Linda’s boyfriend, Diana meets Cal, a four-year old boy neglected by his drug addict parents. He has a severe facial disfigurement and is kept from sight. He does not know a normal life. ‘Normal’ is a word which crops up often. In the child, Diana finds someone dealing with a mirror image of her own challenge: as Cal hides his face from strangers, Claire tried to avoid people ogling her beauty. I found the beginning a little slow and the story takes off once Diana is inspired by Cal to create a different kind of art.
Throughout time, artists have had muses. Cal becomes Diana’s muse, unwittingly at first when he is a child. The book treads a difficult, uncomfortable line. Diana loves Cal and tries to do the best, but what if her best is wrong? Of course, that is the thought process the author wants the reader to explore. As Diana’s success as an artist grows and Cal becomes a teenager, he starts to resent being ‘used’. Is she ultimately any different from her mother, Bunny, who forced her to enter beauty competitions, to refuse biscuits because they would make her fat?
The viewpoint switches between Diana and Cal and jumps around in time, particularly in the second half, which was disorientating. The main voice is Diana’s. I found her exploitative and unlikeable and would have liked to hear more from the adult Cal and the child Diana. Nonetheless this is a powerful, difficult read with underlying imagery of decay hidden by beauty.

If you like this, try:-
‘Orphans of the Carnival’ by Carol Birch
‘Life Class’ by Pat Barker
‘The Museum of You’ by Carys Bray

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview SKIN DEEP by Laura Wilkinson http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2PG via @SandraDanby

#Books Laura Wilkinson @ScorpioScribble chooses her Porridge & Cream book #amreading

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Contemporary novelist Laura Wilkinson chooses her ‘Porridge & Cream’ read… The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Frances Hodgson Burnett“It’s so long ago I cannot recall with any degree of accuracy when I first read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The crumbling copy, pictured with my newer edition, was always around; it was my grandmother’s, then my mother’s. I was fascinated by the colour plates scattered throughout and would stare at them long before I could read the words. My hunch is that I was eight or nine – certainly during a period when I devoured Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers series! Whilst I forgot Blyton’s characters and plots almost instantly, Mary Lennox, Colin and Dickon have stayed close.

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Laura’s copy of ‘The Secret Garden’

An angry, lonely orphan is sent to live in a remote manor with a walled, prohibited, garden. The garden is the catalyst for her transformation, and in cahoots with a local boy she uncovers the secret not only of the garden but of the crying which wakes her every night. The story resonated then and still does. Each time I find something new to admire. I turn to it when I need to be reminded that the world is a beautiful place where love and nature can cure our ills. I’ve re-read it after I’ve recommended it and I’ve picked it up when I simply cannot decide what to read next.
It’s the character of sour, sickly Mary Lennox and her journey that draws me time and again. She’s portrayed as a horrid little minx initially but I always feel so sorry for her – abandoned and forgotten in that house in India full of death. And the story reminds me of how much time I spent roaming around outdoors as a child – no adults in sight – and how much I learnt that way. It saddens me that my children don’t have that experience; the world has changed. But stories don’t: a great story is always a great story.”

Laura Wilkinson’s Bio
Laura WilkinsonAfter time as a journalist and copywriter now Laura writes stories. She has published five novels for adults (two under a pseudonym), with a sixth out in June and numerous short stories. Public Battles, Private Wars, was a Welsh Books Council Book of the month; Redemption Song was a Kindle top twenty. The Family Line is a family drama set in the near future, looking at identity and parenting. ‘It will haunt your dreams’ Books at Broadway. Her latest is Skin Deep. Alongside writing, she works as an editor & mentor for literary consultancies and runs workshops. She’s spoken at festivals and events nationwide, including London Metropolitan University, GladLit, University of Kingston, The Women’s Library and Museum in Docklands.

Laura Wilkinson’s links
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Laura Wilkinson’s books
In Skin Deep, former model and art student Diana has always been admired for her beauty but what use are good looks when you want to shine for your talent? Insecure and desperate for inspiration, Diana needs a muse. Facially disfigured four-year-old Cal lives a life largely hidden from the world. But he was born to be looked at and he needs love too. A chance encounter changes everything; Cal becomes Diana’s muse. But as Diana’s reputation develops and Cal grows up, their relationship implodes. Both struggle to be accepted for what lies within. Is it possible to find acceptance in a society where what’s on the outside counts for so much?
Here’s my review of SKIN DEEP.

What is a ‘Porridge & Cream’ book? Sandra DanbyIt’s the book you turn to when you need a familiar read, when you are tired, ill, or out-of-sorts, where you know the story and love it. Where reading it is like slipping on your oldest, scruffiest slippers after walking for miles. Where does the name ‘Porridge & Cream’ come from? Cat Deerborn is a character in Susan Hill’s ‘Simon Serrailler’ detective series. Cat is a hard-worked GP, a widow with two children and she struggles from day-to-day. One night, after a particularly difficult day, she needs something familiar to read. From her bookshelf she selects ‘Love in A Cold Climate’ by Nancy Mitford. 

Discover the ‘Porridge & Cream’ books of these authors:-
Kate Frost
Jane Lambert
Rosie Dean

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#Books #amreading Why does @ScorpioScribble love THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett? http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2uuvia @SandraDanby