I admit, the first thing which went through my mind when I picked up Bareback by Kit Whitfield in the bookshop was the word’s sexual connotations (which led the author and her publishers to rename the book Benighted in the USA), but there is a lot more to this book than just that initial impression.

According to the author’s website, the two editions were marketed differently, as a sci-fi book in the US, and as a literary novel in the UK. I think I found the book in the general fiction section, but I’m not sure that I would have been as attracted to the Benighted title or its cover, maybe that’s just because I have a dirty mind…?

Anyway, here’s the review that I wrote after finishing the book during my holiday in Jamaica:

Bareback is a magnificent novel, and I would have been proud to have written it.

Lola, the protagonist, is deeply flawed and damaged, but we are able to relate to her because we can see how the society that she is part of has affected her. She hates her kind, hates herself and is a tool of a corrupt regime. I really felt a connection with her.

The story itself is fast-paced, yet thoughtful. A love story emerges from the grime and blood of a dystopian world. I also found it interesting how the author took lycanthrope lore and actual historic events and manipulated these elements for the purpose of telling a larger story about the innate cruelty of humanity.

Another book which had a similar effect on me was Naked Brunch by Sparkle Hayter.

Urban Recluse rating: Rating:

Written by PJ | Posted in reading

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.