Metaphorosis Reviews
Written on Nov 24, 2023
Summary
A semi-retired man makes his living as a tomato grower in Guernsey, while his grown daughter makes her way on the mainland. When earthquakes devastate the island, and seemingly the world, he tries to find her.
Review
A Wrinkle in the Skin, even allowing for its 1965 publication date, explores pretty well-known territory – post apocalyptic survival. A small twist is that, because of apparently global earthquakes, all buildings have been leveled, so basic shelter is an issue. For the first third of the story, though, I worried that Christopher was leading us through some pretty familiar gang dynamics – ‘strong’ man takes the lead, women are treated as chattel, etc. Christopher’s narrator (as often in his adult books) is a relatively detached observer, though here Christopher tries to provide a rationale for that. After a while, though, we leave the familiar group behind, and the protagonist – on a quest – runs into other, somewhat more interesting groups. There’s some finesse in how our male protagonist confronts his expectations versus women’s reality (though that's offset by his insistence on frequent use of 'slutty' as a descriptor early on).
Unfortunately, having built an interesting foundation, Christopher seemingly runs out of steam and folds his hand. Without much explanation, and with a little too much luck, he suggests that everything is going to turn out fine – without addressing the male/female tension he established earlier, and apparently saying that the strong man/dependent woman model is humanity’s best hope. It’s pretty unsatisfying for a book that, for the most part, tries to take a more nuanced and intelligent look at the question. Our philosophical narrator never really explores how he feels about this resolution or what it may cost. In short, this feels like the first half of a decent book, with a stopgap ending tacked on as the second.