Lost Memory of Skin

By: Russell Banks

Narrated by: Scott Shepherd

“Like our living literary giants Toni Morrison and Thomas Pynchon, Russell Banks is a great writer wrestling with the hidden secrets and explosive realities of this country.”
—Cornel West

“Of the many writers working in the great tradition today, one of the best is Russell Banks.”
—New York Times

Lost Memory of Skin is a provocative novel of spiritual and moral redemption from Russell Banks, the author of Affliction, Rule of the Bone, Continental Drift, Cloudsplitter, and other acclaimed masterworks of contemporary American fiction. Uncompromising and complex, Lost Memory of Skin is the story of The Kid, a young sex offender recently released from prison and forced to live beneath a South Florida causeway. When The Professor, a man of enormous intellect and appetite, takes The Kid under his wing, his own startling past will cause upheavals in both of their worlds. At once lyrical, witty, and disturbing, Banks’s extraordinary novel showcases his abilities as a world-class storyteller as well as his incisive understanding of the dangerous contradictions and hypocrisies of modern American society.

Amazing Scott Shepherd

Anything narrated by Shepherd is worth listening to. He is a balm to the ear.

the story drew me in, like gawking at an accident

What did you like best about this story?

The story drew me in, in a sick sort of way, like gawking at an accident.

Which character – as performed by Scott Shepherd – was your favorite?

"The kid" is a sad sack, who never really got a fair chance in life, but you can't help rooting for him and hoping he'll get a break. The narration over all was excellent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I couldn't stop listening, carried along by curiosity and the beautiful descriptions of characters and settings, but my heart ached for them all.

Any additional comments?

The tale starts out almost believable, but slowly devolves into a series of vignettes of weird caricatures, and (unfortunately) "the professor" and his story become convoluted beyond recognition. I'm not sure if I exactly recommend this book, but it is certainly a memorable experience and well-crafted in many, but not all, respects.

I loved this book!!!

On the surface this seems like a simple story of a young sex offender. Yes, it's interesting to hear how this kind of a conviction changes the lives of those convicted, forever. And we can learn to sympathize with those few who are punished for uncontrollable urges that border on mental illness, or who are simply looking for love in all the really wrong places. But this book is about so much more. I am grateful to Russell Banks for taking the most vilified people on the planet and writing a story of redemption through their eyes. By doing this he successfully illustrates what is, I think, almost a biblical parable. In fact there are many references to the Garden of Eden, the mistaken loss of innocence, the prodigal son, and finally an upside down, ironic sort of beautiful redemption. I loved this book, loved the narration, the writing. Well worth it.

Okay but nothing extraordinary

Just finished listening to this book, I have no major criticisms about the audiobook, just wasn't too impressed with the story. I found it rather dull and depressing.

Very moving portrayal.

You know when you get asked that question "Which well-known person would you like to have a dinner conversation with?" Russell Banks is my answer to that question. I'm a psychotherapist and I work with the victims of this population and this is a story that takes it full circle. This is a rare and sensitive portrayal of a population of people with whom I would never otherwise intimately cross paths. In addition, the reading/acting of this particular story is phenomenally well done. For the first time, i'd say this particular book is better listen to than read in hardcopy. (It has to do with the quick dialogue back-and-forth, which the actor just nails.) once again russell Banks leaves me shaking my head.