I can't remember ever having such an intense dislike for a character - that's what makes this novel so compelling. Liz Nugent must specialize in atypical female protagonists as she shows wonderfully in her more recent Strange Sally Diamond; here is an earlier work with another puzzling main character and one can almost feel Liz Nugent flexing her writing chops with Skin Deep. Go Liz Nugent.
Cordelia Russell lives in poverty on the remote island of Inishclann with her parents and three younger brothers. Her father coddles the young girl and constantly tells her she is special, calling her his "little queen". He mostly ignores his other children and his wife - Cordelia likes it that way. She tells fibs about her siblings and her mother to get them in trouble with her father and takes sly pleasure out of watching their punishment.
One day, Cordelia's father sends her to the Irish mainland on a ferry by herself and following a domestic calamity, Cordelia's entire life changes. She's adopted by a nice couple and the rest of the novel follows Cordelia's life into middle age, right up to the point where she kills someone, which is revealed in the very first pages of this book.
Cordelia gets excitement over stirring things up. She plays her adoptive parents against each other and as she grows older does the same with boys. Cordelia is happiest when she creates tension between people. When she's bored, she likes to start fights; it's energizing when people argue over her. She is aware that she doesn't know what the feeling of love is; and it doesn't seem to bother her much, most disturbingly when she has a son.
People don't recognize her lack of empathy because they're distracted by her looks; she bewitches people. At one point, a lover balks that she is robotic, but Cordelia doesn't let this faze her. This is illustrated further when a painter uses her as his muse and feels frustrated that he can't quite capture her soul in his paintings. Maybe because there isn't one??
Liz Nugent gives Cordelia (later she goes by Delia) just enough humanity and depth, which saves this novel from being unbelievable. One can't help but wonder if she is going to come around; if maybe her early trauma on the island is stilting her ability to feel warmth and to relate to others. This hope for Delia, mixed with wanting to see her get her comeuppance, propels the novel along.
Peppered with Inishclann folklore that her father told her when she was a child and viewpoints of other characters, the story follows Delia wreaking havoc on people's lives. What's captivating is that she isn't doing so purposely. She honestly feels like she deserves things because of being so special, just like her daddy always told her.
Sociopaths and narcissists hold a certain fascination because most people are good (in this reader's opinion). Sometimes Cordelia seems like she's hovering on the edge of being good. But other characters often mistake her selfish motives for altruism, and one can't help but feel chilled on their behalf. The twists in this novel are great and come at just the right time, right up until the dark but gratifying ending. Liz Nugent does all this in a way that's not campy. I give this book four stars out of five.
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