Hobbie, the main character, is in search of the family he thought he needed-his common-law wife,Kari, who is spending time at a weight loss camp and refuses to allow contact from him. Hobbie finds "family" in his search for Kari. He also finds beauty where he never expected it-in a cast of oddball characters...and in himself.

This book is for all those who root for the underdog. It brings out the inadequacies we all see in ourselves, but in a more pronounced way. Next to Hobbie, maybe our little flaws weren't so bad after all. The reader may start by feeling sorry for Hobbie, but by the end, he becomes the man he never dreamed he could be and the reader is cheering him on. A coming of age story for those of us in our 30's, and still growing up.

The author has an amazing ability to portray Hobbie's "flaws" so realistically-not the external ones but the deep down, self-effacing comments we tell ourselves when nobody is listening. The reader can identify with those feelings and they don't even have to admit it to anyone but themselves. Crandell makes the reader feel it is okay to be ourselves, really ourselves, warts and all.

I met this author at a conference recently and, in six weeks,I have read this book and two of his memoirs. In all three, I see his ability to bring out emotions to the forefront and acknowledge what most of us know to be true but won't admit for fear of ridicule or misunderstanding. If you want to truly step into someone else's shoes and thoroughly understand them, his books come highly recommended.

Other than the witty and creative title, I recommend this book because it restores faith that even "ugly" people are worthy of being loved-whether the "ugly" is on the outside or within. And, if we will admit it, we all have a little ugly self somewhere inside us wondering if we will be loved if we show our "flaws".

Check out Crandell's memoirs,
Pig Boy's Wicked Bird and The All-American Industrial Motel. You will see these when you select the link to the book in this review. Both are well worth your time. You won't be disappointed. They are also quick reads, its difficult to put them down. Crandell writes the way a person thinks or speaks, no pretentiousness at all.

Check out his website if you are interested in more information about this author.

http://www.dougcrandell.com/

Hope you enjoy his writing as much as I have.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of The Flawless Skin of Ugly People: A Novel   from Amazon.Com!

Created Apr 02, 2008 at 1:00am • Submit your own review...