''Cold Skin'' (orig. Catalan ''La pell freda'') is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

author

Albert Sánchez Piñol Albert Sánchez Piñol (; born 11 July 1965) is a Spanish anthropologist, non-fiction writer and novelist writing in Catalan and Spanish. He has been described as a "significant European writer". Theroux, Marcel (19 December 2005)"Cold Skin" ' ...

. The novel has had numerous reprints and has been translated into 37 languages. More than 150,000 copies of its original edition were sold. With this novel, the author achieved great sales and critical success and the translation rights were sold into 37 languages. In 2017 it was made into a film by the French director Xavier Gens.

Synopsis

The novel chronicles the story of a former fighter for the independence of Ireland who, unmotivated by the events of the Western World, decides to escape from the society in which he lives. He accepts a job offer as a weather official on a remote island in the south Atlantic close to the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. S ...

. On this island there is only one inhabitant, the signals official Batis Caffo, who does not help the Irishman, and hides all the information which he has on the island. So the hero has to spend a night alone, where he suffers the attack of strange monsters that are similar to frogs. Through his cunning he manages to stay in the lighthouse with Caffo, and thus he can withstand attacks from the big frogs. After some days, he finds out that Caffo has sex with a domesticated monster, the female Aneris. Although the Irishman first thinks that the monsters are evil and murderous, after meeting Aneris, he changes his mind.

Prizes

It won the Ojo Crítico Narrativa prize in 2002, and has been translated into 37 languages.

Film adaptation

Alex and David Pastor wrote the film adaptation, directed by

Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (born on in Dunkirk, France) is a French film director. Filmography Director *''Lights Out'' (TBA) *''Vanikoro'' (TBA) *'' Gangs of London'' (2020) Season 1 Episodes 6, 7 and 8 *''Budapest'' (2018) *'' Cold Skin'' (2017) *''The Cru ...

and co-starring

David Oakes Rowan David Oakes (born 14 October 1983) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in the series ''The Pillars of the Earth'', '' The Borgias'', '' The White Queen'', ''Victoria'', '' Vikings: Valhalla'', and for his discursive Natural ...

Ray Stevenson George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film ''King Arthur'' (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007). He has portrayed two Marv ...

and

Aura Garrido Aura Garrido Sánchez (born 29 May 1989) is a Spanish film and television actress. She has appeared in such films as ''Stockholm'' as well as the television series '' El ministerio del tiempo''. Early life Garrido was born in Madrid in 1989. Her ...

. The premiere was scheduled for the Étrange Festival 2017, in Paris, France.

References

External links

Fiendishly clever
review in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''
The remedy for 'Cold Skin' has unpleasant side effects
feature in ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' 2002 novels Catalan-language novels 21st-century Spanish novels Novels set in Antarctica Canongate Books books 2000s horror novels {{2000s-horror-novel-stub