As Anton grows up each tentative step on the path to adulthood brings knowledge, understanding and responsibility. Through the eyes of this impressionable and observant young boy, we witness the loss of innocence as he comes to terms with time"s passing and inevitable death. He finds solace in his friendship with Willem and believes he has found a way to deal with his increasingly uneasy relationship with life. But this bond with Willem introduces a new emotional hurdle for Anton, an awakening love that gives him his own identity and envelops him like a skin. The subtlety with which Mortier describes a young man"s experiences and feelings makes this an extraordinarily touching tale. But far from being a desolate novel, My Fellow Skin is a tender story of love, innocence and protection, and of painful loneliness when things fall apart.