Skin Hunger, at its heart, is a novel about women — their inner lives, struggles, and their moments of joy. This playlist grew out of that. A couple of the songs do appear in the book but most of them are ones that, for me, exemplify the character or her experiences at certain points. Some of the songs weren’t yet released when the story takes place, but I’ve included them because they hit the emotional notes for the characters. Throughout, I’ve opted for songs originally performed by or later covered by women performers.
Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UzQcQq9ICIouumb4tKFGc?si=1a8006d88dfc42f5
The first of the two main characters is Evie Bauer Shea. Evie experiences post-partum psychosis and is unable to connect with her child, Rowan. After several psychotic episodes, she is hospitalized and later loses custody of Rowan. For Evie’s time plagued by delusions and in the hospital, I’ve picked two songs. “Shake It Out” by Florence + The Machine with the line ”all of the ghouls come out to play”. And “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia. But, on the more hopeful side, for Evie’s time in recovery and forging new paths for herself in life and love, I’ve chosen: “Trouble in Mind” by Dinah Washington and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” in Montrealer Térez Montcalm’s cover of the Motown classic (for some additional Canadian content).
Rowan Shea in childhood is a rather lonely kid who loves animals. For this time in her life, I’ve picked “The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)” by 60s pop icon Petula Clark. And two songs exemplify two sides to Rowan as a teen: moping tearfully over would-be love while listening to the Dan Hill song, “Sometimes When We Touch” (here, the Bonnie Tyler version) and partying hard to Kiss’s “Rock N’Roll All Nite” (a version by teen band Liliac). During most of Rowan’s timeline in the novel, she is a young adult in 1984-85 British Columbia. Still an animal-lover, she falls in with an animal liberation group, loses her job as a veterinary technician, and embraces a countercultural lifestyle at a ramshackle farmhouse in the Fraser Valley they dub The Flying Y Ranch. Her favourite bands at that time are The Runaways (“I Love Playin’ with Fire”), The Go-Go’s (“Turn to You”) and The Bangles (“I’ll Set You Free”).
Several other women appear in the book and I’ve given them each a song.
Amrit Dhaliwal: Fraser Valley girl, former cheerleader, aspiring journalist and early line-dancing adopter. She initiates some activism, which Rowan takes to a new level, and they become friends. I’ve included the Judds’ “Girls Night Out” as a fun country song that Amrit and her friends might have danced to at Gabby’s Bar.
Lenka Dvořáková: the unofficial head of the animal rights organization that Rowan joins, a seasoned long-time activist. She is highly principled and committed to animal rights but always firm that no animals, including humans, be hurt through their actions. Some of the younger activists see her as too rigid. Lenka sings “Stand By Me” at karaoke in one scene, inspiring feelings of loyalty in Rowan (and giving one chapter its title). From among the original and the many, many great covers of that song, I’ve chosen the Tracy Chapman version (but only because I already have a Florence + The Machine song on the list).
Deirdre Rowley: the hardliner of the animal rights activist group, bragging about two degrees of separation from a bombing carried out by friends of the extremist group the Squamish Five. She is unrelenting and rather antagonistic and aggressive. For the political “crunchy punk” music she blasts from the stereo at the farmhouse, I’ve chosen “Suicide” by Moral Lepers, a feminist alternative band from Deirdre’s Vancouver punk scene.
Jelena Novak: another of Rowan’s housemates at the Flying Y Ranch, and Lenka’s niece. She’s not part of the animal rights movement, nor is she significantly involved in the novel’s action. But she is a banjo player, so I wanted to give her a song: “Cripple Creek” by the wonderful Rhiannon Giddens.
And just one last song, for both Rowan and Evie: “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, which in one scene Rowan sings at karaoke.
Here is the list with links to Apple Music
1. “Shake It Out”: https://music.apple.com/us/song/shake-it-out/1440766994
2. “Torn”: https://music.apple.com/us/song/torn/286006506
3. “Trouble in Mind” https://music.apple.com/us/song/trouble-in-mind/1568766254
4. “Reach Out I’ll Be There” https://music.apple.com/us/song/reach-out-ill-be-there/1713578364
5. “The Cat in the Window (The Bird in the Sky)” https://music.apple.com/us/song/the-cat-in-the-window-the-bird-in-the-sky/1676474374
6. “Sometimes When We Touch” https://music.apple.com/us/song/sometimes-when-we-touch/1497213981
7. “Rock N’ Roll All Nite” https://music.apple.com/us/song/rock-n-roll-all-nite/1462856516
8. "I Love Playin’ with Fire” https://music.apple.com/ca/song/i-love-playin-with-fire/1444045410 ,
9. Turn to You” https://music.apple.com/ca/song/turn-to-you/1440836461
10. “I’ll Set You Free” https://music.apple.com/ca/song/ill-set-you-free/291417939 )
11. “Girls’ Night Out”. https://music.apple.com/us/song/girls-night-out/68889250
12. “Stand By Me” https://music.apple.com/us/song/stand-by-me-live-from-the-late-show-with-david-letterman/1051106576
13. “Suicide” https://music.apple.com/us/song/suicide/1057980370
14. “Cripple Creek” https://music.apple.com/us/song/cripple-creek/1474975581
15. “Crazy” https://music.apple.com/us/song/crazy/1440826094
About the author:
Frances Boyle is the author of Seeking Shade, short stories, Tower, a Rapunzel-channelling novella, and three well-received poetry collections. Her volunteering includes Arc Poetry Magazine, The League of Canadian Poets, and Ottawa’s VERSeFest poetry festival. Frances was raised in Saskatchewan and spent more than a decade in Vancouver before moving to Ottawa where she now lives. Skin Hunger is her first novel.