Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)How many things can be said about our faces and from how many points ofview!
Apart from the deep interest of the topic itself, in the richnessof the aspects addressed,the book is wonderfully written and this alonemakes it worth reading.McNeill has the rare gift of an enjoyable,entertaining expression which translates into a fluent and brilliantnarrative.There have been many pages where,like in a conjurer's trick,the authorsprang up from the printed words and took shape at my side as asort of domestic conteur, accompanying me while slowly walking around mykitchen's table where I use to read books in a slow, tacit peripateticrite, away from the TV set and the PC. Since my childhood's years I havebeen almost totally incapable to read without moving: the phenomenon started with arhythmic oscillation of the legs andwent further throughsuccessive stages of mild agitation,until it peacefully settled into astable circular - I dare say, mandalic - form of ambulation: maybe thisquality of mine as a readercan be deciphered in some trait of my face,let's say, the way Ilaugh or the way I look at people when I speak closein front of them.
Who knows which mysterious relationships our innerworld establishes with our faces and in which way they tend to showexternally, when perceived by the others!
McNeill takes you in the heartof this constant link between souls and faces, between life and facialexpression and appearance. But, although the book never descends to thelevel of an aridexposition of facts and findings, don't believe itscontentescapes the filter of a rigorous scientific approach.
On thecontrary, each assertion, while light and elegant in its wording, restsupon a solid background of careful observation and experiment. Few booksare so poeticallytaxonomic, only thatdefinition andcategory disappearfrom view disguised in a masterful reporting. You pass from a detailedexamination of facial muscles (now I know which one to blame for myforehead wrinkles: the corrugator!)to the typical clues which may giveyou away as a lying hypocrite.Anecdotally overabundantthe book gets youacquainted with lots of characters and ideaspicked up from a vast segmentof the history of thought. Psychology, neurology, physiognomy, socialbehaviour andcultural traditions are all deeply searched in order toextract meaning out of faces. But perhaps the most important lesson you aretaught is that when you cope with faces - of course starting with your own-you should be quite careful not to take all at its face value.
So myadvice is: read this beautiful book, then watchyourself straight in theeyes in front of a mirror and honestlytell me if you really see the sameperson as before.
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