Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
I didn’t know too
much about this book when I got a copy from the library. It came up in
recommendations often, but it didn’t seem quite like a horror story. I’m
actually glad that I read this because it is a really great story, and it is
one of those great horror novels that has some interesting social commentary
about the nature of identity, race, class, and beauty in particular. I also
loved how the company, Holistik, was described and how they presented so many
“solutions” to wellness and beauty. Huang is very creative in developing many
of the products that Holistik offers. I also think that the book does a good
job in examining how these wellness companies often take advantage of not only
our desires for health and wellness, but also our insecurities around our
appearances, aging, and our past traumas and hurts. The narrator is someone who
has experienced trauma in her life, and is seeking ways to find herself. Huang,
as a musician herself, presents music as an integral part of the book, and I
really liked the way that music was a part of the narrative. I also really
enjoyed the body horror, which seems like a beauty transformation at first, and
I hope that someone considers making this into a movie. After reading this, I
also read Rogue by Mona Awad. Both books reminded me of
Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and
Relaxation, where the narrator
also seeks to escape modern life through pharmaceuticals. It’s interesting to
see how much we rely on companies that promote health and wellness to transform
ourselves and escape our reality and everyday life. I’m looking forward to
other books from Huang.
No comments:
Post a Comment