Natural Beauty: A Novel | ⭐ Flexiology.Store Recommended
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Winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.
Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.
Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and gives her a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.
A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves readers with a shocking and unsettling truth.
From the Publisher
ASIN : B0B62LFTW6
Publisher : Dutton
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : April 4, 2023
Language : English
File size : 5.6 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 268 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0593472934
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #36,020 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #16 in LGBTQ+ Horror eBooks #34 in Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature eBooks #70 in Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,013 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find the book excellently written and stunning, describing it as an interesting read with a compelling story. The horror elements receive positive feedback, with one customer highlighting its exploration of beauty and body horror.
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9 reviews for Natural Beauty: A Novel
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JoEatsFoodandStuff –
Definitely more literary than horror
But I enjoyed it all the same. A bit tonally inconsistent between the middle and both the beginning and end, but ultimately this is a story about bodily autonomy and desperation, of beauty and the rot at the core of the industry, however exaggerated it is here
Rachael Winterling –
Who Defines Beauty? What Will We Do to Obtain It?
Natural Beauty started off with a generally benign plot line, but quickly became disturbing about 25-30% in. The story holds a mirror to the ugliness of the beauty industry, highlighting how fear and unethical practices are used as weapons to perpetuate the toxicity of the one-dimensional “Natural Beauty” trend.This book offers a lightly satirical narrative about the lengths we are willing to go to combat our fear of aging. In doing so, it challenges us not only to examine where our ideas of beauty stem from, but our relationship with our own bodies.The end was a disturbing look at the true sacrifices we must make to be conventionally attractive – in the worst way. Shocking but compelling, this is a phenomenal conversation starter about the lengths we are willing to go, and at what cost.
Sienna B –
An exploration of beauty and body horror—not for everyone, but worth looking into
My overall impression of the book is positive, but I have trouble saying that I recommend it or would ever read it again. By that I mean this is a very particular kind of book, not without merits, but maybe not intended for someone like myself.But let’s start with the good things. The narrator beautifully describes every piece of music that she encounters in such a manner that I imagine only a musician or seasoned listener would be able to. I enjoy listening to music, but the way it is described in this book elevates it in a way I hadn’t previously considered.The text is also very bingeable. It was only until about a third of the way into the book that I really started caring about what was happening, but once the story advances closer to the climax and more interesting details get revealed, this book is hard to put down. You feel compelled to keep reading to find out what’s really going on and what secrets the end of the book will reveal.I also liked how the story satirized how far people are willing to go for beauty (as far as putting parasites in their hair or undergoing treatments that can potentially make them seize), how race and age factor into that, and the relationship between self-care and the male gaze. It’s easy to scoff at the characters as they go to such lengths to be beautiful, but it reminds one of how much effort many people, especially women, go through on a daily basis.As for the parts that I didn’t like… despite the narrator using very colorful language, there were times that I had to reread passages because the descriptions just weren’t clear enough. The settings and happenings in the book are normal enough to generally understand what’s going on, but sometimes it was a bit too vague. )Interestingly enough, someone in my book club enjoyed the fact that she could add her own details to the story, so I understand how that might appeal to some.)I also found the narrator’s lax attitude very off-putting and sometimes frustrating. I don’t believe that as a reader I have to like or even agree with the narrator, but there were many times in the book that I simply could not understand her reactions (or rather, lack of reactions). And for that matter, why didn’t people react more when they noticed Asian women turning into carbon copies of stereotypically attractive white women? The narrator had a roommate and regular customers. It’s clear that this wasn’t a case of a woman of color bleaching her hair and wearing color contacts to look a certain way—her entire body changed. And, while I understand the narrator may have reveled in her sudden beauty, the casual attitude she had about, essentially, changing her race was baffling to me. I could suspend my disbelief enough to believe that such a transformation is possible, but maybe not so much that someone undergoing it would treat it so casually.All in all, this was an interesting read, and there are many moments of beautiful prose and expertly placed foreshadowing. While some of the narrator’s choices may have been baffling to me, they weren’t enough to say the book is not worth reading. If you would like to read about how beauty, race, class, and identity clash—along with lyrical writing and toe-curling body horror—then this may indeed be the book for you.
lindsey harris –
you are beautiful just the way you are!
I loved this book! The lengths people will go to be considered and perceived as beautiful is heart breaking, and It doesn’t matter if they lose themselves in the process.
M Sloan –
A new all time favorite read
This book checked off every box for me. No notes. Seriously grab a copy and find out for yourself.
Kristen Claiborn –
Natural Beauty
This book contains more subtle (ish) social commentary than some of the more recent non-fiction I have read. It’s not as hard hitting as, say, Caste (Isabel Wilkerson. If you haven’t read it yet, go grab it. It’s a fantastic, eye opening book), but it hits quite a few social issues that continue to stay at the forefront of day-to-day life for many.The narrator, whose name is never revealed, is cast in what has become a stereotypical Asian family, with parents with hefty expectations. She excelled as a musician, going to an exclusive conservatory where she was bullied mercilessly because of both her talent (musicians can be intensely jealous) and her ethnicity. Her world, and her future, crumble after her parents are permanently damaged in an accident, forcing the narrator to take her life in a different direction. Eventually, she meets Helen and goes to work for a painfully obnoxious beauty company. This company, Holistik, represents the insane beauty standards society has thrown at women. The longer the narrator works at Holistik, the more we see the effects of the products these women covet. Using Holistik’s products will turn you into the ideal beauty, and if you stop using those products, you will become everything society has decided to be unattractive. You’re either one of the “in” women, or you’re dead to the world (or just dead, period).The beauty standards segue nicely into women continually having decisions made for them. Each individual woman didn’t decide what beautiful is, society has shaped and molded beauty so that 5’10”, blonde hair, blue eyes, straight and paperwhite teeth, 2% body fat, with a “natural” face that requires hundreds of dollars of cosmetics and hours of manpower became the ideal. The story became much darker, with even more decisions about how a woman’s body should be used were being made. Again, more social commentary. Do decisions about a womb belong to the owner of said womb? Or those who want to covet and control the womb?We call stories like this fiction, but the reality is this story isn’t fiction. This reality exists for millions of women on a daily basis. I appreciate that the conversation continues.
Amy George –
Stunning, gorgeous, terrifying, visceral
This book drew me in from the very start. I binged it in two days, I don’t know how to express how much I LOVE IT. Ling Ling Huang is a genuine marvel and this is written so beautifully. And it creeped me out to no end.
LCP –
OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK!! Everyone should read it! Such an easy read!
The Supreme Noodle –
What starts as a light read quickly twists into one of the most horrific stories I’ve read. Natural Beauty draws attention to our society’s obsession with beauty and sheds light on just how detrimental this obsession can be when mixed with power and money.