# Rouge

By Mona Awad

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/rouge-0fa3d297/

After her estranged mother Noelle dies, Belle returns to Southern California to deal with the debts and unanswered questions she left behind. A mysterious spa draws Belle toward the same beauty obsession that consumed her mother.

## What makes it funny?

After her mother's funeral, Belle watches a skincare influencer mourn neglected necks in her mother's bathroom. She's brought seven bags of beauty products but forgotten a dress. The fuss over looking after skin keeps intruding on the business of mourning a person.

### The comedy at work

Awad gives beauty promises enough power to override obvious danger. Belle wants what the spa offers, and that desire helps her ignore its alarming behavior; the satire follows how consumers cooperate in their own manipulation.

### Try this if…

Beauty-industry satire shares space with surreal horror and a difficult mother-daughter relationship. It suits readers drawn to the unease behind expensive promises of transformation.

### Good to know

Bereavement and racialized beauty ideals matter throughout: biracial Belle measures herself against her white mother.

## What to expect

- Genre: Horror
- Kind of humor: Dark comedy · Satire
- Format: Novel
- Length: 384 pages
- Audiobook: 14 hr 42 min

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Apple Books lists Rouge (Unabridged) by Mona Awad, length 14 hours 42 minutes, narrated by Sophie Amoss, published by Simon & Schuster Audio.](https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/rouge-unabridged/id1671472996)
- Publisher: [Simon & Schuster lists Rouge by Mona Awad, ISBN 9781982169701, as a trade paperback with 384 pages and offers an unabridged audio download.](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Rouge/Mona-Awad/9781982169701)
- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781982169695)
- Publisher: [Publisher, sample & author Q&A](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Rouge/Mona-Awad/9781982169701)