On the HahaFiction shelf
Rouge
Audiobook available · 14 hr 42 min
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.
From the publisher’s blurb
“the cult-like nature of the beauty industry”Read the full description at Simon & Schuster publisher description
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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.
More funny horror
Sources & further reading
- Apple Books lists Rouge (Unabridged) by Mona Awad, length 14 hours 42 minutes, narrated by Sophie Amoss, published by Simon & Schuster Audio.
Book information
- Simon & Schuster lists Rouge by Mona Awad, ISBN 9781982169701, as a trade paperback with 384 pages and offers an unabridged audio download.
Publisher
- Publishers Weekly review
Review
- Publisher, sample & author Q&A
Publisher
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