#rouge by mona awad

[mistressaccost]

mona awad by nedda afsari, for vulture

[jennifersbod]

need a lynchian rouge adaptation as soon as fucking possible

[nerdynatreads]

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book review || Rouge by Mona Awad

~Thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of *Rouge* in exchange for an honest review. ~

She does it again. So good. Fantastic.

Right from the start, we see that Mirabelle is obsessed with beauty and looking young— much like her mother before her we see in the small flashbacks Mira remembers of her mother. I was impressed at just how often beauty and style were brought up: - Mira’s mother owns a dress shop and Mira works in one as well - The constant references to Mira and her mother’s youthful appearances - The obsession Mira has with skincare products, using them as a way to calm herself, referencing what products other people could benefit from, obsessing over trying to cover the scar on her forehead - Seeing how Mira longs to be complimented by others - The “self-love” mentioned, but often is being sold by cosmetic companies who benefit from the idea. - colorism! Because Mira is half-Egyptian and was never able to see herself in those around her, particularly her mother. Mira definitely has a similar feel to Miranda in *All’s Well* and Samantha in *Bunny* — jaded, cold, and lonely, but in this we see her grief over her mother and the confusion that comes with it, especially once we see some of her memories with her mother. I was so intrigued by the maternal element of the story— seeing how the little comments and throwaway actions imprinted on Mirabelle so that she’s desperate to be seen as beautiful. She’s tied her entire value as a person to how people view her. It’s heartbreaking and hauntingly familiar for most people. Oh my god though, the way this theme in particular was wrapped up at the end? I adored it. It’s so wonderfully and terribly relatable. I loved how Awad worked in the bit about cults (and the beauty industry) somehow encouraging individuality while also making everyone as similar as possible. That desperation we all feel to conform to the ideal beauty standard, but how that also involves completely removing any sense of identity. How capitalism and the beauty industry feed on peoples’ insecurities to continue pushing products and the mirroring of that in the cult. While yes, Mira does fit into the stereotype of someone who falls victim to a cult, the beauty element shifts the perspective of it. The writing in this can only be described as surreal. It’s unsettling and dreamlike, constantly referring to the distorted view we tend to have about ourselves, but also the disorientation of grief. The atmosphere, the narrative, and the story is cinematic, so I’m simply devouring this book when I pick it up. I also loved the continuous references to numerous fairytales. Yes, it’s probably easiest to draw parallels between this and Snow White, but there’s also Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and even Hansel and Gretel, I’d argue. The blurb mentions Eyes Wide Shut (which, yeah, I can see that) but I’d also say there are definitely some bits that had me thinking of Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.

4.5 / 5 stars

[bunny-on-a-bookshelf]

i love you mona awad. i hate you mona awad.

[pinkbowjournal]

Something dreamy and dark, with distortion. Something I could close my eyes and drown in beautifully.

Mona Awad, Rouge.

[mothprincess]

Mona Awad, Rouge

[belovedapollo]

current reads 📖 reblog is ok, don’t repost

[literatureaesthetic]

18 sept '23 — currently reading one of my most anticipated releases of the year: rouge by mona awad (so far so good), watching stranger things for the first time and i'm in LOVE (i'm a huge sci-fi fan so i'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get to this??), and visiting art galleries ❤️

[send-her-to-heaven]

October musings

[shedevours]

Donna Tartt may have written the words „I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive“ but Mona Awad‘s protagonists really embodied that shit

[molly-nymph]

Bunny by Mona Awad

[jennifersbod]

ugly cried at the end of rouge

[libraryofchlo]

books i read in 2023: Rouge - Mona Awad

[dashedwithromance]

just finished julia armfield’s our wives under the sea and now i need to cry in a saltwater bathtub and listen to copious amounts of florence and the machine

[pinkbowjournal]

With eyes like the sky, dripping their dark silks.

Mona Awad, Rouge.

[labratgrl]

i love my local libraries bc so many of the books r hardcover!! it fills the need to have a hardcover book w/out taking ungodly amnts of space up on my bookshelf