Natural Beauty A Novel

I remember reading the first few pages in the bookstore, putting it back into the shelf and thinking about the book for multiple days -- finally submitting and buying the book. Huang cleverly connects social commentary with personal grief and trauma -- reading Natural Beauty felt cathartic. It explores complex expressions of the self -- through the artistic love for music as well as the desire for beauty and the (interpersonal) connections -- if not love -- being beautiful grants. At the same time Huang cleverly makes the connection to ethnicity and wealth apparent. There were incredibly touching passages, making me tear up -- and passages that made me feel uncomfortable and at unease. Something sinister is going on under the surface, something disturbing is waiting to be revealed -- all the beauty comes with its own ugliness. I really enjoyed reading Huangs prose and her approach to the themes which I found incredibly contemporary. I especially liked the bittersweet tone of the novel and the ending.