Natural Beauty

Starred review from February 20, 2023
A young Chinese American woman learns the secrets of a sinister wellness company in Huang’s incisive and disquieting debut. After the unnamed narrator’s parents are involved in a severe car accident, she abandons her classical music career to focus on their care. She receives an auspicious invitation to work at a Goop-esque Holistik outlet, where she becomes one of a bevy of salesgirls, hocking everything from face creams to emotional support ducklings, and her employer pressures her into taking the workplace name Anna for the ease of customers who struggled with her given name. As the narrator tries the treatments, she notices surreal changes to her appearance, including lighter skin, longer legs, and bigger breasts. She also forms a close friendship with Helen, the owner’s niece, and develops an attraction to Helen while giving her piano lessons. Eventually, Helen reveals clues about Holistik’s nefarious machinations. Insidious Western standards, fears about bodily autonomy, and queer desire intersect as Huang’s precise and subtle portrayal of the beauty industry builds to an explosive climax. Alternatingly poignant and deeply unsettling, this is an outstanding first outing for an immensely talented author. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

June 1, 2023

Grammy Award--winning violinist Huang introduces an unnamed narrator, a gifted Chinese American pianist, whose childhood studies at a prestigious conservatory were funded by an anonymous donor. She learned her skills from her parents, who fled China during the Cultural Revolution. When an accident debilitates her parents, she leaves behind the piano to find work. She is offered a job at Holistik, a world-renowned high-end beauty and wellness company known for its ground-breaking products. There, she's given supplements and beauty products, with regimens for every aspect of her life. As months pass, her body changes, and her features begin to resemble all the women at Holistik. As her life becomes more entwined with Holistik, she learns that beauty comes at a cost. Huang's debut is a harrowing tale about the beauty industry, consumerism, race, identity, and self-worth. Carolyn Kang's narration captures the narrator's conflicted emotional journey, and her distinct voices for secondary characters make conversations easy to follow. VERDICT Recommend to those who enjoy social commentary and suspense combined with elements of science fiction and body horror. Listeners will have a hard time pressing pause, as each chapter reveals shocking twists and turns.--Meghan Bouffard

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