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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Interesting and unique, but it didn't really speak to me - I'm not sure there was really any message in there, to be honest. But certainly very creative ideas.
This is definitely one of the weirdest books I've read in a while, and I feel like that's saying something. (Like, Clean Room didn't phase me AT ALL but genderfluid mushroom people is too uncanny a valley for me?)
Just going to say that I am incredibly glad that this is just a very short novella and not a full-blown story, because what the actual f**k? I am 100% convinced that the author took mushrooms, and whatever the hell they saw while under the influence inspired to write this dumpster fire of a book.
I'm glad I picked it up at a second-hand store for about 3 bucks, because it's one less of it out there and instead, I'm going to either toss it, use it as tinder, or rip it up and make some crafts with it just so no one else has to be subjected to this mess.
0/10, would time travel to right before I grabbed it, just so I can slap myself in the face and tell myself "No!"
I honestly wish I could rate it lower than one star.
I'm glad I picked it up at a second-hand store for about 3 bucks, because it's one less of it out there and instead, I'm going to either toss it, use it as tinder, or rip it up and make some crafts with it just so no one else has to be subjected to this mess.
0/10, would time travel to right before I grabbed it, just so I can slap myself in the face and tell myself "No!"
I honestly wish I could rate it lower than one star.
This story was disturbing as fuck, and I could. not. put. it. down.
All the women in the world have died off, and now these yellow mushroom beings have grown out of the gravesites.
The beings (dubbed "The Beauty") have each sort of forced themselves on a man, and made the men dependent upon them for everything: emotional support, physical support (chores, heavy lifting), sex.
It's.... rapey. But, like many rapes, it's not stereotypically violent, it's more like coercion. The men are repulsed but compelled to do what The Beauty want.
Much like the men, I was repulsed, yet couldn't help but read and read to see what the hell was going to happen.
The edition I have from the library has the more beautiful (and disturbing) yellow, mushroom being cover. It also has an incredible "bonus" short story at the end.
That story was much less disturbing and had an intriguing take on language and solitary confinement. I thoroughly enjoyed that story as well, and see a lot more of this author in my future.
All the women in the world have died off, and now these yellow mushroom beings have grown out of the gravesites.
The beings (dubbed "The Beauty") have each sort of forced themselves on a man, and made the men dependent upon them for everything: emotional support, physical support (chores, heavy lifting), sex.
It's.... rapey. But, like many rapes, it's not stereotypically violent, it's more like coercion. The men are repulsed but compelled to do what The Beauty want.
Much like the men, I was repulsed, yet couldn't help but read and read to see what the hell was going to happen.
The edition I have from the library has the more beautiful (and disturbing) yellow, mushroom being cover. It also has an incredible "bonus" short story at the end.
That story was much less disturbing and had an intriguing take on language and solitary confinement. I thoroughly enjoyed that story as well, and see a lot more of this author in my future.
*An ARC was received for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review*
The Beauty was described as a novel depicting the bleak future of humanity after a catastrophic event wipes out all women and men are dependent on storytellers to keep their memories (and hope) alive. Yes, The Beauty is about that, but it’s also… more that detracts a great deal from what the reader expects going into the novel. Though this is how it begins, the plot quickly progresses into a sci-fi/horror story about strange creatures slowly invading the men’s lives.
It was then that I took a look at the notes section and realised that it was classified as New Weird. Now, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of that genre, as previously I would have simply classified a novella like this one as horror/sci-fi. New Weird works much better and is a perfect fit for The Beauty.
The writing itself is amazing and worth five stars alone. Whiteley’s word choice and structure is superb. Her word craft is exquisite and not something I expected to find when I started reading. In fact, there are so many wonderful, quotable parts to the book that I eventually had to force myself to stop highlighting passages because I would’ve highlighted everything. If you just want to read an amazingly written story, regardless of genre, then you cannot go wrong with The Beauty.
If you’re wondering, after reading the previous paragraph, why I reviewed the story at three stars instead of something higher, it’s simply because of the strangeness of the plot. If you’re a fan of Weird, then this has a good chance of becoming a four or five star novella. If you aren’t, then an almost four star review might be as high as you’ll get.
Readers learn early on that it was a type of fungal disease that killed off all of the women — in the world the men of the story speculate. A yellow fungus grew out of women, emanating from the womb it would seem until it consumed them whole. Now, six years later, the same fungus is seen growing on the graves of the women whose lives they took. Nathan, the narrator and group storyteller responsible for cultivating their history and the memories of women alive, is concerned and voices them to the de facto leader of the group, William, who dismisses his concerns. He then takes group cook Thomas to determine whether they are edible and they determine that they are likely poisonous. Finally, Nathan brings a sample back to Doctor Ben so he can study them in case they have medicinal benefits, or at least to discover if it is soon coming for the men. Once evening falls and it is time for the group to begin their storytelling, Nathan realises that a few people are missing. He goes off in search of them and instead finds himself in trouble when he comes face to face with a creature made completely of the yellow fungus.
The rest, well, you’ll have to read it for yourselves as I really don’t want to spoil the story for anyone interested. It is good, it is thought provoking, but above all it is weird, and we could all use a bit of weird in our lives sometimes.
Review first published on ByLuluWithLove
The Beauty was described as a novel depicting the bleak future of humanity after a catastrophic event wipes out all women and men are dependent on storytellers to keep their memories (and hope) alive. Yes, The Beauty is about that, but it’s also… more that detracts a great deal from what the reader expects going into the novel. Though this is how it begins, the plot quickly progresses into a sci-fi/horror story about strange creatures slowly invading the men’s lives.
It was then that I took a look at the notes section and realised that it was classified as New Weird. Now, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of that genre, as previously I would have simply classified a novella like this one as horror/sci-fi. New Weird works much better and is a perfect fit for The Beauty.
The writing itself is amazing and worth five stars alone. Whiteley’s word choice and structure is superb. Her word craft is exquisite and not something I expected to find when I started reading. In fact, there are so many wonderful, quotable parts to the book that I eventually had to force myself to stop highlighting passages because I would’ve highlighted everything. If you just want to read an amazingly written story, regardless of genre, then you cannot go wrong with The Beauty.
If you’re wondering, after reading the previous paragraph, why I reviewed the story at three stars instead of something higher, it’s simply because of the strangeness of the plot. If you’re a fan of Weird, then this has a good chance of becoming a four or five star novella. If you aren’t, then an almost four star review might be as high as you’ll get.
Readers learn early on that it was a type of fungal disease that killed off all of the women — in the world the men of the story speculate. A yellow fungus grew out of women, emanating from the womb it would seem until it consumed them whole. Now, six years later, the same fungus is seen growing on the graves of the women whose lives they took. Nathan, the narrator and group storyteller responsible for cultivating their history and the memories of women alive, is concerned and voices them to the de facto leader of the group, William, who dismisses his concerns. He then takes group cook Thomas to determine whether they are edible and they determine that they are likely poisonous. Finally, Nathan brings a sample back to Doctor Ben so he can study them in case they have medicinal benefits, or at least to discover if it is soon coming for the men. Once evening falls and it is time for the group to begin their storytelling, Nathan realises that a few people are missing. He goes off in search of them and instead finds himself in trouble when he comes face to face with a creature made completely of the yellow fungus.
The rest, well, you’ll have to read it for yourselves as I really don’t want to spoil the story for anyone interested. It is good, it is thought provoking, but above all it is weird, and we could all use a bit of weird in our lives sometimes.
Review first published on ByLuluWithLove
dark
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Weird. Incredible. I'll have more to say later.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a friend of mine has been telling me about this book for the entire time we've known each other, and in fact, summarized the entire thing at one point. luckily for me, i forgot, so by the time i bought a used copy with the intention of giving it to him when i was done, i was basically going in blind. after i finished it, it got passed around our friend group like a bong at a frat party (literally - we all sat on the couch and read it straight through. it was insane). all of us got the same amount of info when we started: "they f*ck the mushrooms."
this book is not, however, weird fungus erotica. it's a haunting story about gender, loss, and the strange and beautiful things that grow from that loss. it's also about stories; how much can you recontextualize history before it becomes a different thing entirely? as strange as this book gets (and oh boy, does it perpetually up the ante in that department), it's not difficult to tell what points the author was making.
the thing that caught me off-guard the most when i started was the prose, though. it was a little bit flowery for my own personal tastes, but it also makes complete sense considering who's narrating it and where. if i were a storyteller in an apocalypse, i'd probably get a little verbose too, and it's clear based on dialogue that nate is just Like That when he talks anyway. speaking of nate, this book is pretty strong character-wise. it's shocking how much development is crammed into 103 pages, and it all makes sense for what's going on around them.
the worldbuilding is pretty interesting, to say the least. even before the events of the book really kick into gear, the fact that all the women are just straight up dead is a WILD concept to start your book with, and there are hints that other apocalypse-y things happened even before they began to die. it's a neat setting, and it is blessedly not gross about it, either in a misogynistic way or a "men are inherently terrible" way.
overall, it's an eerie and very fast-paced read, and i highly recommend reading it like i did, in a group.i'm totally not trying to spread it like an ant mind control fungus by leaving my home in search of other packs of humans! i promise!
this book is not, however, weird fungus erotica. it's a haunting story about gender, loss, and the strange and beautiful things that grow from that loss. it's also about stories; how much can you recontextualize history before it becomes a different thing entirely? as strange as this book gets (and oh boy, does it perpetually up the ante in that department), it's not difficult to tell what points the author was making.
the thing that caught me off-guard the most when i started was the prose, though. it was a little bit flowery for my own personal tastes, but it also makes complete sense considering who's narrating it and where. if i were a storyteller in an apocalypse, i'd probably get a little verbose too, and it's clear based on dialogue that nate is just Like That when he talks anyway. speaking of nate, this book is pretty strong character-wise. it's shocking how much development is crammed into 103 pages, and it all makes sense for what's going on around them.
the worldbuilding is pretty interesting, to say the least. even before the events of the book really kick into gear, the fact that all the women are just straight up dead is a WILD concept to start your book with, and there are hints that other apocalypse-y things happened even before they began to die. it's a neat setting, and it is blessedly not gross about it, either in a misogynistic way or a "men are inherently terrible" way.
overall, it's an eerie and very fast-paced read, and i highly recommend reading it like i did, in a group.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Pregnancy
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I really wanted to love this novella. I didn't even realize that it was a novella when I grabbed it. There was another story behind (which I didn't read). This added to the feeling that it just wasn't finished. It felt like there was room for that entire other novella to continue the story and tie up some ends and settle some questions.
The book had an almost ethereal feeling about it, but an unsettled one; one that never got resolved and you really wish it had. There was so much at the end that I didn't understand. It felt like the author was trying to delve into some deep topics, but never quite got to a point with them.
It's okay if you are just looking for something to pass the time, since it is very short. Otherwise, use your time on better things in your to-be-read list.
The book had an almost ethereal feeling about it, but an unsettled one; one that never got resolved and you really wish it had. There was so much at the end that I didn't understand. It felt like the author was trying to delve into some deep topics, but never quite got to a point with them.
It's okay if you are just looking for something to pass the time, since it is very short. Otherwise, use your time on better things in your to-be-read list.