A review by poisoned_icecream
Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
An unnamed narrator goes from running a beauty salon before it becomes a mortuary for men who are sick and dying of a plague. The narrator also describes the fish he's kept throughout his life and the ways they'd die, as well as the times he'd dress up as a woman while tending to his salon when his salon was in business, and also at night he'd dress up as a woman and have sex with men. It was painful to read this but the writing is exquisive and captivating, and despite the cruelty and descriptions of illness and neglect there is still a lot of empathy and kindness in this short book.
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