A review by just_one_more_paige
Rouge by Mona Awad

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
Mona Awad has been in my awareness for a few years now. Some readers whose reviews I really trust have loved a few of her previous works; Bunny, specifically, so I've been meaning to pick that up. But when this most recent release was an option as an ALC through Lifo.fm, I decided to start with it instead. The ease of access won me over. Haha 
 
Borrowing from Goodreads for the blurb again: "For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass." 
 
Phew, this was trippy and creepy. And if that's what you're looking for, it delivers. I knew going in that was the vibe of Awad's writing, so I was ready for it, and got exactly what I wanted out of this reading experience. From the very start, and consistently throughout, the dark and claustrophobic fairy tale atmosphere was everywhere, with nods to Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz (magical, red shoes), Rapunzel/Tangled (there was a hella strong Mother Gothel feel to Noelle), Beauty and the Beast (at least for me, the rose/jellyfish situation was aesthetically reminiscent, plus Belle's name), and - through the stories Belle loves from her childhood - the general feel of the "perfect princess" and the unattainability of that IRL. These aspects combine with a thematically overbearing focus on skincare and the beauty industry, and the reality of dealing with grief over the loss of a parent (even, and particularly, when that relationship wasn't particularly healthy or smooth) in a way that creates a perfect fever dream of a novel. I was never totally sure what was real - what was actually happening,and what was an imaginative exaggeration or a hallucination or a dream - in a way that created a psychological spiral that was impossible to fully grasp. But in the best way. And the fantastical aspects were really uniquely intertwined with a very real the ebb and flow of mental health, especially around grief and the complexities of parent-child (mother-daughter) relationships. Altogether, the disconnect of unreality that is infused throughout this entire novel was unmooringly stunning. 
 
Other than the atmospheric vibes, the novel's major theme was the "health" and beauty industry. It's an industry I have very little direct/personal knowledge of (I have never worn makeup and my skin care is basically nonexistent). But I, of course, am not immune to the body messages that media and celebrity sells, and have had my moments of unhappiness with how I look as a result (I feel like it's an unreal expectation that it would be possible to not internalize some of that). Just...keep that framing in mind, as you read through my thoughts on this part of the book. I thought it was great. The way beauty standards intimidate and low key terrify and make you feel bad about yourself as you swim in inadequacies that you hate/regret/wish you could defend against better is demonstrated terrifyingly well. Similarly, the insidiousness of the universal approval we get when our “efforts” to remain looking young as we age are deemed “successful,” based on an arbitrary and external and a somehow-applicable-to-every-woman standard, hits the reader like a brick (though not an overdone one, IMO). Especially in the way this affects young girls, Awad interrogates that dark reality in such a creepily stunning fashion. Like I said, I know nothing about skin care products, so I have no idea how much of those mentioned are real and how much are sarcastic/exaggerated/satirical, but it FELT overdone and I *loved* that (it’s honestly what it feels like to me when people pyramid scheme/peddle beauty products...which, full disclosure, I despise). This aspect, too, was tied in so well with the complex and kind of unhealthy relationship the author had with her mother. The messages young (girls) with darker skin get about their own beauty (or lack thereof) from so many "public" sources was compounded interestingly here, since she and her mother looked so different from each other, and her perspective of "beauty" was skewed even further. This allowed for a fascinating additional, kind of side-commentary, on the myths we build up around those we fear, or admire. 
 
I have a few other more random thoughts that I'll just mash up here together at the end. First, the cover was simply dazzling. So eye-catching and perfect for the book, with the rose and jellyfish combination. The word mix-ups that Belle experiences were a phenomenal literary touch, super well-used to portray a sense of displacement both that Belle was experiencing and for the reader. I was less a fan of the attempt to add a romance storyline; it was fine all the way through, with the weird pull/connection, but then the ending just felt like, too real, after the unreality of the rest of the novel. I also thought the inclusion of "Tom Cruise" was jarring. Like, I liked the role he (the character with his name) played/had, but I wish a less famous/notable name had been employed, because his name conjures so many other things that it took me out of this story a bit sometimes. 
 
Overall, I finished this book feeling very disconcerted and unsettled, but very satisfied with the story that made me feel that way. It was exactly what I'd anticipated and wanted from this read. This perversion of “self care,” the fantastic unreliable narrator, the "longing for delusion" that was palpable and the ending of being “saved ourselves from the nightmare of our most magnificent selves” (I mean, what a concept?!) was all just so good. A promised, and delivered, wildly unpleasant read...when that's what reading mood you're in, give this one a go. 
 
“No one knows what’s inside grief. Anything at all can be there.” 
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