Right from the start, we see that Mirabelle is obsessed with beauty and looking youngā much like her mother before her we see in the small flashbacks Mira remembers of her mother. I was impressed at just how often beauty and style were brought up:
- Miraās mother owns a dress shop and Mira works in one as well
- The constant references to Mira and her motherās youthful appearances
- The obsession Mira has with skincare products, using them as a way to calm herself, referencing what products other people could benefit from, obsessing over trying to cover the scar on her forehead
- Seeing how Mira longs to be complimented by others
- The āself-loveā mentioned, but often is being sold by cosmetic companies who benefit from the idea.
- colorism! Because Mira is half-Egyptian and was never able to see herself in those around her, particularly her mother.
Mira definitely has a similar feel to Miranda in *Allās Well* and Samantha in *Bunny* ā jaded, cold, and lonely, but in this we see her grief over her mother and the confusion that comes with it, especially once we see some of her memories with her mother.
I was so intrigued by the maternal element of the storyā seeing how the little comments and throwaway actions imprinted on Mirabelle so that sheās desperate to be seen as beautiful. Sheās tied her entire value as a person to how people view her. Itās heartbreaking and hauntingly familiar for most people. Oh my god though, the way this theme in particular was wrapped up at the end? I adored it. Itās so wonderfully and terribly relatable.
I loved how Awad worked in the bit about cults (and the beauty industry) somehow encouraging individuality while also making everyone as similar as possible. That desperation we all feel to conform to the ideal beauty standard, but how that also involves completely removing any sense of identity. How capitalism and the beauty industry feed on peoplesā insecurities to continue pushing products and the mirroring of that in the cult. While yes, Mira does fit into the stereotype of someone who falls victim to a cult, the beauty element shifts the perspective of it.
The writing in this can only be described as surreal. Itās unsettling and dreamlike, constantly referring to the distorted view we tend to have about ourselves, but also the disorientation of grief. The atmosphere, the narrative, and the story is cinematic, so Iām simply devouring this book when I pick it up. I also loved the continuous references to numerous fairytales. Yes, itās probably easiest to draw parallels between this and Snow White, but thereās also Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and even Hansel and Gretel, Iād argue. The blurb mentions Eyes Wide Shut (which, yeah, I can see that) but Iād also say there are definitely some bits that had me thinking of Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.
