Hi everyone! If you are reading this today, then happy Eclipse day! I got very lucky and was in the path of totality. It was a genuinely awesome experience. I hope that maybe some of you got to experience it or will experience it in the near future. Back on the topic of books, though, this is my third Mona Awad book. If you want, you can check out my reviews for her other books, Bunny and All’s Well. I think it’s safe to say I am a bit of a fan now. Let’s talk about her most recent novel, Rouge.

Content Warning: Discussions and Depictions of Grief, Some Depictions of Self – Harm, Some Harsh Language

From a young age, Belle had been obsessed with beauty and has spent her adult life maintaining a regimented skincare routine to preserve her skin. Her obsession began with her mother, who was always the most glamorous person to ever live in Belle’s eyes. One day, Belle receives a call that her mother has died in a strange accident. Now, she is stuck dealing with her mother’s California apartment and her many debts. At a memorial service, Belle meets a strange woman in a red dress who claims she can tell her how her mother died. This woman leads her to a strange, cult-like spa that promises to make Belle her “most magnificent self.” The more time Belle spends in the spa, the more she begins to lose herself. In order to regain her sense of self, Belle must face secrets that she has buried for far too long.

In my previous reviews for Mona Awad’s books, it used words like “dream like” and “surreal.” Rouge, however, is easily the most dream-like and surreal. The narrative feels as though you are moving through those dream-like movements where you are doing something due to whatever strange logic you experience in your dream. (I hope that makes sense.) Underneath all of the strangeness of the novel is narrative about grief, beauty standards, and mother/daughter relationships. All of this is tied together with some interesting fairy tale motifs that I thought helped add to the strangeness that Mona Awad is so good at crafting in these novels. This is probably my favorite of the three novels by Mona Awad that I read and I am going to give you my recommendation for Rouge.