
Rouge
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Sophie Amoss
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By:
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Mona Awad
A National Bestseller
A USA TODAY Bestseller
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Electric Literature, Tor, and Literary Hub
From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a “Grimm Brothers fairy tale for the modern age” (Good Housekeeping) and “darkly funny horror novel” (NYLON) about a lonely young woman who’s drawn to a cult-like spa in the wake of her mother’s mysterious death. “Surreal, scary and deeply moving—like all the best fairy tales” (People).
A Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Time, Vogue, The Guardian, Goodreads, Bustle, The Millions, LitHub, Tor, Good Housekeeping, and more!
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.
Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, Rouge holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath.
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Critic reviews
"In a dreamy and mesmerizing delivery, Sophie Amoss describes how Belle detests her Egyptian complexion, inherited from her father. All her life she's been in the shadow of her French mother's flawless beauty and obsessive hunt for youth.... Amoss does a remarkable job escorting listeners through Belle's bizarre metamorphosis as she falls prey to the very spa trance experienced by her mother. Amoss transfixes listeners with her delivery of the escalating horror as Belle shifts from normalcy to a frightening shell of her former self. Who can save her? Amoss masterfully delivers French phrases, adding charm to a gripping listening experience." (AudioFile)
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Beautiful imagery
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“Rouge” opens with Belle learning that her mother, Noelle, has died. She hasn’t seen her mother in a long time, but her memories of her mother involve skin care routines and fashion obsessions. Belle flies to California to settle her mother’s estate. Once there, she learns that her mother sold her dress shop and was in deep financial debt. On what did she spend her money? Why is she so in debt?
I listened to the audio narrated perfectly by Sophia Amoss. Noelle is French and Amoss switches seamlessly from a French accented English to “California-accented” English. The beginning of the story is hysterical. Belle starts speaking those “Freudian slips” when she arrives at her mother’s apartment. She awakes and begins her morning ridicule, I mean ritual. She sits at the insanity, I mean vanity. A Spa contacts her and she ponders their usual severings, I mean services. It’s clever.
Awad examines at what price beauty. Beauty relies on insecurity, and Belle, as a grieving daughter is the perfect mark.
My complaint is that it is far too lengthy. It becomes some gothic-type tale that goes far to OTT for me. It’s nearly a 15-hour audio, and I got frustrated midway through. It seemed not to be progressing with the story. And then it got very ridiculous and I wanted to stop, but I was already 9 hours invested!
Do I recommend? Yes, borrow, don’t buy. The beginning is worth getting the book or listening to the audio. It is fun and witty. Did it accomplish that smack upside my head? Yes it did, although I most likely will always be concerned about my skin texture 🤣 Sadly it ventured far too “Alice in Wonderland” down the rabbit hole for me.
What a fun romp!
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rouge
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I have another by her as a current favorite
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DNF - confusing and boring
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Awad never disappoints
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Very captivating
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The weirdness of the situation and the societal commentary on beauty age and mother/daughter dynamics
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Well, that was fun
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Good story, poor execution
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