I walked in knowing that this probably wouldn't be a favorite, but wanting to experience it anyways.
The Beautiful is very much for lovers of vampires, Caraval mystery and magic vibes, and historical New Orleans. I don't really care for vampire stories, and this was reminiscent of the romance and popular tropes of 2010, but updated for a modern reader, in a way that was evocative of nostalgia for those who enjoyed YA literature at the time but not as polarizing.
I can say that it wasn't boring, and Ahdieh always has an engaging voice for me, but I personally didn't care for the content. It's just not for me, and that's not a bad thing. I think others will love this a lot more.
I will mention that although I appreciate the inclusivity & don't have issues with the representation (Celine is half Asian half white, Bastien is half Taíno half white), I did feel a decent bit of discomfort with some of the terminology used at times. It's not a character-specific criticism, but something more rooted in the framework and approach of the novel.
Besides the obvious instance of "opposite sex," I personally wasn't a fan of the framing of like "the East vs. the West" and "the Orient" and stuff like this, which came up fairly often. I realize that this is the terminology that they used at that time period, but as a modern reader, it was just personally pretty uncomfortable for me to read this terminology that holds so many ties to colonialism. I think it is definitely a matter of preference, but this just isn't something I enjoy reading.
This also might have been in part due to undertones like the romanticization of France and maybe a bit of neglect of the Spanish imperialism in the Carribean & Latin America. But I realize that this is a very subtle thing, and dependent on reader. I personally believe that we are able to write historical fiction without relying on outdated terms.
Content Warnings: rape, murder, gore
The Beautiful is very much for lovers of vampires, Caraval mystery and magic vibes, and historical New Orleans. I don't really care for vampire stories, and this was reminiscent of the romance and popular tropes of 2010, but updated for a modern reader, in a way that was evocative of nostalgia for those who enjoyed YA literature at the time but not as polarizing.
I can say that it wasn't boring, and Ahdieh always has an engaging voice for me, but I personally didn't care for the content. It's just not for me, and that's not a bad thing. I think others will love this a lot more.
I will mention that although I appreciate the inclusivity & don't have issues with the representation (Celine is half Asian half white, Bastien is half Taíno half white), I did feel a decent bit of discomfort with some of the terminology used at times. It's not a character-specific criticism, but something more rooted in the framework and approach of the novel.
Besides the obvious instance of "opposite sex," I personally wasn't a fan of the framing of like "the East vs. the West" and "the Orient" and stuff like this, which came up fairly often. I realize that this is the terminology that they used at that time period, but as a modern reader, it was just personally pretty uncomfortable for me to read this terminology that holds so many ties to colonialism. I think it is definitely a matter of preference, but this just isn't something I enjoy reading.
This also might have been in part due to undertones like the romanticization of France and maybe a bit of neglect of the Spanish imperialism in the Carribean & Latin America. But I realize that this is a very subtle thing, and dependent on reader. I personally believe that we are able to write historical fiction without relying on outdated terms.
Content Warnings: rape, murder, gore