Dhonielle Clayton has a gift for lush and beautiful prose coupled with a gripping plot/storyline that not only gives BIPOC representation in a genre that is sorely lacking...but in addition to that greatness she headfirst slides into the conventions and misconceptions around beauty.
As far as theme and conflict, Clayton makes her characters and readers confront their own notions of beauty and how far we're all willing to go to achieve this socially constructed level of perfection.
I cannot say enough about just how beautifully written The Belles is. Lush. Detailed. Intoxicating. These are all words that will describe the pure sensory overload that is Orleans and each of the Belles. Clayton leaves no room for misinterpretation because each detail of this world has been carefully constructed like spun sugar.
As far as theme and conflict, Clayton makes her characters and readers confront their own notions of beauty and how far we're all willing to go to achieve this socially constructed level of perfection.
I cannot say enough about just how beautifully written The Belles is. Lush. Detailed. Intoxicating. These are all words that will describe the pure sensory overload that is Orleans and each of the Belles. Clayton leaves no room for misinterpretation because each detail of this world has been carefully constructed like spun sugar.