A review by beckykphillips
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am still processing the ending of this novel, and don't know that I will be able to stop thinking about in anytime soon.

Beautyland follows a girl, Adina, who is born in 1977 who understands she is an alien and was sent to earth to observe people and life on Earth. The novel follows Adina through her entire life, although I would not consider this a coming of age novel, or maybe this is just the most unique version of such a story I've ever read. If I had to describe this book in one word, I think it would be perceptive. 

Some of the incredible anecdote/lines from this book include:
  • Referring to Star Wars as a civil war movie in space
  • Adulthood seems like a years long equation to beat traffic
  • She pretends to be one person, but she is actually six girls with J names in jean jackets
  • Anyone questioning whether god exists need only consider the brevity of a dog’s lifespan

I am not a person who is easily affected by books, but this book made me absolutely sob in the last third or so. It is at times incredibly funny, but also the isolation that Adina experiences throughout her life is heart-rending. 

I am still trying to process the ending, having just completed the book a few minutes ago. I hope to be able to talk about the ending below, but my thoughts are beneath the spoiler text. 

I am so heartbroken that Adina commits suicide in the end, but I recognize that she believes that she's going back to her people. I wonder if this is in part the author prodding us to see if we truly believe Adina or if we align with most others in Adina's life and don't believe in her identity. To that end, it was an interesting meta-commentary when Adina has her observations published and we learn about the debates that occur by other readers about whether she's faking, whether she has mental illness, or if she believes all of these things. When I started the book, I assumed that she was coded as neurodivergent, due to her misophonia and intense observations about the world and other-ness. 

That aside, I am uncomfortable because the suicide still feels really close to the Heaven's Gate cult, who committed suicide believing that after they died a UFO would take their souls to another level of existence above human. Specifically when Hale’s comet came closest and this was when omuamua came closest.


I heartily recommend this book, but do be prepared for the emotional roller coaster it will take you on. Adina's observations are incisive and she provides such an interesting point of view that I will be thinking about for a long time. 

I listened to this on audio and also very much recommend it as a medium, the narrator did a wonderful job bringing life to this story. 

I was provided the audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review from Dreamscape Media.

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