Dans Mon Catalogue

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published Sept. 12, 2023 by Hamish Hamilton.

ISBN:: 9780735241237

(2 reviews)

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep?

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 …

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep?

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.

3 editions

tippy bottom reviewed Rouge: A Novel by Mona Awad

Review of 'Rouge' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

more like a 3.6 stars. i was hesitant at first when i read some reviews saying it was like a "re-telling of beauty and the beast". i would say it uses elements of this, and probably a few other fairy-tales, but rouge has it's own unique story. a tale about race and beauty standards, whatever the complex is called when there's jealousy between family members about youth, the complexities of being in a mixed-race child being raised by a white parent, and, to my surprise, a glimpse of good old Quebec religion x politics. the ending made me cry, but any story about mother-daughter relationships usually does. i didn't feel the ending was too rushed, and maybe everything the author had to say about how belle really feels had already been said in sub-text, but i do wish there was a little bit more of an acceptance about how she …

more like a 3.6 stars. i was hesitant at first when i read some reviews saying it was like a "re-telling of beauty and the beast". i would say it uses elements of this, and probably a few other fairy-tales, but rouge has it's own unique story. a tale about race and beauty standards, whatever the complex is called when there's jealousy between family members about youth, the complexities of being in a mixed-race child being raised by a white parent, and, to my surprise, a glimpse of good old Quebec religion x politics. the ending made me cry, but any story about mother-daughter relationships usually does. i didn't feel the ending was too rushed, and maybe everything the author had to say about how belle really feels had already been said in sub-text, but i do wish there was a little bit more of an acceptance about how she feels about how she looks, something like a "yes, i do like how i look. the 'wild' hair and dark skin that my father gave me is not that bad after all. everything my mother loved about me, i will learn to love myself". something like that, given she had this whole journey about wanting to be more beautiful (but i guess it's a metaphor?)(but then it's also kind of true because of the sub-plot about how she always compared herself to her mum? anyway) i also thought the writing and inner monologues were pretty cheesy with the forced french inclusions and whatnot, like we get it, they're french speaking. but anyway, i still enjoyed the story, i think it will leave a lasting impression on me.

Merged review:

more like a 3.6 stars. i was hesitant at first when i read some reviews saying it was like a "re-telling of beauty and the beast". i would say it uses elements of this, and probably a few other fairy-tales, but rouge has it's own unique story. a tale about race and beauty standards, whatever the complex is called when there's jealousy between family members about youth, the complexities of being in a mixed-race child being raised by a white parent, and, to my surprise, a glimpse of good old Quebec religion x politics. the ending made me cry, but any story about mother-daughter relationships usually does. i didn't feel the ending was too rushed, and maybe everything the author had to say about how belle really feels had already been said in sub-text, but i do wish there was a little bit more of an acceptance about how she feels about how she looks, something like a "yes, i do like how i look. the 'wild' hair and dark skin that my father gave me is not that bad after all. everything my mother loved about me, i will learn to love myself". something like that, given she had this whole journey about wanting to be more beautiful (but i guess it's a metaphor?)(but then it's also kind of true because of the sub-plot about how she always compared herself to her mum? anyway) i also thought the writing and inner monologues were pretty cheesy with the forced french inclusions and whatnot, like we get it, they're french speaking. but anyway, i still enjoyed the story, i think it will leave a lasting impression on me.

Merged review:

more like a 3.6 stars. i was hesitant at first when i read some reviews saying it was like a "re-telling of beauty and the beast". i would say it uses elements of this, and probably a few other fairy-tales, but rouge has it's own unique story. a tale about race and beauty standards, whatever the complex is called when there's jealousy between family members about youth, the complexities of being in a mixed-race child being raised by a white parent, and, to my surprise, a glimpse of good old Quebec religion x politics. the ending made me cry, but any story about mother-daughter relationships usually does. i didn't feel the ending was too rushed, and maybe everything the author had to say about how belle really feels had already been said in sub-text, but i do wish there was a little bit more of an acceptance about how she feels about how she looks, something like a "yes, i do like how i look. the 'wild' hair and dark skin that my father gave me is not that bad after all. everything my mother loved about me, i will learn to love myself". something like that, given she had this whole journey about wanting to be more beautiful (but i guess it's a metaphor?)(but then it's also kind of true because of the sub-plot about how she always compared herself to her mum? anyway) i also thought the writing and inner monologues were pretty cheesy with the forced french inclusions and whatnot, like we get it, they're french speaking. but anyway, i still enjoyed the story, i think it will leave a lasting impression on me.

Merged review:

more like a 3.6 stars. i was hesitant at first when i read some reviews saying it was like a "re-telling of beauty and the beast". i would say it uses elements of this, and probably a few other fairy-tales, but rouge has it's own unique story. a tale about race and beauty standards, whatever the complex is called when there's jealousy between family members about youth, the complexities of being in a mixed-race child being raised by a white parent, and, to my surprise, a glimpse of good old Quebec religion x politics. the ending made me cry, but any story about mother-daughter relationships usually does. i didn't feel the ending was too rushed, and maybe everything the author had to say about how belle really feels had already been said in sub-text, but i do wish there was a little bit more of an acceptance about how she feels about how she looks, something like a "yes, i do like how i look. the 'wild' hair and dark skin that my father gave me is not that bad after all. everything my mother loved about me, i will learn to love myself". something like that, given she had this whole journey about wanting to be more beautiful (but i guess it's a metaphor?)(but then it's also kind of true because of the sub-plot about how she always compared herself to her mum? anyway) i also thought the writing and inner monologues were pretty cheesy with the forced french inclusions and whatnot, like we get it, they're french speaking. but anyway, i still enjoyed the story, i think it will leave a lasting impression on me.

Chris Kara

rated it

Jan 24