Beauty (2014) by Hubert

Beauty by Hubert. illustrated by Kerascoët
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hardcover, 144 pages
Published October 1st 2014 by NBM Publishing

Magnificent! An original adult fairy tale which explores western culture's ideology of female beauty by both men and women themselves. The story is unique unto itself but has many nods to traditional fairy tales: kissing a frog, fairy spells and curses, having a wish granted, being cursed, etc. When an ugly peasant girl is granted her wish for beauty she finds the benefits are not what she had expected. The story goes to great lengths with the extremes it portrays. Coddie is both treated differently and acts differently now that her appearance has changed. This is an intricate story with many plot points and adult in nature with several beheadings, implied rape scenes and female nudity. I was taken with the story immediately and found it engrossing. A wonderful fairy tale told in the traditional style but also a thought-provoking theme. Though the book has been written for adults I think it would make for excellent discussion with teens mature enough for the content.

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