Natural Beauty

A Novel

By: Ling Ling Huang

Narrated by: Carolyn Kang

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction

Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.

Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.

Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and gives her a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.

A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves listeners with a shocking and unsettling truth.

©2023 Ling Ling Huang (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick

A New York Times Editors’ Choice

One of WIRED's Best Books of 2023

A SELF Well-Read Book Club Pick

One of the New York Post's "best new books to read"

One of Bustle's “36 Best New Books Of Spring & Summer 2023”

One of the New York Public Library's "Engrossing Thrillers To Put Into Your Beach Bag This Summer"

Featured in Book Riot’s “25 Best Horror Books of 2023”

One of Powell’s Books “Hot Book Summer” recommendations

One of Katie Couric Media’s “13 Books by AAPI Authors To Read This May and Beyond”

An April LibraryReads Pick

“Her talents…harmonize most seamlessly when she writes about music, managing the near-impossible feat of crafting descriptions of the compositions that are as airy and adroit as the melodies themselves. And she is at her best when she skewers the narcissistic, corrosive version of self-care that can be mistaken for empowerment…The novel is a meditation on vanity, the ways in which the pursuit of physical beauty can betray the other sources of beauty in one’s life, and how horror can lurk beneath the surface of even the most poreless skin.”–Jazmine Hughes, The New York Times Book Review

“Absorbing . . . Natural Beauty starts out frothy, offering an enticing dip into how tech could beautify and perfect our bodies and faces in the near future . . . It quickly veers into subversive horror, turning into a cautionary tale on societal themes we’re currently seeing IRL.”–Vogue

“The promise of self-improvement is darkly seductive. In Ling Ling Huang’s Natural Beauty […] a former pianist working at a biotech-funded wellness store initially thrills at her regimen’s effects (defined eyelids, opalescent skin). By the end, her dismissal of rigid aesthetics is what lingers: ‘That fine line between beauty and ugliness, ripeness and rot, is what keeps an audience listening with held breath.’”—Vanity Fair, “The Pursuit of Beauty Fuels a Dark Streak in Fiction”

Moving, gruesome, beautiful

I just listened to the other “Beauty industry as horror” 2023 book, Rouge, and was worried that this would be very similar, but oh boy I should not have worried - this is an astoundingly unique book, and (at least for me) much deeper and more moving. It’s about beauty, yes, but also music and illness and ambition and parents and race and culture… all presented with suspense and gore and compelling writing, and with a great narrator.

An excellent horror novel

I wasn't expecting a scathing critique of the beauty and wellness industry in a horror novel, but it was a pleasant surprise. This book took some absolutely wild turns; I can honestly say I had no idea where it was going next. The only reader I would not recommend it to are those who dislike body horror. I thought it was great, but if you're not into that you're going to have a bad time.

Loved the creepy/sci fi aspects!

There are parts that I had to push through (chapter 11), but I think the slow burn is intentional and Id say its worth it. The writing is really beautiful and imaginative at times and I loved all the creepy/horror/sci-fi esque twists and turns.

Beautiful and Horrible

Exquisite juxtaposition of beauty and horror. A new Frankenstein for the near future. Very moving.

The juxtaposition of beauty and and beauty

While, thought provoking and a mirrored image of our current beauty’s standards, the climax of the book fails to enthrall me. Relatable and a reminder of nurturing one’s own health, not for the standards of others but for the love of yourself and God.

Beautiful, cultural and so weird, just loved it

Highly recommend! Such a thoughtful, interesting and beautifully sad listen. The narrator was perfect. I felt taken away to another place but yet the future portrayed is so familiar it makes this novel even even more devastating.

not sure what I just listened to but I loved it !

The narrator brought this story to life. it is original that touches on discrimination and our obsession with physical beauty.

Highly creative, entertaining, and intelligent

I whipped through this one in a few days. Vividly-told story and excellent narration. I wish I’d read it with others so we could discuss the many layers and fantastical world Huang created. This is a horror novel and also a social commentary, as the best horror stories are. It was disturbing but also just really fun. I’ll never look at my many-step skincare routine the same way again!

Beautifully written.

This book takes you on a beautiful, creepy journey. So well written. The words paint the picture in my mind effortlessly.

Science Fiction vs Concert Pianist

Weird well told story of the quest for beauty and immortality. I enjoyed and recommend.