The House of Impossible Beauties

By: Joseph Cassara

Narrated by: Christian Barillas

Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and '90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning

It's 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city's glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where 17-year-old Angel first comes into her own. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone.

As mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her; Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design; and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus's life. The Xtravaganzas must learn to navigate sex work, addiction, and persistent abuse, leaning on each other as bulwarks against a world that resists them. All are ambitious, resilient, and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences.

Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.

©2018 Joseph Cassara (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

As real as it gets

The House of Impossible Beauties threw me into a world I knew close to nothing about. The Harlem Ball scene of the 80s and 90s was a culture born of intense, largely unrecognized struggle, and Joseph Cassara’s fictional ode to the time is likewise chock full of character. Pure, undiluted, super-concentrated character. This book is brutal. It is unflinching, and it is as real as it gets.

Like have you ever seen Requiem for a Dream? It’s on the same page of, “Wow, I can’t believe anyone could endure this,” type emotional shock. But where that movie follows a drug addict's bleak downward spiral, Cassara’s characters never fail to demonstrate a life-affirming and indomitable strength that is, simply put, beautiful.

Joseph Cassara clearly vetted narrator Christian Barillas super closely, as this is a book that demands fluidity between languages, genders, and class all at once—I think it would have been an impossible task for nearly anyone else, but Barillas nails it.

**This book is graphic**

An OK book, that could be better

I was really excited about this book. As a gay guy, and as a fan of the ball scene you don't get to find something many books with characters you can relate to. This audiobook however did not live up to my expectations.
The story has many good moments that are entertaining and worth listening to. Nevertheless, I think the book could have a lot more about the ball scene, about vogging, about transitioning into trans and about other queens from the xtravaganza house as well as others.
The main thing that I would change about the story is that it was awfully, and unnecessarily harsh. I know the real characters must have had struggles, but the fictional version could have balanced the difficult parts with the happy ones. Specially the ending could have been a bit more optimistic.
About the interpretation of the audiobook I would complain that sometimes it felt a bit flat. Also, there were many unnecessary repetition of a monotonous "he said" "she said". This may not be a problem in the written version of the book, but are extremely repetitive in the audiobook.

Cry Baby

I was previously unaware of the Harlem Ball Scene and the houses that offered some protection to many of its participants.The beautifully written story and raw honesty of the characters (augmented by Christian Barillas' sensitive interpretations of them) caused me to become so invested in their lives, I forgot they were fictional. I applauded their accomplishments, laughed at their sass, shared their frustration and sorrows and was reduced to tears. I do not shed tears lightly - not for movies, not for books, and rarely in everyday life. This audiobook had me literally sobbing and, more than once, brokenhearted. Angel and her family will stay with me for a very long time.

Heartbreakingly Honest

I tend to stay away from LGBTQ fiction because the narrative tends to be similar:cis (usually white) guy falls in love with a straight (also usually white)cis guy. This narrative can get boring and i rarely see myself in a character. This book was SO different. I could see myself and the people I’ve loved and, sometimes, lost in these characters. Everything felt so familiar that I couldn’t put it down because it felt like I was suddenly remembering a memory I had forgotten. The tragedy, the love, the shade, the sorrow, the longing,the realness...it’s all here.

Wonderful character studies

The performance was spot on, and a lot of the book was very entertaining and an interesting look into a lifestyle I am certainly aware of, but know little about. Very poignant. The book was just overly long. There are long sections of the book of interactions and conversations that go nowhere, do nothing to add to the storyline.

Wow

This book was gut wrenching, beautiful and will be impossible to forget. Don’t even want to read anything else right away because I want to reflect on this experience some more.

Exhilarating & Tragic

I didn't know what to expect with this book, but it was recommended highly by a fellow lover of drag. I didn't understand the Harlem Ball scene, and I still don't, but I picture roaming gangs of drag queens. Since reading this book, I've read up on the real people that this is based off of, and they're all fascinating. I found some of the drug scenes and the casual way prostitution is discussed in this book shocking, in that I can't imagine living like that. It was both an exhilarating and tragic read, though.

On point. Both hilarious and tragic

Written from the heart and captures a sliver in time when the world was turned upside down from the AIDS epidemic. I only wish that the author captured more of the joyous aspects of the Balls and KiKis that made these kids shine in such an unforgiving era. Christian Barillas is a gifted narrator who takes you to the heart of the Latina world of drag queens in New York. Bravo!

The House of Impossible Beauties

Any additional comments?

This book is lucky to have been green-lighted due to the popularity of "RuPaul's Drag Race", but is in essence a fanboy retelling of the documentary "Paris is Burning".

The author doesn't even try hard to mask the names of characters, using the same names from "Paris is Burning"...or bring something fresh to this beautifully tragic group of gay men and trans women who perform within the Harlem Ballroom Circuit during the mid to late 80s.

The research is very sloppy. A young character traumatized by watching Jaws (1975) takes a plane trip where he gulps three bottles of water? Bottled water...on a plane...in 1975? No.

The author in the smallest way does however, manage to evoke the feeling of hopefulness for the characters' future.

This book is such a unimaginative and blatant rip-off of the above mentioned brilliant documentary (download it!) that I've decided to stop reading it. I already know how it ends.

Beautiful and painful

This book left me stunned. The performance by Christian Barillas is gorgeous and brings the story to life. Anyone who has seen Paris Is Burning will appreciate this book, but you won’t need a reason to care deeply about these characters. Each one is richly drawn and full of conflict.